Blank Video Files

[Samantha Jansen]

I hope someone can shed some light on this situation.
Sometimes when I download a video from a website, the video playback is BLANK (white screen) but the sound is still perfect.
Why is this happening? Is there something I can do to fix it?

This is super frustrating :(
I've tried redownloading the file on a different size/format - problem persists.

Any ideas?

[Samantha Jansen]

Also, the videos' seem to be VIMEO videos.
But again - this is not happening with all the videos. Only some :(

116

[mig]

Do we agree you are running 6.2.0 ?

[Samantha Jansen]

Yep. Everything is up to date. No updates pending.

[mig]

Are you able to download and play this video https://vimeo.com/192603372 ?

What if you play the video with VLC http://videolan.org/ ?

[Samantha Jansen]

Yep. That video downloads and plays fine.
With regard to the other videos that are on the membership site which aren't "viewable" - when I play them on VLC - same thing. White screen, but sound is 100% perfect.

90

[Javier Garcia]

I have the same problem, some videos from vimeo are downloaded with only the sound.

[mig]

Our problem for now is that we do not have usable URL to a vimeo video page having the problem. Can anyone post such a link ?

[Samantha Jansen]

So we have no answer for why this is happening? Or how to fix it??

[mig]

Basically no, as long as we haven't found an publicly accessible video link having the issue.

[Gary V]

I tried uploading the mp4 file created by VDH to Vimeo, and Vimeo displayed this error:

Invalid file

There was a problem with the file you tried to upload. Either it’s not a video file or it uses a codec we don’t accept.

Mediainfo reports the following on this file:

General

Complete name                            : N:\Own Vaccines Revealed.mp4

Format                                   : iso5

Codec ID                                 : iso5 (iso6/mp41)

File size                                : 14.4 MiB

Duration                                 : 4 min

Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable

Overall bit rate                         : 482 kb/s

 

Video

ID                                       : 1

Format                                   : AVC

Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec

Format profile                           : Main@L3

Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes

Format settings, ReFrames                : 4 frames

Codec ID                                 : avc1

Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding

Duration                                 : 4 min

Bit rate                                 : 352 kb/s

Width                                    : 640 pixels

Height                                   : 360 pixels

Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9

Frame rate mode                          : Constant

Frame rate                               : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS

Color space                              : YUV

Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0

Bit depth                                : 8 bits

Scan type                                : Progressive

Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.064

Stream size                              : 10.5 MiB (73%)

Writing library                          : x264 core 148 r10 b97ae06

Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x1:0x111 / me=hex / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=0 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=11 / lookahead_threads=1 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / stitchable=1 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=infinite / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=20.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=5 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=550 / vbv_bufsize=600 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=none / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00

Color range                              : Limited

Color primaries                          : BT.601 NTSC

Transfer characteristics                 : BT.601

Matrix coefficients                      : BT.601

mdhd_Duration                            : 251042

 

Audio

ID                                       : 2

Format                                   : AAC

Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec

Format profile                           : LC

Codec ID                                 : 40

Duration                                 : 4 min

Source duration                          : 4 min

Bit rate mode                            : Variable

Bit rate                                 : 128 kb/s

Channel(s)                               : 2 channels

Channel positions                        : Front: L R

Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz

Frame rate                               : 46.875 FPS (1024 spf)

Compression mode                         : Lossy

Stream size                              : 3.83 MiB (27%)

Source stream size                       : 3.83 MiB (27%)

Default                                  : Yes

Alternate group                          : 1

mdhd_Duration                            : 251042

[mig]

Sorry Gary but this does not help much.

What we all need is a public link to a vimeo video causing the problem.

[Gary V]

OK, still looking.

In the meantime I compared the MEDIAINFO stats between the MP4 that has the problem with another MP4 from Vimeo that works and found the following differences:

Format profile is High@L3.1 (good) vs Main@L3 (bad)

and the following parameters show up on the bad one whereas they are absent on the good one:

[Akuna Matata]

Video download helper downloads the video but NO SOUND.

In some cases, this may be because some videos (e.g. vimeo) play without sound via the browser on your system 

(e.g. on my system running ubuntu 14.04, using either chromium or Firefox).

Examples:

* youryearofmiracles.com/2017/webinar-replay/

* https://player.vimeo.com/video/199098497

These play fine and downloads fine under windows 10 but not under my ubuntu 14.04 

(yes I know there are newer versions of ubuntu, but cannot upgrade at the moment)

While this may well partly be a ubuntu issue (ubuntu geeks please point me in the right direction on other forum, could not find anything), 

it only appeared recently...

I hope this info is useful anyway.

[mig]

This is the exact same code running in Ubuntu and Windows, so the problem is with the player, not the capture. It is likely that your current player on Ubuntu (which one is it ?) does not support the codec being used in the video.
If you don't want to upgrade from 14.04 to 16.04 (which is the latest LTR by the way), you may want to use another like VLC or mplayer.

