playing .mp4 in VLC freezes machine

[zak wylde]

VLC was running fine on 15.10 but since upgrading, video files (e.g. .mp4) play for a few minutes and then crash the whole machine (i.e. I have to power off and on). Possibly linked is that audio (in web pages or playing audio files thru Banshee) loops (stutters) for about a second every few minutes (but doesn't crash the machine).

vlc-nox: /usr/bin/vlc

Description: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
Release: 16.04

vlc:
  Installed: 2.2.2-5
  Candidate: 2.2.2-5
  Version table:
 *** 2.2.2-5 500
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/universe amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
Package: vlc 2.2.2-5
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.4.0-21.37-generic 4.4.6
Uname: Linux 4.4.0-21-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: wl
ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: Unity
Date: Sun Apr 24 19:20:41 2016
InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-02-17 (797 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.10 "Saucy Salamander" - Release amd64 (20131016.1)
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=en_GB:en
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
 LANG=en_GB.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: vlc
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to xenial on 2016-04-22 (2 days ago)

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[juhakn (juhakn)]

Happens me too. Hangs whole box, no other option than power off.

Linux x 4.4.0-21-generic #37-Ubuntu SMP Mon Apr 18 18:33:37 UTC 2016 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
VLC media player 2.2.2 Weatherwax (revision 2.2.2-0-g6259d80)

Intel® Core™2 Quad CPU Q9550 @ 2.83GHz × 4
Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV730 (DRM 2.43.0, LLVM 3.8.0)
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS 64-bit

[Brandon Snider (brandonsnider)]

Can you run vlc like this, from the cli:
vlc -vvv 2>vlc_output

You will then be left with a file called vlc_output, which you can post as an attachment. Also, can you run glxinfo|grep Vendor and paste the line in a reply here? Thanks.

[juhakn (juhakn)]

 Vendor: X.Org (0x1002)

vlc works normally. But when I start playing an mp4 file it hangs. Then no
output was written to the file.
Attached the file when no file was played.

2016-04-30 22:27 GMT+03:00 Brandon Snider <email address hidden>:

> Can you run vlc like this, from the cli:
> vlc -vvv 2>vlc_output
>
> You will then be left with a file called vlc_output, which you can post
> as an attachment. Also, can you run glxinfo|grep Vendor and paste the
> line in a reply here? Thanks.
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1574354
>
> Title:
> playing .mp4 in VLC freezes machine
>
> Status in vlc package in Ubuntu:
> Confirmed
>
> Bug description:
> VLC was running fine on 15.10 but since upgrading, video files (e.g.
> .mp4) play for a few minutes and then crash the whole machine (i.e. I
> have to power off and on). Possibly linked is that audio (in web pages
> or playing audio files thru Banshee) loops (stutters) for about a
> second every few minutes (but doesn't crash the machine).
>
> vlc-nox: /usr/bin/vlc
>
> Description: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
> Release: 16.04
>
> vlc:
> Installed: 2.2.2-5
> Candidate: 2.2.2-5
> Version table:
> *** 2.2.2-5 500
> 500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/universe amd64
> Packages
> 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
>
> ProblemType: Bug
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
> Package: vlc 2.2.2-5
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.4.0-21.37-generic 4.4.6
> Uname: Linux 4.4.0-21-generic x86_64
> NonfreeKernelModules: wl
> ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2
> Architecture: amd64
> CurrentDesktop: Unity
> Date: Sun Apr 24 19:20:41 2016
> InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-02-17 (797 days ago)
> InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.10 "Saucy Salamander" - Release amd64
> (20131016.1)
> ProcEnviron:
> LANGUAGE=en_GB:en
> PATH=(custom, no user)
> XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
> LANG=en_GB.UTF-8
> SHELL=/bin/bash
> SourcePackage: vlc
> UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to xenial on 2016-04-22 (2 days ago)
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/vlc/+bug/1574354/+subscriptions
>

--
--J.K--

[Rémi Denis-Courmont (rdenis)]

Does it crash if you play audio files?
Does it crash if you start vlc as 'vlc --avcodec-hw none' then play video?
Does it crash if you start vlc as 'vlc --vout x11' then play video?
Does it crash if you start vlc as 'vlc --avcodec-hw none --vout x11' then play video?

[juhakn (juhakn)]

Nice.
All these seem to work fine, no hang:
Does it crash if you start vlc as 'vlc --avcodec-hw none' then play video?
Does it crash if you start vlc as 'vlc --vout x11' then play video?
Does it crash if you start vlc as 'vlc --avcodec-hw none --vout x11' then
play video?

