Video playback problems, troubleshooting and solutions on Linux.
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Thanks everybody, videos play now.
On openSUSE I used Vivaldi itself to download the latest file, which is "chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra_55.0.2883.87-0ubuntu2.1328_amd64.deb", from
http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/universe/c/chromium-browser/
Then extracted it in terminal, changed permissions, and copied two created directories to where they are expected by Vivaldi (that is to /usr/lib/chromium-browser for libffmpeg.so) - all this was done using @Gwen-Dragon's code at the end of her script with little tweaks in syntax, the last step required "su -" in openSUSE but sudo should have worked, too.
The script, referred in the first few posts in this thread, is here:
https://gwendragon.de/repo/linux/vivaldi/vivaldi-libffmpeg-install.sh
Commands I used in terminal (put the downloaded file to a new "tmp" directory and run from there if you want):
ar p chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra_55.0.2883.87-0ubuntu2.1328_amd64.deb data.tar.xz | tar xJf - ./usr/share/doc/chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra/changelog.Debian.gz ./usr/lib/chromium-browser/libffmpeg.so chmod -R u+w,go+r-w,a-s . su - find usr -type f | tar --owner=0 --group=0 -cf- -T- | tar -xf- -C /
Restart Vivaldi and it's all good. Both in stable and in snapshot.
@Steffie This libffmpeg.so file comes with Vivaldi install but somehow doesn't work. Now that Vivaldi has a repo for openSUSE it should be updated to a correct version with each Vivaldi update, I'm pretty sure Ruario will automate this process in the future. Or maybe it's the right version but it's not where Vivaldi looks for it and simply copying it to /usr/lib/chromium-browser would have done the trick, too. Fixing this would require tweaking Vivaldi itself, not just repackaging .deb like it was done in the beginning. This has nothing to do with my OS.
It's not distros job to support my favorite browsers, it's browser developers job, or rather service they provide, to compile packages for different distros. At first Ruario wrote a script to install Vivaldi from .deb, then he got a job at Vivaldi and created a repo for openSUSE, next step would be getting this up to scratch so that openSUSE adds Vivaldi to their own repos. It took them maybe a year to accept new Opera.
When this eventually happens then users will go to openSUSE forums and not here for support with system related things like codecs. If there are bugs openSUSE has a proper system in place to deal with them, too, and by then @Gwen-Dragon won't be offering fixes with "SCRIPT MAY MISBEHAVE AND EXPLODE YOUR LINUX INSTALLATION" disclaimers in them. openSUSE users are pretty well shielded from "exploding" stuff like this.
I don't mean this as criticism of Gwen, just a sign of teething problems.
Also this fix will work only until Vivaldi uses the same Chromium version, which is not the right way to fix things, but it will do for now.
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@StanG -- Happy for you that it's now working, yay.
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@Gwen-Dragon i actually just looked through your script and didn't find anything that would not work with openSUSE so i removed everything libffmpeg.so that i previously had and replaced "ubuntu" with "opensuse" in lines 118, 142 and 182 to make it run through and it works fine.
i actually think it should work for most distros. Maybe you can add a little disclaimer and ask if one wishes to continue anyway..
If there is an old libffmpeg in /usr/lib64/chromium (the place from the former chromium-ffmpeg package) then the new one in /usr/lib/chromium-browser seems to be preferred in a quick test. So no problem there either.
I didn't test the cronjob stuff but i don't see a reason why this shouldn't work. -
@StanG
I don't see "edit" button for my posted replies, but terminal commands I gave in the previous one can't be used "as is".The last line
find usr -type f | tar --owner=0 --group=0 -cf- -T- | tar -xf- -C /
could copy a lot of extra stuff from the current directory so it's better to extract downloaded file into a new one, which is what Gwen's script does, and after "su -" you should get bumped out to your home directory on openSUSE so you need to return to the directory where extracted files are, or don't use "su -" and preface that last command with "sudo" instead.
Maybe mods can add a warning to https://forum.vivaldi.net/post/85798
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Wouldn't Packman be able to provide chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra for distros it supports, like openSUSE? They have k3b (for disk burning) compiled with mp3 support, for example, while official openSUSE k3b package isn't.
