VideoLAN Wiki - User contributions [en]

Report bugs

2010-06-29T14:28:28Z

Lexein: /* Forum */ grammar

= Reporting a bug =

If you find any bugs, or if you experience any crashes, then we would very much like to hear about the issue. Here are some detailed information on how to submit useful bug reports.

Follow the bugs policy.

== Is it truly a new bug? ==

It may sound strange, but many of the bug reports we get are not really bugs at all, or have been know for months, and/or already fixed.

Please check the following:
=== Version ===
''Are you using the latest version of VLC?'' Bug reports on older versions of VLC are likely to be ignored, because changes in the program may make it impossible to reproduce the bug, or may even have fixed it. Always make sure the issue you want to report is still present in the current version of VLC.

=== Preferences ===
''Have you tried resetting your preferences and restarting VLC yet?''
Old preferences and/or incorrect settings are common causes of problems.

Read the [[Frequently Asked Questions|FAQ]] for details on how to do this (Uninstalling VLC does not remove its old settings).
Double check that your issue still exists afterward.

=== Features ===
Some things are simply NOT supported by VLC. We have a [http://www.videolan.org/vlc/features.html list of supported features] and
a [https://trac.videolan.org/vlc/query?action=view&type=enhancement&order=priority list of things] we would like to implement in the future.
If your suggestion is not on this list, you might want to make a ''feature request'' in the [http://forum.videolan.org/viewforum.php?f=7 Requests Forum], to ask the developers to support this. Remember that we all do this in our spare time. There is no timeline whatsoever for the implementation of these enhancements and we do not make ANY promises as to when we will add them to VLC, if ever. If you really want something right now, you had best implement it yourself.
Join us on the [[Developers Corner]]

=== Closed bugs ===
Many bugs are already known. Sometimes they are already fixed for the next version of VLC. Please [https://trac.videolan.org/vlc/search?q=&ticket=on search] the list of known and fixed issues. If you find your issue, see if it is already closed. The page of the issue will then show something like:

''Ticket #87 (Closed: fixed)''

== Still a bug? ==
So you still think you found a bug? Great!

=== Search ===
Search on this wiki and on the [http://forum.videolan.org forums] and see if someone else has asked a similar question or has seen a similar bug.

=== Forum ===
Ask about your problem in the [http://forum.videolan.org/ relevant forum] and make sure to include as much information as possible (see the pointers below). You can also describe your problem on the [http://www.videolan.org/support/lists.html relevant mailing list].

=== Enter the bug in trac ===
If you are sure that you found a bug and that you have all information needed, you can enter a bug in our [https://trac.videolan.org/vlc/ Trac system]. You will need to register here to enter a bug. Don't forget to enter a valid e-mail address if you want to receive notifications when your bug is handled.

= Give a report =
When you post on the forum, email us or enter a bug report, please provide as much information as possible in your report.
We try to answer all your mails, posts and reports, but there are so many that sometimes we simply don't have the time to do so. The more
sound details you provide about your issue, the better the chance that we will investigate it fully.

All the details are on [[VLC report]] page.

Please gather the following information and send it along with your report:

# Email with a valid reply address, so we can get back to you with possible additional questions.
# Your operating system and the version.
# Your {{VLC}} version.
# The hardware you use. Make sure to name all the audio and video hardware in question that might be related to VLC's usage.
For instance: iMac G4 or Pentium4 with GeForce3, with an external USB dolby surround output device.
# The exact '''situation''' in which the problem occurred. Please describe in as much detail as possible.
# Can you always '''reproduce''' the problem in a certain way?
# The type of movie you were playing. And whether or not the issue is present on other types of movies.
# If possible, the video sample in question:
If the issue is specific to a certain movie, it can help a lot if we have the movie itself. In this case please upload as much of the file as you can to our [ftp://streams.videolan.org/incoming FTP samples server]. Give the file a distinct name, and upload a text file with the same name in which you again describe the problem. Report this upload in your forum posting and tell us the name of your file. This makes sure we can more easily find back your sample.