2016-04-30 23:03 GMT+03:00 Rémi Denis-Courmont <email address hidden>:

> Does it crash if you play audio files?
> Does it crash if you start vlc as 'vlc --avcodec-hw none' then play video?
> Does it crash if you start vlc as 'vlc --vout x11' then play video?
> Does it crash if you start vlc as 'vlc --avcodec-hw none --vout x11' then
> play video?
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1574354
>
> Title:
> playing .mp4 in VLC freezes machine
>
> Status in vlc package in Ubuntu:
> Confirmed
>
> Bug description:
> VLC was running fine on 15.10 but since upgrading, video files (e.g.
> .mp4) play for a few minutes and then crash the whole machine (i.e. I
> have to power off and on). Possibly linked is that audio (in web pages
> or playing audio files thru Banshee) loops (stutters) for about a
> second every few minutes (but doesn't crash the machine).
>
> vlc-nox: /usr/bin/vlc
>
> Description: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
> Release: 16.04
>
> vlc:
> Installed: 2.2.2-5
> Candidate: 2.2.2-5
> Version table:
> *** 2.2.2-5 500
> 500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/universe amd64
> Packages
> 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
>
> ProblemType: Bug
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
> Package: vlc 2.2.2-5
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.4.0-21.37-generic 4.4.6
> Uname: Linux 4.4.0-21-generic x86_64
> NonfreeKernelModules: wl
> ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2
> Architecture: amd64
> CurrentDesktop: Unity
> Date: Sun Apr 24 19:20:41 2016
> InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-02-17 (797 days ago)
> InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.10 "Saucy Salamander" - Release amd64
> (20131016.1)
> ProcEnviron:
> LANGUAGE=en_GB:en
> PATH=(custom, no user)
> XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
> LANG=en_GB.UTF-8
> SHELL=/bin/bash
> SourcePackage: vlc
> UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to xenial on 2016-04-22 (2 days ago)
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/vlc/+bug/1574354/+subscriptions
>

--
--J.K--

[Rémi Denis-Courmont (rdenis)]

All of three of them?? That does not make much sense to be honest.

[juhakn (juhakn)]

This one hangs the computer:
vlc my.mp4

This one works perfectly ok:
vlc --avcodec-hw none my.mp4

This one actually does not look ok, the video gets blurred/tugs
vlc --vout x11 my.mp4
And I can see these errors in console:
[00007f6da0c17dc8] avcodec decoder: Using G3DVL VDPAU Driver Shared Library
version 1.0 for hardware decoding.
[00007f6d8003e208] blend blend error: no matching alpha blending routine
(chroma: YUVA -> VDV0)
[00007f6d8003e208] core blend error: blending YUVA to VDV0 failed
[00007f6d80032a78] core filter error: Failed to create video filter2

This one works ok too. no errors.
vlc --avcodec-hw none --vout x11 my.mp4

Thank you,
-jk

I need to go for today. Thanks for your help.

2016-04-30 23:30 GMT+03:00 Rémi Denis-Courmont <email address hidden>:

> All of three of them?? That does not make much sense to be honest.
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1574354
>
> Title:
> playing .mp4 in VLC freezes machine
>
> Status in vlc package in Ubuntu:
> Confirmed
>
> Bug description:
> VLC was running fine on 15.10 but since upgrading, video files (e.g.
> .mp4) play for a few minutes and then crash the whole machine (i.e. I
> have to power off and on). Possibly linked is that audio (in web pages
> or playing audio files thru Banshee) loops (stutters) for about a
> second every few minutes (but doesn't crash the machine).
>
> vlc-nox: /usr/bin/vlc
>
> Description: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
> Release: 16.04
>
> vlc:
> Installed: 2.2.2-5
> Candidate: 2.2.2-5
> Version table:
> *** 2.2.2-5 500
> 500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/universe amd64
> Packages
> 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
>
> ProblemType: Bug
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
> Package: vlc 2.2.2-5
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.4.0-21.37-generic 4.4.6
> Uname: Linux 4.4.0-21-generic x86_64
> NonfreeKernelModules: wl
> ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2
> Architecture: amd64
> CurrentDesktop: Unity
> Date: Sun Apr 24 19:20:41 2016
> InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-02-17 (797 days ago)
> InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.10 "Saucy Salamander" - Release amd64
> (20131016.1)
> ProcEnviron:
> LANGUAGE=en_GB:en
> PATH=(custom, no user)
> XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
> LANG=en_GB.UTF-8
> SHELL=/bin/bash
> SourcePackage: vlc
> UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to xenial on 2016-04-22 (2 days ago)
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/vlc/+bug/1574354/+subscriptions
>