And how do you format words that they appear small and red? Is there a formatting guide somewhere here? How do you add "code" tag?
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@StanG
Yes Packman could and they did until mid of December when they said it is not needed for chromium anymore so we drop it.
code
can be written between `backticks
And a small formatting guide is found if you click on the little question mark behind compose on the top right of the editing field.
Edit: Edit is hidden behind those three little dots if you are logged in -
@dLeon @sophos02
Three dots for me hide "Bookmark" and "Share" menu, and then also "Flag this post for moderation" for someone else's replies. Can't find Edit.Why is it that Chromium doesn't need
chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra
to play h264/mp4 anymore but Vivaldi built from the same version 55 does? Does Chromium play it natively or does it rely on codecs already installed by the OS? In any case, hope it means that we'll soon get this functionality, too, without the need to install extra codecs manually.Another thing, I'm not being greedy, but since it's the one thread for all video problems - how can we get Netflix support in Vivaldi? I saw Ruario's old solution but it didn't work for me then. What's the status now?
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@StanG said in Video playback problems, troubleshooting and solutions on Linux.:
"how can we get Netflix support in Vivaldi? I saw Ruario's old solution but it didn't work for me then. What's the status now?"
We already have it now. There's been a plethora of NF - V threads over the past 2 years. I watch NF on V every night, for hours, & have done so for a very long time. I didn't do anything special to achieve this functionality, just followed the guidance in the threads.
If you've complied, & it didn't work for you, then [though you won't like me saying it again] i'd have to suspect a problem specific to your distro. It certainly can't be a generic V fault.
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Just checked, after fixing h264/mp4 playback problem Vivaldi plays Netflix without errors.
The solution to h264/mp4 is, in a nutshell, to obtain a correct version of
libffmpeg.so
and put it in a directory expected by Vivaldi. It has nothing to do with any particular distro. Same goes for Netflix.I've noticed that Ruario's fix page has this in it as well:
Issue the following commands:
CHRVER=48.0.2564.109
This probably won't work because it would then fetch an old Chromium version while Vivaldi is already on 55. If it doesn't work it won't work for any distro, too.
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@StanG said in [Video playback problems, troubleshooting
CHRVER=48.0.2564.109
This probably won't work because it would then fetch an old Chromium version while Vivaldi is already on 55.
Yes it will, did you actually try it? Because I did. That version number is not selected on a whim nor have I failed to update it.
The version that matters is not the version of Chromium but the version of ffmpeg bundled with Chromium. This has not updated for a while and last time it did we reverted the change so that
libffmpeg.so
files all the way back to Chromium 48 could be used.obtain a correct version of libffmpeg.so and put it in a directory expected by Vivaldi.
Yes and that directory is /usr/lib/chromium-browser/libs/. If you are placing it within the Vivaldi directories and forget about it you are lining yourself up nicely for future problems. In the most serious case a crash on startup.
Consider when ffmpeg is updated within Vivaldi and then consider what would happen if we try and access symbols that are not present within the lib that is placed by hand.
Libs placed in /usr/lib/chromium-browser/libs/ will have their version verified by comparing to /usr/share/doc/chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra/changelog.Debian.gz. If you place a lib directly in the Vivaldi directory there is nothing that allows us to verify the version number before loading it. This is fine when a package maintainer is keeping the ffmpeg and Vivaldi packages in sync (like Arch). It does not work for an individual who copies the file in once and then forgets about it.
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@StanG said in Video playback problems, troubleshooting and solutions on Linux.:
@StanG
I don't see "edit" button for my posted replies, but terminal commands I gave in the previous one can't be used "as is".The last line
find usr -type f | tar --owner=0 --group=0 -cf- -T- | tar -xf- -C /
could copy a lot of extra stuff from the current directory
maybe you should read the entire script and attempt to understand it before making such statements. Exactly what extra stuff do you expect to be copied when several lines above in the script there the staging directory was cleared if present, only two files were extracted into it and then the script switched into that directory. Thus only two files can be copied.
Edit: OK maybe I should read this entire thread before I comment! It seems you are reffering to Gwen's script. Sorry, I have not looked at that for some time. That said, while she coes not clear the working directory she is using a uniquely named working directory, so it shouldn't be a massive issue.