== Additional remarks ==
If you can, or if it applies to you try to take into account the following.

===Mac OS X users===
Please send along the last part of ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/VLC.crash.log if you can. Many crashes of VLC are logged in this file. You can open the file from VLC by going to the menu Window and choosing Messages. Now click the "Open CrashLog" button.
Please make sure you send the last crash (at the bottom of the file) and that it actually is the crash you described. The Date/Time field reports the time of the crash so that way you can check if it is the crash you experienced, or an earlier one.

=== Compile problems ===
Make sure you have read the [[Developers_Corner]].
Give the full log showing the problem
<pre>
./configure <options> > logfile.txt 2>&1
make 2>&1 > logfile.txt 2>&1
</pre>

* When dealing with a ./configure issue, please provide the generated config.log file.
* Your compiler brand and version may be relevant here as well.

== Version ==
Written by Derk-Jan Hartman, for the VideoLAN Team.

Adapted by [[User:J-b|Jean-Baptiste Kempf]] for this wiki.

Media library

2010-01-24T21:48:18Z

Lexein: /* To Begin */ trimmed, parenthesized comments, linked.

This is a brand-new page as of 2009/03/21, an attempt to provide instructions on how to use the media player's Media Library feature.

As of VLC media player version 0.9.8a, the Media Library feature offers only the most basic abilities.

This author is working from a MacBook Pro using OS 10.4.11, so if you are using Windows (XP or Vista) or Linux, the exact locations of your menus and controls, as well as their appearance, can be expected to vary somewhat.

Everything presented here so far has been garnered from the user forums, and/or exploring the preferences and controls of my own copy of the program.

== To Begin ==

To use the media player's "Media Library" feature, first verify that the function has been enabled in Preferences, then adjust the controller so that the window where the function is displayed automatically opens.

From the "VLC" menu select "Preferences...". It will not matter which tab you select. The desired option is an Advanced option: in the Preferences window, in the lower left hand corner find radio buttons labeled "Basic" and "All". Click the "All" button.

The preferences window will change to show a narrow left-hand pane and a wide right-hand pane. The left pane lists categories of preferences that may be adjusted. Most items have triangles(Mac) or "+"(Qt) next to them, which may be clicked to show subcategories. For the moment we don't need to click any of them. Just know that expanded subcategories give quick access to particular options. Occasionally a subcategory may be the only way to gain access to the options desired.

If the left-hand pane is too narrow to view the list, click on the divider between the panes and drag it to adjust the width.

In the left-hand pane find and click the word "Playlist" to view the Playlist controls.

In the right-hand pane, next to "Use media library", ensure the box is checked. If it was necessary to change this option, be sure to click "Save", at the bottom right of the preferences pane.

On this control pane, note "Play files randomly forever" - uncheck this if desired. (Users have reported files playing in random order even when they [http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=55953&hilit=media+library don't want them to]. For 0.98 it is uncertain whether this control is working. If you have not enabled it, but are getting random play, consider reporting it as a bug.)

To close this window, click either the "Cancel" or "Save" button.

Once "Use media library" is enabled, open the Playlist window to see the Media Library in action. There are several ways to accomplish this, but one certain way is: from the media player's menu bar,
* Mac: click "Window" menu and select "Controller...". The last time the VLC media player was used, if the playlist window was already opened, then it will automatically reopen. If not, then click the "Window" menu again and select "Playlist...".
* Qt: click "View" menu and select "Playlist".

Due to redundant controls, there are other ways get this done. On the basic controller, in the lower right-hand corner, is a pair of buttons. The left button when toggled will open and close the 10 band audio equalizer. (If you want to use it, be sure that there is a checkmark in the "Enable" box in the Equalizer's window.) The right-hand button when toggled will open and close the "Playlist" window. You can also open and close the "Playlist" window by grabbing and dragging the very edge of the lower right corner of controller window. At a certain shape and size, the "Playlist" window will snap opened or closed as appropriate.

