"Play as audio" option on a video breaks ability to pause

[Spi]

Hey there,

I've been a pretty avid user of the "Play as audio" option on Android VLC for a while now.

It's a great feature, but it appears to have one problem for me: you can't pause it at all. The pause button becomes ineffective, and likewise, pauses don't work where other places where a pause would normally happen - like when a Bluetooth audio device is disconnected, or even when another video or audio source plays on the device in another app (where the OS would normally tell VLC to pause).

I think it might also affect the Android Auto interface if you play a video as audio, but given how the Auto interface stops an app and its audio before opening a new one, it's somewhat less of a problem.

In earlier versions I used to have to force stop VLC, but in more recent versions the "restart video" button has appeared more consistently in the now playing bar at the bottom - once I restart showing the video, I can stop the file. Going to another file in VLC, if I have one, is another workaround.

Replicating this in VLC 3.3.4 on a Pixel 5 (Android 12), but I've had this issue pretty much since I noticed Play As Audio was even an option, which was at least a year back.

I know your time as an organisation is limited and I'm prepared to wait as I can handle the workarounds easily, but just wanted to flag it so it can hopefully be fixed in a later version.

Thanks!

[Aza]

Does it happen with all videos? I am not able to reproduce.

[evadedave]

Couldn't reproduce either with 3.4.2. Since 3.3.4 is a year old, I suggest testing with 3.4.2 or even the latest 3.4.3 beta.

[Spi]

Thanks for the responses.

I agree, cannot reproduce with standalone videos either.

I think my replication was limited to HTTP Live Streaming streams (.m3u8 files via the Streams section of the More tab). Pausing on these is fine while the video is playing on screen, but does not work while it's in audio-only mode. I tested this with multiple HLS streams in VLC 3.4.2... no change unfortunately.

Apologies for initially claiming it was "all" videos, I probably should have tested it with things other than HLS streams (which is currently my main use case). Also, this does not appear to affect MPEG-DASH streams, to make sure that it wasn't a streaming issue generally.

Hopefully that narrows it down a little. Thanks again for the responses thus far.

As an aside: As for 3.4.x versions of VLC, out of curiosity... both the Google Play Store and the VLC web site aren't offering any more than 3.3.4 for this phone (Pixel 5, Android 12)... is that intended for any particular reason? I can get to 3.4.3 via the beta program on the Play Store, and as stated above, 3.4.2 installed fine from your link (before the beta program sign-up completed) - but I wouldn't have known that it existed if you hadn't pointed me to it.

[Aza]

About the issue: could you share an URl so I'm able to test it?

About the version: the 3.4.x version is still rolling out. It's not (yet) available for everyone.

[goku]

Works fine here.