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@ruario said in Video playback problems, troubleshooting and solutions on Linux.:
maybe you should read the entire script and attempt to understand it before making such statements.
I was referring to description of what I did myself and on three lines of code I put in this post, I was not commenting on the entire Gwen script.
In those comments I only suggested that downloaded .deb file be put in a new empty directory but, in fact, it's a must. Gwen's script does that already but the commands I used from it and then put in my post don't. If someone copy pastes them into his terminal it might end in big trouble - that's what I wanted to edit in that reply. Plus
su -
on openSUSE bumps one out of whatever folder he was in anyway.Your own script fetches the latest version of
chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra
but instructions for manual built are for Chromium 48 - anyone reading this would suspect it's an error. -
@dLeon said in Video playback problems, troubleshooting and solutions on Linux.:
that build Environment Variable should be set to what Chromium version Vivaldi built on. That's just an example.
That is my point. It does not need to be. The ffmpeg versions need to be roughly the same not chromium. Chromium does not upgrade their internal ffmpeg with every single release
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@StanG said in Video playback problems, troubleshooting and solutions on Linux.:
t instructions for manual built are for Chromium 48 - anyone reading this would suspect it's an error.
It is not an error
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@ruario said in Video playback problems, troubleshooting and solutions on Linux.:
It is not an error
Glad it isn't, but instead of arguing about this, what can you tell us/me about the future of this fix? Is Vivaldi going to play h264 videos without relying on external codecs like Chromium does already (at least on openSUSE)?
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@StanG -- to add to my previous reply, but in the context of your reply to it, the only reason i chose to point the finger at your distro was coz i unreservedly accepted your own assurance that you had indeed done the recommended stuff & it did not work for you. As i had done the recommended stuff, a long time ago [ie, run Ruari's great script], & it entirely got NF working for me, logic implied that V is not the culprit, & the script is not the culprit, so what other variable is there compared to my own situation? --> one is the OS. Having now read all the subsequent replies since mine & yours, i now see that there were other variables, like maybe incorrect assumptions for manually placing certain files in certain directories, & making certain assumptions about the script.
I'm bowing out now; this thread has become unnecessarily combative, when people were merely trying to help you.
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@StanG said in Video playback problems, troubleshooting and solutions on Linux.:
Why is it that Chromium doesn't need
chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra
to play h264/mp4 anymore but Vivaldi built from the same version 55 does? Does Chromium play it natively or does it rely on codecs already installed by the OS? In any case, hope it means that we'll soon get this functionality, too, without the need to install extra codecs manually.@StanG said in Video playback problems, troubleshooting and solutions on Linux.:
Glad it isn't, but instead of arguing about this, what can you tell us/me about the future of this fix? Is Vivaldi going to play h264 videos without relying on external codecs like Chromium does already (at least on openSUSE)?
I do not know what Chromium does as of version 54. I think they use ffmpeg itself so they still rely on external codecs but not a library that has to be compiled against it. I'm not sure though as i just read some mailing list and bugtrackers where this was discussed. I never used chromium and i will not try it.
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@Steffie Original Ruario's Netflix fix didn't work for me when Chrome's DRM module was not yet built into Vivaldi. It could have happened for many reasons I can't even imagine now, over a year later. As of last week Netflix didn't work because of h264 issue which popped up when openSUSE dropped chromium-ffmpeg-codecs-extra. When this was fixed Netflix started playing, that's all. The fix relies on "wget", "tar", "chown", and "find" - commands which work on any Linux distro.
As I can see it, Vivaldi is practically distro agnostic. Ruario's first "port" for openSUSE was basically to extract .deb file into a directory, change permissions and voila - Vivaldi worked. Setting up openSUSE repo on Vivaldi site has made things super easy, save for this little third party software trick with codecs.
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can't play Dailymotion HTML5 video anymore the site is now asking me to enable flash to play video.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5c4ggv_dariusburst-chronicle-saviours-first-play_videogames
tried it with all my extensions off, still no luck, not turned anything on/off since the last update. Chromium with the same extensions plays the video just fine.
any ideas ?
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@ultraviolet -- Site vids play fine for me, but apparently as Flash not HTML5. I did not have to disable any of my 19 extensions, nor whitelist that site.
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