Unable to play email attachments

[laptopu]

Hi, it's great to see VLC coming out of beta nice work.

I regularly receive voicemail attachments as MP3's on emails. If I click the attachment Android asks what I want to do, if I select VLC to play I get 'Playback error - VLC encountered an error with this media. Please try refreshing the media library <ok>'. As an example the path showing at the top of the screen is content://com.android.email.attachmentprovider/3/1161/RAW.

If I save the email to my download folder it will play if I go into the folder and select the file then choose VLC to open (but it does miss the first 2 seconds of playback which isn't great).

If I go into VLC first and select the download folder and choose the file this way it plays in full.

Is there a way of getting VLC to playback the whole file without any missing seconds straight from pressing the email attachment without having to download the file?

Thanks

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

We really needs the logs, to check all this.

[laptopu]

Thanks Jean-Baptiste, I have tried to get a log but there is no log. I went into the developer menu and started logging, the VLC cone appeared on my taskbar, I tried to launch the file and as expected it came up with the same error message. There was nothing showing in the logging menu after and no file in the root of the SD card.

I have found some relevant info online about this relating to a different app: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1741 ... nium-2-1-3

What I can figure is a MIME attachment handler will appear as content://com.android.email.attachmentprovider and instead it should be handled as audio/* instead so it's the way the URI is handled.

Does this help? It is reproducable by trying to open any audio email attachment within the default Android email app.

Thanks

[edwardw]

Please use http://wiki.videolan.org/Android_Report ... _not_crash to get logs. Thanks.

[laptopu]

I have tried to get a log but as I mentioned I cannot and I don't know why?

I have followed the steps in that link, the debug cone appears, I perform the action and then go back to the debugging console. There is no information in there and there is no log file in the root directory of my SD card

[laptopu]

I had an update during the week for VLC on Android and it's still exactly the same behaviour.

More than happy to provide logs but like I say I am unable to since I cannot get logs to work. The cone appears on my taskbar, it states logging is enabled, nothing appears in the console and there is no log file in my root SD card.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Logs are in advanced options.

[laptopu]

I've been in advanced options, turned on logging, the cone appears to confirm logging is enabled. Where is the log though? It's not in the root of my SD card so if it's logging I don't know where it's coming out.

I know for faults devs always insist on logs and I know how much of a problem it is if people do not produce them, I really do want to provide a log but I simply cannot see where there is a log being created (if at all).

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Then you stop the logs and it appears there.

[edwardw]

Might be easier to re-enable the dump option.

[laptopu]

I know it sounds implausible but really I cannot get a log.

VLC for Android 1.3.2 -

Here are the steps to reproduce:

Launch app - menu button - preferences - developer - debug logs. Screen that appears has Start logging as an option. Then ghosted are stop logging, copy to clipboard, dump logcat log, clear log, and a white screen for two thirds of the screen.

The only option available is Start logging. When pressed it becomes ghosted and the only selectable option is Stop logging. The VLC cone appears in the taskbar and if I drag the taskbar down it reports VLC logs recording, and the option to open the log console.

I then press my home key and go to emails. The VLC cone is still in the taskbar. I click the email mp3 attachment. I am asked what app I want to use to open it. I select VLC. VLC appears with the error I mentioned in my very first post on this thread.

I then drag the taskbar down, press the VLC logs recording option and the log console appears. The only selectable option is Stop logging. No text appears in the white space below the options. When I select Stop logging the only selectable option is Start logging.

Unless there's something I am missing, is logging not working? I'd love to give you logs but when I can't get them I don't know what to do...

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

You should have a "Dump Logcat log" option too.

[laptopu]

Nope, it's definitely ghosted out as I described in my last post. I have tried pressing the ghosted button too, it's definitely ghosted. I know I should be able to start logging and it appears in the console. I know I should be able to dump the log, I should have the attachment in my root SD card folder, I know what should happen.

I know it probably sounds like I'm making this up but I really cannot get a log and the only console options are to either start or stop logging. No log gets created, there's no dump option available, nothing appears in the console. I can get hold of another phone if you really want and upload a video of this to show it really is doing this

(If it makes any difference I'm on Cyanogen 11 Android 4.4.4. kernel 3.0.64-CM-ge2f984e)

Would screenshots help prove this?

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

It should be ghosted until you do stop. I believe you, but maybe CM does not allow the same rights.

[laptopu]

Could anyone else try for me please? Dump logcat log is always ghosted there's never an option on my handset to press it. I have never heard of a custom rom causing a problem like this though.

Or perhaps try to reproduce my error and get a log? To reproduce the original error -

1. Open an email containing an MP3 attachment.
2. Choose VLC as player when selecting the file.

That should be it, it really looks like a URI handler problem but I can only report what I saw in my first post on the thread as I cannot get any logs.

[edwardw]

Does it work from another email client like K-9?

[laptopu]

I have tried the gmail app and attachments play from this (but that doesn't solve my problem as the primary email account I get mp3 attachments from is different).

It does seem to reflect URI handling. VLC shows a local folder when playing back an attachment from gmail app. VLC shows a content:// path when attempting (then failing) to open one from the default Android email client.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Gmail is the default Android email client, IIRC.

[laptopu]

Android's inbuilt email client is just part of the Android system and doesn't indicate it is linked to gmail, it doesn't look like it is but I have found relatively little info online. The two clients are definitely different.

So guys, I've added as much info on here as I possibly can. I have identified the problem appears to be how URI's are handled and VLC cannot cope with handlers that appear as content:// URI's instead of actual directory paths. Other players can cope with this including Jet Audio and WinAmp.

I have described step by step the process to reproduce this and I have desperately wanted to provide logs but the player won't let me. I have written 7 posts telling you I cannot provide logs and I'm still not sure you believe me when I say the software will not let me log. To be honest I'm pretty fed up now.

I appreciate you have tried to help but at times it has really felt like a suggestion that I don't know what I am doing simply because a process which should work on VLC doesn't work so it's as if it's my fault. I have spent a month back and forth with this problem on here and there's still no sign of it even being acknowledged as a problem, let alone being fixed. I suppose my problem is too insignificant but because for years I have seen VLC as the multiformat player of choice I stuck with it.

I think I'll depart now and leave you to it. It will either be fixed or it won't. I'm not spending another month debating this. If you have a piece of software which will not even allow me to produce logs surely you must realise there's a problem here? I hope in time to come I can revisit VLC and the problems will be fixed but I feel totally disillusioned with it and its development at the moment which I feel very sad since I have supported VLC for so many years now.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Sorry, but debugging issues is way more complex than just using VLC.

Android default email client is now Gmail, but past versions where not gmail.

We'll have a look for this content:// part, anyway. Thanks.