== What's Next? ==

Other users report in the forum that the Media Library file will appear in the VLC media player folder along with the application and will be named "ml.xspf". Thus the Media Library file is in fact a sophisticated playlist in xspf format. To learn more about it, go to the [[XSPF]] article in this wiki.

Once you know how the xspf format works, you need to use a text editor suitable for things like writing XML code to put your playlist together.

I use TextWrangler 2.3.0 (262) ub.app, a free OS X Mac program, for example. http://barebones.com/products/textwrangler/

Once created, from the VLC media player use "Open File..." and/or "Save Playlist..." to bring it to the media player's attention.

On Mac OS 10.4.11, these items are found on the "File" menu.

On Linux and Windows try looking for "Playlist -> Save playlist to file..."

== Maintaining the Media Library ==

UNDER CONSTRUCTION - IF YOU CAN HELP, PLEASE DO!!!!

To maintain the media library add folders by using the plus symbol located under the list of files in the playlist window. Select "Add directory" and chose the folder that contains the files you want to add. (Note: Some users have had problems with directorys that are bigger then 10 gigabytes, try dividing the files into sub-directorys then adding each folder seperately). Once this is done, VLC should update the media library to reflect what is in these folders upon starting it up.
Using VLC to add media information DOES work but the playlist will not reflect the new data changes until VLC is started again.

== See also ==
* [[:Category:Playlist]]
* [[M3U]] short for "MP3 Uniform Resource Locator", refers to a computer file format that stores multimedia playlists
* http://www.xspf.org/quickstart/
* [[Documentation:Hacker's Guide/Playlist|VLC Playlist and Media Library]]
* [[What is cool in 0.9]] includes relevant details under the topic "Playlist"
* [[Next changes]] includes relevant details under the topic "Playlist"
* [[VLC Source code]] useful especially in the absence of user friendly documentation

VPlayer

2007-04-08T11:54:11Z

Lexein: add format

The '''VPlayer''' (*.TXT or arbitrary) format is one of the following:

Frame Type Structure: 
 
{1000}{2000}This is a subtitle.|This is a second subtitle. 
{3000}{4000}This is a third subtitle.|This is a fourth subtitle. 
{5000}{6000}This is a fifth subtitle.|This is a sixth subtitle. 
 
Time Duration Structure 1: 
 
01:00:10:This is a subtitle. 
02:00:20:This is a second subtitle. 
03:00:30:This is a third subtitle. 
04:00:40:This is a fourth subtitle. 
 
Time Duration Structure 2: 
:Leading zeros may be omitted.

SubViewer

2007-04-08T11:48:20Z

Lexein: *

The SubViewer (*.SUB) format is as follows:

:[INFORMATION] <-- beginning of optional info section, closing tag required 
:[TITLE] Title of film. 
:[AUTHOR] Author of film. 
:[SOURCE] Arbitrary text 
:[FILEPATH] Arbitrary text 
:[DELAY] (time in frames to delay all subtitles 
:[COMMENT] Arbitrary text 
:[END INFORMATION] 
:[SUBTITLE] <-- beginning of subtitle section, no closing tag required. 
:[COLF]&HFFFFFF,[SIZE]12,[FONT]Times New Roman 
:00:01:00.10,00:02:00.20 
:Oh, no. 
:The eggs are hatching! 
:<blank line> 
:00:02:00.30,00:03:00.40 
:No, never mind, I was hallucinating. 

Note: SubViewer 2.0 format, the whole subtitle is written on one line, with line breaks indicated by [br], as follows:

:00:01:00.10,00:02:00.20 
:Oh, no.[br]The eggs are hatching! 