[Radar]

I tried downloading the video at:  https://vimeo.com/192603372 and playing in VLC.  The audio is fine but the video is just a black screen.

Here is another video which does not work for me:  https://vimeo.com/199243440

thanks for the help

[Radar]

VLC is ver 2.2.4
DVH is v6.2.0

[mig]

Thanks for the samples.

I have had no particular problem capturing/replaying https://vimeo.com/192603372. Can anyone reading this thread share their experience downloading this video (it's a short one) ?

I've had problems with https://vimeo.com/199243440 however if the audio is something regular, the video is basically just screenshots and it could be something specific with the vimeo player synchronizing them with the audio. I'm not sure this is something VDH can actually capture.

So, still looking for a regular vimeo video that produces bogus a bogus video stream.

[Samantha Jansen]

Mig, I'd be happy to email you (or whomever the correct person is) access information to the membership site and indicate which videos are the problematic one.
Obviously I wouldn't be able to make the membership details public here. Where should I mail the details to?

[mig]

Thank you but we really need a public link so we can keep testing on it in the long run.

[Fransergio Paiva]

What is a public vimeo link? Is it a link that can be accessed without a login, or is it a link where the video is in the public domain?

[mig]

A link that can be accessed without membership of any kind. The fact the video itself is in the public domain does not matter as long as the video is for personal viewing.

[Fransergio Paiva]

Put the link here or send it by email?

[mig]

There is no harm sharing in this forum a link to a legit web page.

[Fransergio Paiva]

Sample link to the problem (vimeo - DASH Transmition)
https://vimeo.com/19174356 --> resolution 720p, 360
https://vimeo.com/19174356 --> Resolution 270 does not present a problem

Tests made with Windows7 (Firefox 50, VDH 6.2.0) and Windows10 (Firefox 47.0.1, VDH 6.2.0 and old version [can not remember which one])
Player VLC 2.2.4
The problem also occurs on another video site.


Files that are "audio only", when opened in a video editor, display audio and video correctly but with little more than the nominal duration. That is, a video that is presented with 3:48, the editor shows that he has 7:27 being,
From 0:00 to 3:48 => audio and video ok
3:49 a 7:27 => without audio or video.

And also .. although they are ".mp4", the video editor has identified it as an ".avi".

[Fransergio Paiva]

File scan without problem:
General

Format                         : iso5
Codec ID                       : iso5

File size                      : 9.67 MiB
Duration                       : 3mn 43s

Overall bit rate mode          : Variable

Overall bit rate               : 362 Kbps

Video
ID                             : 1
Format                         : AVC
Format/Info                    : Advanced Video Codec

Format profile                 : Baseline@L3
Format settings, CABAC         : No
Format settings, ReFrames      : 3 frames

Codec ID                       : avc1
Codec ID/Info                  : Advanced Video Coding

Duration                       : 3mn 43s
Bit rate                       : 257 Kbps
Width                          : 480 pixels
Height                         : 270 pixels

Display aspect ratio           : 16:9
Frame rate mode                : Constant

Frame rate                     : 25.000 fps

Color space                    : YUV
Chroma subsampling             : 4:2:0
Bit depth                      : 8 bits
Scan type                      : Progressive

Bits/(Pixel*Frame)             : 0.079
Stream size                    : 6.86 MiB (71%)
Writing library                : x264 core 146 r16 121396c
Encoding settings              : cabac=0 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x1:0x111 / me=hex / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=0 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=84 / lookahead_threads=2 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / stitchable=1 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=0 / weightp=0 / keyint=infinite / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=18.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=5 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=330 / vbv_bufsize=900 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=none / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00

Audio
ID                             : 2
Format                         : AAC
Format/Info                    : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile                 : LC
Codec ID                       : 40

Duration                       : 3mn 43s
Source duration                : 3mn 43s
Bit rate mode                  : Variable
Bit rate                       : 103 Kbps

Channel(s)                     : 2 channels
Channel positions              : Front: L R

Sampling rate                  : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode               : Lossy
Stream size                    : 2.75 MiB (28%)
Source stream size             : 2.75 MiB (28%)
mdhd_Duration                  : 223880

[Fransergio Paiva]

File scan with problem:

General
Format                         : iso5
Codec ID                       : iso5

File size                      : 57.6 MiB
Duration                       : 3mn 43s
Overall bit rate               : 2 157 Kbps
Writing application            : Lavf57.61.100

Video
ID                             : 1
Format                         : AVC
Format/Info                    : Advanced Video Codec

Format profile                 : High@L3.1
Format settings, CABAC         : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames      : 4 frames

Codec ID                       : avc1
Codec ID/Info                  : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                       : 3mn 43s

Bit rate                       : 1 996 Kbps
Width                          : 1 280 pixels
Height                         : 720 pixels

