Step Forward/Back is laggy.

[mattw1]

Long time VLC user. I use the Step Forward / Step Back and time bar features often. Of late I notice that when I try to step forward/back or use the slider on the time bar there is significant lag. In the past the movement to the spot I wanted to get to was instantaneous. My computer has not changed and it doesn't matter what kind of video, FLV, MP4 or AVI, it always lags.

I opened the same vids with MPC-HC and Windows Movies & TV to see it was a problem with Windows 10 and on those I can step forward or slide the time bar and the change is like VLC used to be, that is, instantaneous, so I know it is not a computer issue.

Does anyone know if there is a reason for this problem or if VLC is aware of it? Thanks.

[heisenberg83]

Same issue here too. I noticed that after new update.
Update: Downgrading to 3.0.11 immediately fixed this issue.
Hopefully this issue will be fixed in the future.

[mattw1]

Thx. Downgrade did the trick for me as well. Hopefully they will fix soon. Much appreciated.

[Hitchhiker]

Same issue here too. I noticed that after new update.
Update: Downgrading to 3.0.11 immediately fixed this issue.
Hopefully this issue will be fixed in the future.

It won't be fixed unless you report it as a bug: https://code.videolan.org/videolan/vlc/-/issues

Also, you're exposing your system to a security vulnerability by downgrading to a version older than 3.0.13.

[mattw1]

Thx Hitchhiker but I'm not sure if the link you provided is the place for someone like me. I am not a developer of any sort. Is there somewhere else I can report this as a bug?

[Lotesdelere]

As Hitchhiker said, the only place for a bug report is https://code.videolan.org/videolan/vlc/-/issues
Click on the New Issue blue button in top right corner.

[cbns]

Seeking is not only laggy, EVERYTHING is laggy. From startup, to seeking, to changing volume. An absolute nightmare. And this is running off a 5ghz 9900k with an intel optane.

reinstalling an older version immediately fixed it.

i have no idea what to file in the bug report. "new version is slow" ?

[meierhammer]

Same here, @Hitchhiker how do I collect some more information to report the issue? It is really unnverving ...

[Hitchhiker]

Long time VLC user. I use the Step Forward / Step Back and time bar features often. Of late I notice that when I try to step forward/back or use the slider on the time bar there is significant lag. In the past the movement to the spot I wanted to get to was instantaneous. My computer has not changed and it doesn't matter what kind of video, FLV, MP4 or AVI, it always lags.

I opened the same vids with MPC-HC and Windows Movies & TV to see it was a problem with Windows 10 and on those I can step forward or slide the time bar and the change is like VLC used to be, that is, instantaneous, so I know it is not a computer issue.

Does anyone know if there is a reason for this problem or if VLC is aware of it? Thanks.

You might want to try using an addon available for vlc called Time 3.2 https://addons.videolan.org/p/1154032/
There's an article on the subject here: https://aboutdevice.com/show-vlc-timing-in-millisecond/

[meierhammer]

@Hitchhiker, I have no idea how timestamps help us solve the issue. The film itself is in sync, but when I fast forward 10 secs it started immediately before the update and now the sound starts and the video is delayed by about a second. So there is some change in the video codec or how that is handled, but I have no idea how to report that other than what I just stated. Timecodes don't help at all in that situation.

[Hitchhiker]

@Hitchhiker, I have no idea how timestamps help us solve the issue. The film itself is in sync, but when I fast forward 10 secs it started immediately before the update and now the sound starts and the video is delayed by about a second. So there is some change in the video codec or how that is handled, but I have no idea how to report that other than what I just stated. Timecodes don't help at all in that situation.

No offence, but my suggestion was intended for the OP rather than yourself which is why I quoted his opening statement.

As regards the addon, it enables the user to define more precisely where to jump to in a video. In that respect the addon has the ability to configure a point in time in milliseconds.

[mattw1]

Long time VLC user. I use the Step Forward / Step Back and time bar features often. Of late I notice that when I try to step forward/back or use the slider on the time bar there is significant lag. In the past the movement to the spot I wanted to get to was instantaneous. My computer has not changed and it doesn't matter what kind of video, FLV, MP4 or AVI, it always lags.

I opened the same vids with MPC-HC and Windows Movies & TV to see it was a problem with Windows 10 and on those I can step forward or slide the time bar and the change is like VLC used to be, that is, instantaneous, so I know it is not a computer issue.

Does anyone know if there is a reason for this problem or if VLC is aware of it? Thanks.

You might want to try using an addon available for vlc called Time 3.2 https://addons.videolan.org/p/1154032/
There's an article on the subject here: https://aboutdevice.com/show-vlc-timing-in-millisecond/

For as long as I have been using VLC, which has to be at least 10 years, I have never needed an add-on in order step forward or back seamlessly. I doubt that an add-on is the solution and that it is just a bug in the latest update.