==References==
[http://divxstation.com/article.asp?aId=27 Divxstation] article by Stachken

SubViewer

2007-04-08T11:47:24Z

Lexein: note 2.0

The SubViewer (.SUB) format is as follows:

:[INFORMATION] <-- beginning of optional info section, closing tag required 
:[TITLE] Title of film. 
:[AUTHOR] Author of film. 
:[SOURCE] Arbitrary text 
:[FILEPATH] Arbitrary text 
:[DELAY] (time in frames to delay all subtitles 
:[COMMENT] Arbitrary text 
:[END INFORMATION] 
:[SUBTITLE] <-- beginning of subtitle section, no closing tag required. 
:[COLF]&HFFFFFF,[SIZE]12,[FONT]Times New Roman 
:00:01:00.10,00:02:00.20 
:Oh, no. 
:The eggs are hatching! 
:<blank line> 
:00:02:00.30,00:03:00.40 
:No, never mind, I was hallucinating. 

Note: SubViewer 2.0 format, the whole subtitle is written on one line, with line breaks indicated by [br], as follows:

:00:01:00.10,00:02:00.20 
:Oh, no.[br]The eggs are hatching! 

==References==
[http://divxstation.com/article.asp?aId=27 Divxstation] article by Stachken

Sub Script Alpha

2007-04-08T11:39:39Z

Lexein: Sub Script Alpha moved to SubStation Alpha: wrong name

#REDIRECT [[SubStation Alpha]]

SubStation Alpha

2007-04-08T11:39:39Z

Lexein: Sub Script Alpha moved to SubStation Alpha: wrong name

'''SubStationAlpha''' (*.SSA) file format is as follows:

[Script Info] 
Title: 
Original Script: 
Original Translation: 
Original Editing: 
Original Timing: 
Original Script Checking: 
Synch Point: 
Script Updated By: 
Update Details: 
ScriptType: v4.00 
Collisions: Normal 
PlayResY: 864 
PlayDepth: 0 
Timer: 100.0000 
 
[V4 Styles] 
'''(Format: "Style: Name, Fontname, Fontsize, PrimaryColour, SecondaryColour, TertiaryColour, BackColour, Bold, Italic, BorderStyle, Outline, Shadow, Alignment, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, AlphaLevel, Encoding")''' 
Style: Default,Arial,20,65535,65535,65535,-2147483640,-1,0,1,3,0,2,30,30,30,0,0 
 
[Events] 
'''(Format: "Dialogue: Marked, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text")''' 
Dialogue: Marked=0,0:02:32.85,0:02:34.33,*Default,1,0000,0000,0000,,Oh no! The eggs are hatching!

SubStation Alpha

2007-04-08T11:36:36Z

Lexein: add format description

MicroDVD

2007-04-08T11:27:43Z

Lexein: add

MicroDVD (*.*) format

A compact textfile with startframes and endframes in brackets {} at the start 
of every line. Linebreaks are marked by |

{1025}{1110}Oh no! | The eggs are hatching! 
{1375}{1460}Wait, never mind.|I was hallucinating...

SubRip

2007-04-08T11:21:21Z

Lexein: note

This is the native subtitle format of the [http://zuggy.wz.cz/ SubRip] (cache) program. It is one of the most used formats for subtitles. The most common (optional) filename extension is '''.SRT'''.

Subtitles are formatted as follows: 

:n 
:h1:m1:s1,d1 --> h2:m2:s2,d2 
:Line1 
:Line2 
:... 
:<blank line> 

'''n''' = sequential number. This may also appear on the same line as start/stop times. 
'''h1:m1:s1,d1''' = start time 
'''h2:m2:s1,d2''' = stop time

SubViewer

2007-04-08T11:18:18Z

Lexein: add source

The SubViewer (.SUB) format is as follows:

:[INFORMATION] <-- beginning of optional info section, closing tag required 
:[TITLE] Title of film. 
:[AUTHOR] Author of film. 
:[SOURCE] Arbitrary text 
:[FILEPATH] Arbitrary text 
:[DELAY] (time in seconds here to delay all subtitles 
:[COMMENT] Arbitrary text 
:[END INFORMATION] 
:[SUBTITLE] <-- beginning of subtitle section, no closing tag required. 
:[COLF]&HFFFFFF,[SIZE]12,[FONT]Times New Roman 
:00:01:00.10,00:02:00.20 
:Oh, no. 
:The eggs are hatching! 
:<blank line> 
:00:02:00.30,00:03:00.40 
:No, never mind, I was hallucinating. 