--
--J.K--

[Brandon Snider (brandonsnider)]

Try this one: glxinfo|grep "OpenGL renderer string"

And also, vlc -v 2>vlc_output2

[Rémi Denis-Courmont (rdenis)]

Sounds like a bug in the graphic card video decoding driver

[juhakn (juhakn)]

OpenGL renderer string: Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV730 (DRM 2.43.0, LLVM 3.8.0)

--
vlc -v 2>vlc_output2, this one freezed the computer. After hard reset, this
much got written into file:

[00000000022f7148] core libvlc: Käynnistetään vlc oletuskäyttöliittymällä.
Aja "cvlc", jos haluat käyttää vlc:tä ilman käyttöliittymää.
[00007f0048c01868] mp4 demux warning: STTS table of 63 entries
[00007f0048c01868] mp4 demux warning: STTS table of 2 entries
[00007f0048d9bbc8] faad decoder warning: decoded zero sample
[00007f0048c18068] avcodec decoder: Using G3DVL VDPAU Driver Shared Library
version 1.0 for hardware decoding.
[00007f0024001268] core vout display warning: VoutDisplayEvent 'pictures
invalid'
[00007f0024001268] core vout display warning: VoutDisplayEvent 'pictures
invalid'
[00007f0024001268] core vout display warning: VoutDisplayEvent 'pictures
invalid'

2016-04-30 23:50 GMT+03:00 Brandon Snider <email address hidden>:

> Try this one: glxinfo|grep "OpenGL renderer string"
>
> And also, vlc -v 2>vlc_output2
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1574354
>
> Title:
> playing .mp4 in VLC freezes machine
>
> Status in vlc package in Ubuntu:
> Confirmed
>
> Bug description:
> VLC was running fine on 15.10 but since upgrading, video files (e.g.
> .mp4) play for a few minutes and then crash the whole machine (i.e. I
> have to power off and on). Possibly linked is that audio (in web pages
> or playing audio files thru Banshee) loops (stutters) for about a
> second every few minutes (but doesn't crash the machine).
>
> vlc-nox: /usr/bin/vlc
>
> Description: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
> Release: 16.04
>
> vlc:
> Installed: 2.2.2-5
> Candidate: 2.2.2-5
> Version table:
> *** 2.2.2-5 500
> 500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/universe amd64
> Packages
> 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
>
> ProblemType: Bug
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
> Package: vlc 2.2.2-5
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.4.0-21.37-generic 4.4.6
> Uname: Linux 4.4.0-21-generic x86_64
> NonfreeKernelModules: wl
> ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2
> Architecture: amd64
> CurrentDesktop: Unity
> Date: Sun Apr 24 19:20:41 2016
> InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-02-17 (797 days ago)
> InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.10 "Saucy Salamander" - Release amd64
> (20131016.1)
> ProcEnviron:
> LANGUAGE=en_GB:en
> PATH=(custom, no user)
> XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
> LANG=en_GB.UTF-8
> SHELL=/bin/bash
> SourcePackage: vlc
> UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to xenial on 2016-04-22 (2 days ago)
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/vlc/+bug/1574354/+subscriptions
>

--
--J.K--

[Brandon Snider (brandonsnider)]

Try playing the file with mpv --hwdec=vdpau --vo=vdpau file

You may have to install mpv.

[zak wylde (balloonbending)]

re #4

attached is my vlc_output - VLC ran for about 2 minutes before the crash.