Display aspect ratio           : 16:9
Frame rate mode                : Constant
Frame rate                     : 25.000 fps
Color space                    : YUV
Chroma subsampling             : 4:2:0
Bit depth                      : 8 bits
Scan type                      : Progressive

Bits/(Pixel*Frame)             : 0.087
Stream size                    : 53.3 MiB (93%)
Writing library                : Vimeo Encoder

Audio
ID                             : 2
Format                         : AAC
Format/Info                    : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile                 : LC
Codec ID                       : 40
Duration                       : 3mn 43s

Bit rate                       : 158 Kbps

Channel(s)                     : 2 channels
Channel positions              : Front: L R

Sampling rate                  : 44.1 KHz
Compression mode               : Lossy
Stream size                    : 4.20 MiB (7%)

[mig]

Excellent, i can reproduce the issue from the video at https://vimeo.com/19174356 (720p variant). Many thanks !

[Samantha Jansen]

Great! You've found a video in which to replicate the issue. I hope we can get this fixed. Is been driving me nuts haha! Will keep an eye on the forum

[Radar]

mig, thanks very much for looking into this.  it's very frustrating

[Kakalo Silva]

MIG,
the problem with vimeo videos is recent (since 2 week ago ). i have no problem with old videos.
 I use vlc on debian linux and i see old vimeo videos, but the news, only audio like others people here.
 so when i can see the the news videos only windows media player after this how to:
1. Media Player 6.4 (or better) must be installed on your system.
   If you don't know what version you have, open Media Player and
   click Help menu and then About item. If necessary, download
   Media Player from www.microsoft.com
2. Un-zip the folder, right-mouse-button click on mpeg4fix.inf
   and choose install from the popup menu.
You have now installed MPG4, MP42, and MP43. If you still can't view the clip, reboot your system.
this how to install this dll : MPG4C32.DLL

[Radar]

Thanks, Kakalo.  I forgot I even had Windows Media Player installed in my Windows 10 because I use VLC for everything. 

WMP does, in fact, play the mp4 I downloaded from vimeo, using Video Download Helper (v 6.2.0).  This same video does NOT play in VLC - well, I can hear the audio, but the video is  just a black screen.

So, I hope this information helps you, mig, determine what the problem might be.

thanks, everyone

[Fransergio Paiva]

In my case, both old and new video gives the problem. I tested on a website (which is not vimeo or youtube) and a video that had already downloaded successfully, a new download gave problem.

[Jasper Williams]

Who uses microsoft's mediaplayer-spyware anymore?
Try getting some codecs and uninstalling everything microsoft has.

[Radar]

I just got a message saying:   "Request response status 410"  What does this mean?

[Gary V]

MIG, I'm now able to download DASH streaming MP4's from VIMEO and see the video. These are the same MP4's that failed 5 to 6 days ago.

Not sure if this is a fix from you or from VIMEO, but in any case, a big THANKS for your attention to this issue!

[David Miller]

I've just noticed the same thing. Vimeo files that would not play after downloading are now working properly. Strange but a good development.

[mig]

Hummm. I've been working on this issue for  a week and i understood better about the problem. I thought about a possible solution but did not implemented it (it's rather complicated and uncertain).

So if it's now working, it's either Vimeo streaming those videos differently (the failing ones were generated by a software internally named "Vimeo encoder", while the working ones were made with the VLC x264 library), or VLC player has been updated to be able to deal with the way the Vimeo encoder generates their stream.

This being said, if i go to https://vimeo.com/19174356 and download the 640x360 variant, i still get the same 20074709 bytes file (Vimeo encoder generated) and since my VLC player (v2.2.2 for Linux) did not update, i obtain the same result (video does not play, only audio stream). Can you try download this video/variant and let me know the exact size of the file (ideally the MD5 signature, in my case e4b948f89a1daec18005a2dbbd67adc4) ?

[Gary V]

MIG, I downloaded the vimeo file you requested, and it is the same exact size as yours. My VLC player v2.2.4 also will not play the video, only the audio.

[Javier Garcia]

I dont know if you or vimeo have changed anything but for me today is working with videos that last week didn´t work.

Thank for th time invested on it.

[David Miller]

I tried the example Vimeo file. The downloaded file will not play video, just audio. MD5 value and file size are exactly what you see.

I also went back to recheck the videos (private videos from a course I'm taking) I was originally having issues with. They now download and play properly as I indicated yesterday. This was not the case several days ago.

My VLC version is OS X v2.2.4 and has not been upgraded recently. Nothing else with my configuration has changed recently either.

Thank you for the time and effort you are putting into this.

[mig]

Thanks for the feedbacks.

At this point, we should consider that vimeo "fixed" their h264 encoder in such a way that the ffmpeg-based decoders can now retrieve the codec parameters successfully. They have not (yet) re-encoded all the videos and we have one example of a video that (still) does not work.

I am going to put the development of a fix on hold for now (as i said above, it is a lot of work with no guaranty of success) and wait for more feedback.

Thanks again for your help on this topic.