==References==
[http://divxstation.com/article.asp?aId=27 Divxstation] article by Stachken

SAMI

2007-04-08T11:16:35Z

Lexein: touchup

The SAMI (*.smi) subtitle format is a '''rare''' HTML-format with startframes given for each subtitle.

Example:
<pre>
<TITLE>Title of film
<STYLE TYPE="text/css">
<blank line>
<BODY>
<blank line>
<SYNC Start=30886>
Oh no! The eggs are hatching!
<blank line>
<SYNC Start=34037>
Wait, never mind. I was hallucinating.
</pre>

==References==
[http://divxstation.com/article.asp?aId=27 Divxstation] article by Stachken

SAMI

2007-04-08T11:15:42Z

Lexein: added format description

SubViewer

2007-04-08T11:09:42Z

Lexein: added back

The SubViewer format is as follows:

:[INFORMATION] <-- beginning of optional info section, closing tag required 
:[TITLE] Title of film. 
:[AUTHOR] Author of film. 
:[SOURCE] Arbitrary text 
:[FILEPATH] Arbitrary text 
:[DELAY] (time in seconds here to delay all subtitles 
:[COMMENT] Arbitrary text 
:[END INFORMATION] 
:[SUBTITLE] <-- beginning of subtitle section, no closing tag required. 
:[COLF]&HFFFFFF,[SIZE]12,[FONT]Times New Roman 
:00:01:00.10,00:02:00.20 
:Oh, no. 
:The eggs are hatching! 
:<blank line> 
:00:02:00.30,00:03:00.40 
:No, never mind, I was hallucinating.

SubRip

2007-04-08T10:54:25Z

Lexein: added , formatted a bit

This is the native subtitle format of the [http://zuggy.wz.cz/ SubRip] (cache) program. It is one of the most used formats for subtitles. The most common (optional) filename extension is '''.SRT'''.

Subtitles are formatted as follows: 
<code>
:n 
:h1:m1:s1,d1 --> h2:m2:s2,d2 
:Line1 
:Line2 
:... 
:<blank line> 
</code>

'''n''' = sequential number 
'''h1:m1:s1,d1''' = start time 
'''h2:m2:s1,d2''' = stop time

Documentation:Modules/marq

2007-04-01T12:45:30Z

Lexein: /* Examples */ version difference

{{Module|name=marq|type=Video subfilter|description=Overlays text on the video}}

The marq subfilter can be used to display text on a video.

== Options ==

{{Option
|name=marq-marquee
|value=string
|default=VLC
|description=Marquee text to display. Since VLC version 0.9.0 you can use [[Documentation:Play_HowTo/Format_String|format strings]] to display meta data and time information}}

{{Option
|name=marq-x
|value=integer
|default=-1
|description=X offset from upper left corner. This is only if both marq-x and marq-y are positive
}}

{{Option
|name=marq-y
|value=integer
|default=0
|description=Y offset from upper left corner. This is only if both marq-x and marq-y are positive
}}

{{Option
|name=position
|value=integer
|default=5
|description=Marquee position: 0=center, 1=left, 2=right, 4=top, 8=bottom, you can also use combinations of these values, eg 6 = top-right. This is only used if marq-x or marq-y are negative
}}

{{Option
|name=marq-opacity
|value=integer
|default=255
|description=Marquee opacity. 0 is transparent, 255 is fully opaque.
}}

{{Option
|name=marq-color
|value=integer
|default=16777215 (0xFFFFFF, white)
|description=Marquee color. Use the decimal value of the HTML color code.
}}

{{Option
|name=marq-size
|value=integer
|default=-1
|description=Font size in pixels. -1 uses the default font size
}}

{{Option
|name=marq-timeout
|value=integer
|default=0
|description=Number of millitseconds the marquee must remain displayed. 0 means forever.
}}

