video playback is blank on SuSE (multiple apps)

h4rm0ny · 01-16-2004, 02:50 PM

Hi,

I have a problem with playing most sorts of video on my SuSE system. The picture is always blue and blank. This occurs with multiple apps - Mplayer, XPlayer, gtv - and multiple formats (mpeg, Quicktime, wmv). The only one that works is mpeg-player which works only (of course) with MPEGS.

I'm not sure what information would be useful here.
My system is a Dell Inspiron 2500 with no graphics card, I can check the chipset details if necessary. It was pure SuSE 7.1 but now runs with Kernel 2.4.21.

I'm a C++ programmer from a UNIX background so you can give me a reasonable level of detail but I'm not that familiar with Linux's workings as yet.

Any help would be much appreciated.

mcleodnine · 01-16-2004, 09:22 PM

ahhh. first guess would be the newer kernel - a lot of the SuSE packages were probably built against SuSE's rather customized kernel. Have you tried running with the default SuSE kernel?

h4rm0ny · 01-17-2004, 02:58 AM

Ahhhh, yes. I have tried with the original setup. My first instinct was that it was something I'd done but no - the video playback has never worked.

I'm a bit lost with it - obviously it's something common to multiple apps but I have no idea what that might be.

mcleodnine · 01-17-2004, 09:12 AM

Next thing to try would be to play a video with mplayer and see if the console output can drop a clue for us. Try 'mplayer your_movie' from a console.

h4rm0ny · 01-17-2004, 12:30 PM

Okay - I ran the following from the command line:

mplayer /home/harmony/.opera/download/Ginger2CANSm.mov

Ginger2CANSm.mov is a short quicktime movie. A small window is opened which is filled with a light blue that would be calming in other circumstances. Audio is heard fine. The window closes at the end of the movie (at least as far as can be told from the audio track).

The same occurs with other quicktime movies, mpegs etc.

I'm guessing because the audio is fine and because the same applies to other formats, that it's to do with the output of mplayer rather than trouble decoding the file itself. As far as I understand the output (not that far) mplayer thinks it's doing its job.

Watching movies is the last thing I still have to use Windows for. If you can show me how to get this working then I'm free.

The output from mplayer (minus the second to second changing numbers)follows:

Quote:

MPlayer 1.0pre2-2.95.3 (C) 2000-2003 MPlayer Team

CPU: Intel Celeron 2/Pentium III Coppermine,Geyserville 797.9 MHz (Family: 6, Stepping: 10)
Detected cache-line size is 32 bytes
CPUflags: MMX: 1 MMX2: 1 3DNow: 0 3DNow2: 0 SSE: 1 SSE2: 0
Compiled for x86 CPU with extensions: MMX MMX2 SSE

Reading config file /usr/local/etc/mplayer/mplayer.confReading config file /root/.mplayer/config
Reading /root/.mplayer/codecs.conf: Reading /usr/local/etc/mplayer/codecs.conf: Using built-in default codecs.conf
font: can't open file: /root/.mplayer/font/font.desc
font: can't open file: /usr/local/share/mplayer/font/font.desc
Using Linux hardware RTC timing (1024Hz).
Setting up LIRC support...

Playing /home/harmony/.opera/download/Ginger2CANSm.mov
QuickTime/MOV file format detected.
--------------
MOV track #0: 452 chunks, 1354 samples
MOV: Found unknown movie atom SMI (21)!
Image size: 240 x 135 (24 bpp)
Display size: 240 x 135
Fourcc: SVQ3 Codec: 'Sorenson Video 3'
--------------
MOV track #1: 226 chunks, 0 samples
Audio bits: 16 chans: 1 rate: 22050
Audio extra header: len=64 fcc=0x77617665
MOV: Found unknown audio atom Fourcc: QDM2
--------------
MOV: longest streams: A: #1 (226 samples) V: #0 (1354 samples)
==========================================================================
Opening audio decoder: [qtaudio] QuickTime Audio Decoder
win32 libquicktime loader (c) Sascha Sommer
Standard init done you may now call supported functions
loader_init DONE???
loader_init DONE!
External func COMCTL32.dll:17
External func COMCTL32.dll:16
Win32 Warning: Accessed uninitialized Critical Section (0x66bc4210)!
WARNING! Invalid Ptr handle!
Win32 Warning: Accessed uninitialized Critical Section (0x66bc41f8)!

### Searching for QuickTime plugins (*.qtx) at /usr/local/lib/codecs...
### FindNext: QuickTimeEssentials.qtx
### FindNext: QuickTimeInternetExtras.qtx
InitializeQTML:0
SoundConverterOpen:0
SoundConverterSetInfo:0
SoundConverterGetBufferSizes:0
WantedBufferSize = 44100
InputBufferSize = 2780
OutputBufferSize = 40964
FramesToGet = 10
FrameSize: 278 -> 4096
SoundConverterBeginConversion:0
AUDIO: 22050 Hz, 1 ch, 16 bit (0x10), ratio: 2993->44100 (23.9 kbit)
Selected audio codec: [qdmc] afm:qtaudio (Quicktime QDMC/QDM2 audio decoders)
==========================================================================
vo: X11 running at 1024x768 with depth 16 and 16 bpp (":0.0" => local display)
==========================================================================
Opening video decoder: [ffmpeg] FFmpeg's libavcodec codec family
Selected video codec: [ffsvq3] vfm:ffmpeg (FFmpeg Sorenson Video v3 (SVQ3))
==========================================================================
Checking audio filter chain for 22050Hz/1ch/16bit -> 22050Hz/2ch/16bit...
AF_pre: af format: 2 bps, 1 ch, 22050 hz, little endian signed int
AF_pre: 22050Hz 1ch Signed 16-bit (Little-Endian)
AO: [oss] 22050Hz 2ch Signed 16-bit (Little-Endian) (2 bps)
Building audio filter chain for 22050Hz/1ch/16bit -> 22050Hz/2ch/16bit...
Starting playback...
VDec: vo config request - 240 x 135 (preferred csp: Planar YV12)
VDec: using Planar YV12 as output csp (no 0)
Movie-Aspect is undefined - no prescaling applied.
VO: [xv] 240x135 => 240x135 Planar YV12

h4rm0ny · 01-18-2004, 05:05 AM

Ah ha!

I have now successfully produced visual output. By telling Mplayer to use X11 output (with the -vo switch) instead of the default, I get the visual.

I'm still not sure why my system doesn't play the default format (MPEG-PES) which is used by other apps too, but at least I now have one that I can make work.

Thanks for your help.

-H.