Subsonic Forum

Hi all
All my videos stop playing at 30 seconds (or less).
It seems to be quit consistent over all video streams.

Here is the line from the log:

Code: Select all

[1/10/17 4:15:18 AM GMT]   INFO   TranscodeInputStream   Starting transcoder: /var/subsonic/transcode/ffmpeg -ss 80 -t 10 -i /media/amnsr/A1_1T1/FILMS/1951/L'asso nella manica (Ace in the hole, 1951) Kirk Douglas - BD - Ita eng .mkv -s 960x698 -v 0 -b:v 3000k -maxrate 3000k -bufsize 256k -flags -global_header -map 0:0 -map 0:1 -ac 2 -f mpegts -c:v libx264 -preset superfast -c:a aac -b:a 96k -strict -2 -threads 0 -copyts -


[update] This seems to happen with Chrome and Opera, but curiously not with Firefox.

Best
Gabriel

License Subsonic Premium (expires May 29, 2017)
Version 6.0 (build a7857c) – April 30, 2016
Server jetty-6.1.x, java 1.8.0_111, Linux (73.9 MB / 133.5 MB)

To be precise, they seem to freeze exactly at 20 seconds.

Hi,
Your update is very interesting:

This seems to happen with Chrome and Opera, but curiously not with Firefox.

This leads me to think that it's not a Subsonic-issue but more a Chrome and Opera Issue.
If Subsonic streams your video fine to Firefox, it means that it is also streaming fine to Chrome and Opera, but something in these browser cause the session to lock up after 20 seconds.
Ever tried to clear the browser cache and temporary files for these browsers?

I can remember that a friend of me had a similar issue with music when he logged on to my Subsonic-server.
He always complained the music was stuttering and skipping. He used Chrome on a Windows machine.
I adviced him to use Internet Explorer and the issue was resolved. Chrome isn't that good apparently.

Perhaps look at the console logs? Sometimes I see "NETWORK_CONNECTION_RESET" type of errors when playback suddenly stops.

Also, if using the "*.subsonic.org" address, try switching to the direct connection's address instead. I've had issues with the redirects for large files before.

Cleaning Chrome's cash did not work.

"Also, if using the "*.subsonic.org" address, try switching to the direct connection's address instead. I've had issues with the redirects for large files before."

I cannot ask this to my users.

if you google on "Chrome problems streaming video" you'll find that in the past the problem was caused by a buggy flashversion or a Chrome plug-in that messed things up.
Perhaps you might try to remove Chrome and all of it's plug-ins you've installed and reinstall a clean copy of Chrome to see if that fixes the problem.
Again; Since you found that Subsonic can stream flawless to Firefox, it must be something in Chrome which causes the problem.

First of all, thanks all for your comments.

I did try to reset Chrome with no success.

To make an independent assessment, I tried with two other devices and two operating systems:
On Android:
- Chrome has no plug-ins. Behaviour is the same, ie not working.
- Firefox works
- Dolphin and Opera: same as Chrome: not working

On Win 7 PC:
- (Resetted) Chrome (with no plug-in enabled): not working
- Fresh install Chrome: not working
- Firefox works

[Update]
On Win 10 PC:
- Chrome: not working
- Opera: not working
- Edge: works

Therefore, I would not conclude that "Chrome does not work" (also other browsers do not work, even on different operating systems).
I would rather conclude that the interaction between FlowPlayer and Chrome (and some other browsers) has some problem.

"If" that is the case, then the fact that Firefox works should give an hint on how to fix such 'interaction'. Most likely, this is not to be solved in every Chrome browser, though, but on the side of the SubSonic server.

Just to be clear, this might be specific to my installation of SubSonic server, not a general issue.

Am I saying anything unreasonable?

Since you are the only one that reports having issues with streaming video in various browsers I'm afraid it indeed is something in your setup which is interfering.
I have searched this forum for similar problems but it doesn't seem to be much of a problem with other users.
If you logon to your Subsonic-server and play a video in Chrome does it freeze at 20 seconds?
If so there are some options I can think of:
- you might need to look at the transcoding configuration for video?
- is your server powerfull enough?
- Perhaps you need to allocate more memory to Subsonic?
- Maybe there is a problem with your network-connection?
- Did you try to install Subsonic on the Windows 10 machine and stream video from that server?
- What's your uploadspeed?
If you don't have any issues playing video directly on your subsonic-server than there could be some problems with your network settings.
I guess Edge and Firefox are just a bit better in buffering streaming media and that's why your video's don't freeze in these browsers.

If you logon to your Subsonic-server and play a video in Chrome does it freeze at 20 seconds?
Yes
If so there are some options I can think of:
- you might need to look at the transcoding configuration for video?
That would require higher technical knowledge that the one I have. Any configuration to suggest?
[update] I tried this:http://forum.subsonic.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16801 with no visible difference

- is your server powerfull enough?
Yes, it works with other browsers
- Perhaps you need to allocate more memory to Subsonic?
Not sure what this means. How do I try that? (But I do not see why streaming from one browser or an other should require more ram to the server)
- Maybe there is a problem with your network-connection?
No. It works with other browsers
- Did you try to install Subsonic on the Windows 10 machine and stream video from that server?
Yes. Exactly the same behaviour
- What's your uploadspeed?
15.6 Mbps

Since you tried everything without any succes I really wouldn't know how to help you any more.
Just one thing:

- Perhaps you need to allocate more memory to Subsonic?
Not sure what this means. How do I try that? (But I do not see why streaming from one browser or an other should require more ram to the server)

- You can allocate more memory to subsonic by clicking Subsonic's tray-icon on your server. On the tab Settings you can change how much memory Subsonic may reserve. I believe the default setting is 256 MB.
By increasing the memory you can test if Subsonic's is able to stream the transcoded video more fluently which might sove your problem.
If that doesn't help than I can only tell you to just advice your users to use Firefox.