[zxl1d]

I also found this problem after I upgraded vlc from 3.0.12 to 3.0.14. It didn't take a long time to move forward and backward in version 3.0.12 or before, but problems occurred after the upgrade. I choose to downgrade back to 3.0.12, hoping to fix it later.

[Hitchhiker]

What I suggest you all do here is to install 3.0.15 (nightly build) and determine whether it fixes the problem or not. https://nightlies.videolan.org/

But to reiterate downgrading to a version prior to 3.0.13 shouldn't be considered due to the security risk involved.

[meierhammer]

Thanks, will try the nightly.

Just realized that it is fine for a film with this Codec: H264 - MPEG-4 AVC (part 10) (avc1)

But I get the lag for this one, strange .... Codec: H264 - MPEG-4 AVC (part 10) (H264)

Anybody else with info on the codec?

[tzx613]

downgrading to a version prior to 3.0.13 shouldn't be considered due to the security risk involved.

What exactly could happen? What are the risks?

[Hitchhiker]

downgrading to a version prior to 3.0.13 shouldn't be considered due to the security risk involved.

What exactly could happen? What are the risks?

Videolan security bulletin: https://www.videolan.org/security/sb-vlc3013.html

Remote code execution explained: https://blog.sqreen.com/remote-code-exe ... explained/

[threap]

I've just registered for this forum to confirm - for what it's worth - that I see this exact same issue with VLC 3.0.14 (Windows 10 20H2 b19042 x64). I've downgraded to 3.0.12, security issues be damned.
I'll file a bug report at the above link. My thanks to the VLC team!

Edit: I've filed a new issue - #25779 https://code.videolan.org/videolan/vlc/-/issues/25779. I'm happy to perform additional investigation steps or provide further info if it'll help resolve this.

Edit #2: I've installed nightly build 20210527-0621 (VLC 3.0.15 candidate) and it looks like the problem is resolved. I've tried a selection of video files of different codecs/resolutions, and haven't seen any issues in playback on any of them. I'll update my issue in the tracker.

[tzx613]

I've installed nightly build 20210527-0621 (VLC 3.0.15 candidate) and it looks like the problem is resolved. I've tried a selection of video files of different codecs/resolutions, and haven't seen any issues in playback on any of them. I'll update my issue in the tracker.

How does one get 3.0.15? The newest version for me seems to be 3.0.14.

[Hitchhiker]

How does one get 3.0.15? The newest version for me seems to be 3.0.14.

Go to https://nightlies.videolan.org/ and click the appropriate link to vlc 3.0 i.e. either 32-bit or 64-bit and then click the link at the top of the list which appears in the following menu..

[zxl1d]

I've just registered for this forum to confirm - for what it's worth - that I see this exact same issue with VLC 3.0.14 (Windows 10 20H2 b19042 x64). I've downgraded to 3.0.12, security issues be damned.
I'll file a bug report at the above link. My thanks to the VLC team!

Edit: I've filed a new issue - #25779 https://code.videolan.org/videolan/vlc/-/issues/25779. I'm happy to perform additional investigation steps or provide further info if it'll help resolve this.

Edit #2: I've installed nightly build 20210527-0621 (VLC 3.0.15 candidate) and it looks like the problem is resolved. I've tried a selection of video files of different codecs/resolutions, and haven't seen any issues in playback on any of them. I'll update my issue in the tracker.

The problem disappeared after upgrading step by step, thank you

[tzx613]

Edit #2: I've installed nightly build 20210527-0621 (VLC 3.0.15 candidate) and it looks like the problem is resolved. I've tried a selection of video files of different codecs/resolutions, and haven't seen any issues in playback on any of them. I'll update my issue in the tracker.

Whenever I try to install that, windows won't let me as it says it's a virus. Looks like I should just downgrade to 3.0.12.

[Hitchhiker]

Whenever I try to install that, windows won't let me as it says it's a virus. Looks like I should just downgrade to 3.0.12.

Provided you're downloading it from the official Nightly site rest assured it's not a virus. https://nightlies.videolan.org/

You can use an elevated command prompt to install it. Steps to take:

1. After downloading vlc-3.0.15-win64-afb0acef.msi which is the official version for today, June 15 hold down SHIFT while you right click the file and click "Copy as path". This will copy the path to the downloaded file.
2. Right click the Windows Start button to get the power users menu and click "Command Prompt (Admin)" to open an elevated command prompt.
3. Type: msiexec /a and press the Spacebar once and then right click and click Paste to add the path to vlc 3.0.15 installation file.
4. Hit Enter to install.