The VideoLAN Forums

Hello there,
I have created some motion graphics videos for a streamer on Twitch who uses OBS.
The only way to put some video graphics on top with alpha channel is to use the plugin for OBS called Video Source.
This plugin uses the LibVLC and here is my issue.

I used After Effects to create some lower 3rds with animation and transparency.
I tried to to export/render in the .mov wrapper and the PNG codec with Alpha Channel. The video can be played by quick time and be loaded into any video editing software but VLC or LibVLC is not able to play it.

VLC seems to play the first 5 frames and then freezes. Freezes as the video freezes not the software.
Once you take out the Alpha Channel the video plays perfectly fine in VLC.
I googled enough to find another thread here from 2013 with the same issue.

Whether or not I need PNG as a codec is another issue. My best bet is to use Animation as a codec which plays well and is not as huge of a file as other codecs and formats.

I created a similar thread in OBS' forums. It would be kinda dumb to ask stuff but OBS here but I would appreciate your help. The problem is that animation for codec seems to be cpu or gpu hungry and my knowledge of streaming is limited.
Does LibVLC need cpu or gpu to decode videos?
Is using the least encoded video easier to play despite the file size?

Thank you guys for your time.

Please share your logs when you playback those PNGs.

This the log for .mov, PNG codec, with Alpha Channel from After Effects This is the log for .mov, PNG codec, 32bit, Alpha Channel from Premiere. Premiere wants you to export in 32bit in order to output Alpha Channel.

Any idea what's wrong?
I could upload the video itself although anyone with After Effects or Premiere could have the same result I guess.

Also, does VLC use less resources if it tries to play a video with the least possible encoding? Maybe I'm asking this in a wrong way.
I'd like to give someone a video with Alpha Channel for him to constantly playback while he plays a game, and also streams. Is there a way to recommend me a format/codec that LibVLC doesn't struggle with?

I also used ffmpeg to create webm videos. Although it seems that there is only 1 example of webm with alpha channel. I guess their codec still needs some work. A few programmers online found why their codec is not acting as it should but no one really cares enough to work on stuff.
What about VLC? How does it convert videos to webm? For me it didn't work with alpha channel (maybe it's experimental for now?).

Any news on the png codec? Is there a way to help?
Seriously though, so many questions, no answers at all. What kind of knowledge does someone need to work with codecs and formats?

Sorry to bump this from awhile ago, but I'm still having this problem in the current version of VLC. I'm using lossless alpha-channel videos as an intermediate step for several projects I'm working on, and VLC is very helpful for previewing them. I formerly used the "Animation" codec, which VLC could play with no issues, but the png codec has file sizes that are significantly smaller with no noticeable loss so I've switched to using it instead. The videos are valid -- After Effects can import them and Quicktime can convert them, but I prefer using VLC because I can setup playlists and it usually can play things without the long conversion step that quicktime has. When I try and play them with VLC, they open, but stay frozen on the first frame. Interestingly, if I seek around on the play bar, the correct image for that timecode will show up, but it will then be stuck at that image.