[zak wylde (balloonbending)]

also re #4

glxinfo|grep Vendor gives me

Vendor: X.Org (0x1002)

[zak wylde (balloonbending)]

re #7

vlc --avcodec-hw none

has been running for 25 mins without a crash but cli is giving me the below warnings -

:~$ vlc --avcodec-hw none

VLC media player 2.2.2 Weatherwax (revision 2.2.2-0-g6259d80)
[00000000010e9148] core libvlc: Running vlc with the default interface. Use 'cvlc' to use vlc without interface.
[0000000001230e48] dbus interface error: poll() failed: Interrupted system call
[0000000001230e48] dbus interface error: poll() failed: Interrupted system call
[0000000001230e48] dbus interface error: poll() failed: Interrupted system call
[0000000001230e48] dbus interface error: poll() failed: Interrupted system call
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
QVariantMap DBusMenuExporterDBus::getProperties(int, const QStringList&) const: Condition failed: action
[00007efe6c0009b8] core input error: ES_OUT_SET_(GROUP_)PCR is called too late (pts_delay increased to 300 ms)
[00007efe6c0009b8] core input error: ES_OUT_RESET_PCR called
[00007efe6c0009b8] core input error: ES_OUT_SET_(GROUP_)PCR is called too late (pts_delay increased to 1313 ms)
[00007efe6c0009b8] core input error: ES_OUT_RESET_PCR called
[00007efe6c0009b8] core input error: ES_OUT_SET_(GROUP_)PCR is called too late (pts_delay increased to 1335 ms)
[00007efe6c0009b8] core input error: ES_OUT_RESET_PCR called
[00007efe6c0009b8] core input error: ES_OUT_SET_(GROUP_)PCR is called too late (pts_delay increased to 1344 ms)
[00007efe6c0009b8] core input error: ES_OUT_RESET_PCR called

[Donald Dwane Ross (ddwaner)]

The VLC 2.2 worked ok in 14, 15 now 16.04 the vlc started from a file manager will play the first .mp4 the first time and maybe the second and after that the sound plays with a black picture.
Avi ok
MPG ok
mkv problems
m4v problems
mp4 problems

After a sequential mp4 stops showing picture, a start of a avi will play ok.

[Lukáš Kříž (lukasojd)]

I have same problem on Ubuntu 16.04 after upgrade from 15...

Please fix this

[marc (marc-boyer)]

Same problems with fresh install Ubuntu mate 16.04 :

Avi ok
MPG ok
mp4 machine crashes and unusable till reboot

Thanks

[liquid2026 (liquid2026)]

On Ubuntu 16.04 LTS the system ist not actualy hanging. But it hangs for 1 minute. If you hit ALT+F4 in vlc the system will work fine after that (just wait a hole while).

My output is:
glxinfo|grep "OpenGL renderer string"
OpenGL renderer string: GeForce GTX 960/PCIe/SSE2

But i think its not the output. The system hangs up the X-Server by seeking on timeline.

We hope it will be fixed soon.

Thanks

[Azurit3 (azurit3)]

Same issue. I give up using VLC because of this and start using mpv.
Thanks for the "vlc --avcodec-hw none" now it's my workaround to use VLC.
I add it to the Exec at /usr/share/applications/vlc.desktop until its fixed.

Exec=/usr/bin/vlc --avcodec-hw none --started-from-file %U

[Rémi Denis-Courmont (rdenis)]

This is a bug in video drivers. VLC can't fix this. Please reassign.

[Brock Cochran (brock-cochran)]

I removed my regular VLC install, and I installed it as a snap package instead: sudo snap install vlc

VLC seems to play mp4 files fine with the VLC snap install.

[Tom Reynolds (tomreyn)]

I'm on Ubuntu 16.04.3 with mainline kernel

Linux version 4.13.2-041302-generic (kernel@tangerine) (gcc version 7.2.0 (Ubuntu 7.2.0-3ubuntu1)) #201709132057 SMP Thu Sep 14 00:59:32 UTC 2017

and mesa 1:17.3~git170914191100.7ffd4d2~x~padoka0 and X from the Padoka PPA.

OpenGL renderer string: Radeon RX 580 Series (POLARIS10 / DRM 3.18.0 / 4.13.2-041302-generic, LLVM 6.0.0)

With default VLC configuration (default Ubuntu package) I see the symptoms Donald describes in #18. While discussing this in #radeon on Freenode, it was suggested to me to try a different video output driver in VLC. It turns out it default to "automatic", which is, in this configuration, VDPAU output. And this causes said problems. Switching to "OpenGL GLX video output (XCB)" works around the issue.

So this seems to be an issue with VDPAU, but I could not tell on which end.

Does this workaround (switching to a different video output driver) work for you, too?

[Tom Reynolds (tomreyn)]

The file I'm testing with has a "H264 - MPEG-4 AVC (part 10) (avc1)" video track.

[ewr2san (mark-perino)]

Same problem (assumed) here with Kubuntu 16.04, and Kubuntu 17.10.
Nvidia 384.90 video drivers.