== Examples ==

Example command line use '''(VLC 0.9.0 and above)''':
% '''vlc --sub-filter "marq{marquee=\$t (\$P%%),color=16776960}:marq{marquee=%H:%m%s,position=6}" somevideo.avi'''
% '''vlc --sub-filter 'marq{marquee=$t ($P%%),color=16776960}:marq{marquee=%H:%m%s,position=6}' somevideo.avi'''
:This command line will show the stream's title ($t) and current position ($P) in the upper left corner and the current time in the upper right corner. Note that we have to escape $ characters when running this from command line in UNIX shells (this is why we use \$ instead of $). The second line uses single quotes to delimit the string so we don't need to escape the $ character.
:On windows the command line would be:
C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\>'''vlc.exe --sub-filter=marq{marquee=$t ($P%%),color=16776960}:marq{marquee=%H:%m%s,position=6} somevideo.avi'''

Example command line '''(VLC 8.6a and prior)''':
% '''vlc --sub-filter=marq --marq-marquee="Obvious Watermark" --marq-position=0 --marq-size=50 --marq-opacity=25 --marq-color=32768 somevideo.avi'''
:This command will show centered transparent green text. Text sized too large to fit the video window will not appear, and may crash VLC.

{{Stub}}

Documentation:Modules/marq

2007-04-01T12:36:28Z

Lexein: /* Examples */

{{Module|name=marq|type=Video subfilter|description=Overlays text on the video}}

The marq subfilter can be used to display text on a video.

== Options ==

{{Option
|name=marq-marquee
|value=string
|default=VLC
|description=Marquee text to display. Since VLC version 0.9.0 you can use [[Documentation:Play_HowTo/Format_String|format strings]] to display meta data and time information}}

{{Option
|name=marq-x
|value=integer
|default=-1
|description=X offset from upper left corner. This is only if both marq-x and marq-y are positive
}}

{{Option
|name=marq-y
|value=integer
|default=0
|description=Y offset from upper left corner. This is only if both marq-x and marq-y are positive
}}

{{Option
|name=position
|value=integer
|default=5
|description=Marquee position: 0=center, 1=left, 2=right, 4=top, 8=bottom, you can also use combinations of these values, eg 6 = top-right. This is only used if marq-x or marq-y are negative
}}

{{Option
|name=marq-opacity
|value=integer
|default=255
|description=Marquee opacity. 0 is transparent, 255 is fully opaque.
}}

{{Option
|name=marq-color
|value=integer
|default=16777215 (0xFFFFFF, white)
|description=Marquee color. Use the decimal value of the HTML color code.
}}

{{Option
|name=marq-size
|value=integer
|default=-1
|description=Font size in pixels. -1 uses the default font size
}}

{{Option
|name=marq-timeout
|value=integer
|default=0
|description=Number of millitseconds the marquee must remain displayed. 0 means forever.
}}

== Examples ==

Example command line use (VLC 0.9.0 and above):
% '''vlc --sub-filter "marq{marquee=\$t (\$P%%),color=16776960}:marq{marquee=%H:%m%s,position=6}" somevideo.avi'''
% '''vlc --sub-filter 'marq{marquee=$t ($P%%),color=16776960}:marq{marquee=%H:%m%s,position=6}' somevideo.avi'''
:This command line will show the stream's title ($t) and current position ($P) in the upper left corner and the current time in the upper right corner. Note that we have to escape $ characters when running this from command line in UNIX shells (this is why we use \$ instead of $). The second line uses single quotes to delimit the string so we don't need to escape the $ character.
:On windows the command line would be:
C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\>'''vlc.exe --sub-filter=marq{marquee=$t ($P%%),color=16776960}:marq{marquee=%H:%m%s,position=6} somevideo.avi'''

Example command line for '''VLC 8.6a and prior''':
% '''vlc --sub-filter=marq --marq-marquee="Obvious Watermark" --marq-position=0 --marq-size=50 --marq-opacity=25 --marq-color=32768 somevideo.avi'''
:This command will show centered transparent green text. Text sized too large to fit the video window will not appear, and may crash VLC.

{{Stub}}