Seeking in large files causes VLC to hang freezing the desktop session.

Sometimes I can CTL-ALT-F2 and get a console session. VLC cant be killed, wont even die with a -9 for several minutes.

Sometimes I cant even CTL-ALT-F2 to a console. Graphical console is completely frozen.

I can ssh in, which leads me to believe that the problem is not that the entire system is frozen, just something in the video side.

Ive tried every setting in VLC I can from disabling hardware acceleration, use/dont use VDPAU, etc..

Other video players which do use HW Acceleration seem to have no issue. The larger the file, the more I seek/skip, the more likley VLC is to trigger the freeze.

Relevant Graphical PKGS:
rc libcg:amd64 3.1.0013-2 amd64 Nvidia Cg core runtime library
rc libcggl:amd64 3.1.0013-2 amd64 Nvidia Cg Opengl runtime library
   all X Window System (X.Org) infrastructure
ii xfonts-utils 1:7.7+4 amd64 X Window System font utility programs
ii xorg 1:7.7+19ubuntu3 amd64 X.Org X Window System
ii libvdpau1:amd64 1.1.1-3ubuntu1 amd64 Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix (libraries)
ii libvdpau1:i386 1.1.1-3ubuntu1 i386 Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix (libraries)
ii mesa-vdpau-drivers:amd64 17.2.2-0ubuntu1 amd64 Mesa VDPAU video acceleration drivers
ii mesa-vdpau-drivers:i386 17.2.2-0ubuntu1 i386 Mesa VDPAU video acceleration drivers
ii vdpau-driver-all:amd64 1.1.1-3ubuntu1 amd64 Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix (driver metapackage)
ii vdpau-driver-all:i386 1.1.1-3ubuntu1 i386 Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix (driver metapackage)
ii vdpau-va-driver:amd64 0.7.4-6 amd64 VDPAU-based backend for VA API
ii vdpau-va-driver:i386 0.7.4-6 i386 VDPAU-based backend for VA API
ii vdpauinfo 1.0-1 amd64 Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix (vdpauinfo utility)
ii libvlc-bin:amd64 2.2.6-6 amd64 tools for VLC's base library
ii libvlc5:amd64 2.2.6-6 amd64 multimedia player and streamer library
r...

[Mahendra Tallur (mahen)]

Hi ! I encounter this issue too (complete X freeze sometimes when seeking too much in videos in VLC).
I thought that was related to using Nvidia VDPAU. I saw this behaviour on 2 very different machines.

Using KDE Neon based on Ubuntu 16.04. Tried latest NVIDIA drivers & VLC PPA. This PPA is quite outdated, though. But as this is a complete X freeze (sometimes I cannot even switch to the console) it seems quite low-level.

[Martin Rosenau (martin-djr)]

I run Ubuntu 17.10 but I use Xorg instead of Wayland by default.

When I play some MP4 videos using VLC the entire system seems to freeze but I still can move the mouse cursor (only keys and mouse buttons have no effect any more).

The key combination Ctrl+Alt+F1 however still works - using this combination I can log in with a different user.

Logged in as the other user everything works.

The only possibility to get the first user running again is to kill the Xorg X server.

(Even killing VLC won't work.)

For this reason I assume that a bug in the X server is the problem.

[antubis (avreon)]

I am having the same issue. Ubuntu 17.10 with VLC. When seeking an mp4 file, at some point, always different, the video freezes, the mouse cursor freezes and the PC become irresponsible. I sometimes am able to recover by switching PC to Airplane mode. Don't know why but it unfreeze it. But only sometimes.

I did try with the different video output but the issue keeps happening. Ultimately I switched back to the default video player cause I don't want to reboot my system every time I want to skip recaps.

My video card is Nvidia for what is worth.

[Kulasangar Gowrisangar (kulasangar)]

I'm using the latest version of 17.10 and whenever I play videos on full screen, the OS get freezed.
Hence I had to restart my machine, every single time in order to get back alive. The file I've played was a .mp4 file.

[Mahendra Tallur (mahen)]

Hi everyone ! Considering the potentially very wide scope of a bug that would freeze the X server, could you guys & gals give more details ?

- OS / ARCH
- GPU
- Proprietary or open source driver ?
- X or Wayland ?
- Any PPA ?
- How often the bug occurs ? Is it completely random ?
- Does it occur with specific videos ? Codecs ?
- Does it only occur when seeking into the video ?
- In the VLC preferences, what video mode chosen ?
- Does it freeze only VLC, the whole session or the whole server ? Can you kill it from the console ?
- Do you have similar freezes / crashes in other apps ?

As for me : it occurs in Ubuntu 16.04 (KDE Neon actually). Nvidia GTX 1060 + proprietary driver. Bug is random and occurs when seeking a lot into the video. It seems only to occur in VDPAU mode (hardware decoding). I have no other crash at all in any video player or even complex Steam game. I didn't double check with other VDPAU player.

This is potentially a massive bug (it occurred on secveral of my machines and freezes the whole session)... Maybe it'll just "disappear" when switching to VLC 3 or Wayland...

[erick (droblivion)]

Here's mine, it occurs in 16.04.3 with VLC 2.2.8 even, really bad HANG, VLC unusable!

Code:
$ cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor : 0
vendor_id : AuthenticAMD
cpu family : 21
model : 2
model name : AMD FX-8370 Eight-Core Processor
stepping : 0
microcode : 0x6000822
cpu MHz : 4013.355
cache size : 2048 KB
physical id : 0
siblings : 8
core id : 0
cpu cores : 4
apicid : 16
initial apicid : 0
fpu : yes
fpu_exception : yes
cpuid level : 13
wp : yes
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 ht syscall nx mmxext fxsr_opt pdpe1gb rdtscp lm constant_tsc rep_good nopl nonstop_tsc extd_apicid aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq monitor ssse3 fma cx16 sse4_1 sse4_2 popcnt aes xsave avx f16c lahf_lm cmp_legacy svm extapic cr8_legacy abm sse4a misalignsse 3dnowprefetch osvw ibs xop skinit wdt lwp fma4 tce nodeid_msr tbm topoext perfctr_core perfctr_nb cpb hw_pstate vmmcall bmi1 arat npt lbrv svm_lock nrip_save tsc_scale vmcb_clean flushbyasid decodeassists pausefilter pfthreshold
bugs : fxsave_leak sysret_ss_attrs
bogomips : 8026.71
TLB size : 1536 4K pages
clflush size : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes : 48 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management: ts ttp tm 100mhzsteps hwpstate cpb eff_freq_ro

$ cat /proc/meminfo
MemTotal: 16327236 kB
MemFree: 3861744 kB
MemAvailable: 6537840 kB
Buffers: 768504 kB
Cached: 2118356 kB
SwapCached: 0 kB
Active: 10177264 kB
Inactive: 1556404 kB
Active(anon): 8848968 kB
Inactive(anon): 221208 kB
Active(file): 1328296 kB
Inactive(file): 1335196 kB
Unevictable: 312 kB
Mlocked: 312 kB
SwapTotal: 62498808 kB
SwapFree: 62498808 kB
Dirty: 372 kB
Writeback: 0 kB
AnonPages: 8849244 kB
Mapped: 950728 kB
Shmem: 223376 kB
Slab: 426344 kB
SReclaimable: 350860 kB
SUnreclaim: 75484 kB
KernelStack: 23808 kB
PageTables: 91920 kB
NFS_Unstable: 0 kB
Bounce: 0 kB
WritebackTmp: 0 kB
CommitLimit: 70662424 kB
Committed_AS: 20592300 kB
VmallocTotal: 34359738367 kB
VmallocUsed: 0 kB
VmallocChunk: 0 kB
HardwareCorrupted: 0 kB
AnonHugePages: 5269504 kB
CmaTotal: 0 kB
CmaFree: 0 kB
HugePages_Total: 0
HugePages_Free: 0
HugePages_Rsvd: 0
HugePages_Surp: 0
Hugepagesize: 2048 kB
DirectMap4k: 423196 kB
DirectMap2M: 8908800 kB
DirectMap1G: 7340032 kB

$ cat /etc/*eleas*
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=16.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=xenial
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS"
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="16.04.3 LTS (Xenial Xerus)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS"
VERSION_ID="16.04"
HOME_URL="http://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="http://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="http://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
VERSION_CODENAME=xenial
UBUNTU_CODENAME=xenial

$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] RD890 PCI to PCI bridge (external gfx0 port B) (rev 02)
00:02.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] RD890 PCI to PCI bridge...

[Michael (miwait00)]

@mahen I can confirm, logging in through ssh and issuing 'killall -9 vlc' unfreezes the desktop after a few seconds.

Jumping back and forth in the video timeline really encourages a total freeze.

DISTRIB_ID=LinuxMint
DISTRIB_RELEASE=18.3
DISTRIB_CODENAME=sylvia
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia"
NAME="Linux Mint"
VERSION="18.3 (Sylvia)"
ID=linuxmint
ID_LIKE=ubuntu
PRETTY_NAME="Linux Mint 18.3"
VERSION_ID="18.3"
HOME_URL="http://www.linuxmint.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="http://forums.linuxmint.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="http://bugs.launchpad.net/linuxmint/"
VERSION_CODENAME=sylvia
UBUNTU_CODENAME=xenial

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Sky Lake Host Bridge/DRAM Registers (rev 07)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sky Lake PCIe Controller (x16) (rev 07)
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H USB 3.0 xHCI Controller (rev 31)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H CSME HECI #1 (rev 31)
00:17.0 SATA controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H SATA controller [AHCI mode] (rev 31)
00:1b.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H PCI Root Port #17 (rev f1)
00:1b.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H PCI Root Port #20 (rev f1)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H PCI Express Root Port #1 (rev f1)
00:1d.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H PCI Express Root Port #9 (rev f1)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H LPC Controller (rev 31)
00:1f.2 Memory controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H PMC (rev 31)
00:1f.3 Audio device: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H HD Audio (rev 31)
00:1f.4 SMBus: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H SMBus (rev 31)
00:1f.6 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation Ethernet Connection (2) I219-V (rev 31)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation Device 1b80 (rev a1)
01:00.1 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation Device 10f0 (rev a1)
03:00.0 SATA controller: ASMedia Technology Inc. ASM1062 Serial ATA Controller (rev 02)
04:00.0 USB controller: ASMedia Technology Inc. ASM1142 USB 3.1 Host Controller

i7-6700K
Nvidia GTX 1080 with 387.34-0ubuntu0~gpu16.04.2 via http://ppa.launchpad.net/graphics-drivers/ppa/ubuntu xenial/main amd64

VLC media player 2.2.2 Weatherwax (revision 2.2.2-0-g6259d80)

[Darkwarfighter (overlord)]

Same situation described by miwait00, I'm running an Nvidia GTX 1050Ti with nvidia-384 driver, here's my vlc log, codec details and system info:

DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=16.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=xenial
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 16.04.4 LTS"

[Timo Aaltonen (tjaalton)]

vlc works just fine on several machines here, closing

if you have further issues, open a new bug

[juhakn (juhakn)]

Toimii nykyisin.
Works now.
Thanks.
Juha

to 27. tammik. 2022 klo 15.35 Timo Aaltonen (<email address hidden>)
kirjoitti:

> vlc works just fine on several machines here, closing
>
> if you have further issues, open a new bug
>
> ** Changed in: mesa (Ubuntu)
> Status: Confirmed => Invalid
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1574354
>
> Title:
> playing .mp4 in VLC freezes machine
>
> Status in mesa package in Ubuntu:
> Invalid
>
> Bug description:
> VLC was running fine on 15.10 but since upgrading, video files (e.g.
> .mp4) play for a few minutes and then crash the whole machine (i.e. I
> have to power off and on). Possibly linked is that audio (in web pages
> or playing audio files thru Banshee) loops (stutters) for about a
> second every few minutes (but doesn't crash the machine).
>
> vlc-nox: /usr/bin/vlc
>
> Description: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
> Release: 16.04
>
> vlc:
> Installed: 2.2.2-5
> Candidate: 2.2.2-5
> Version table:
> *** 2.2.2-5 500
> 500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/universe amd64
> Packages
> 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
>
> ProblemType: Bug
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
> Package: vlc 2.2.2-5
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.4.0-21.37-generic 4.4.6
> Uname: Linux 4.4.0-21-generic x86_64
> NonfreeKernelModules: wl
> ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2
> Architecture: amd64
> CurrentDesktop: Unity
> Date: Sun Apr 24 19:20:41 2016
> InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-02-17 (797 days ago)
> InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.10 "Saucy Salamander" - Release amd64
> (20131016.1)
> ProcEnviron:
> LANGUAGE=en_GB:en
> PATH=(custom, no user)
> XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
> LANG=en_GB.UTF-8
> SHELL=/bin/bash
> SourcePackage: vlc
> UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to xenial on 2016-04-22 (2 days ago)
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/mesa/+bug/1574354/+subscriptions
>
>

--
--J.K--