tvOS 11 (Apple TV) Breaks VLC 1.0.7

[DCStreamer]

It looks like tvOS 11 (Apple TV) breaks VLC Mobile 1.0.7 and no longer functions in receiving live H.264 streams.

We run an Osprey Talon G1H Encoder set to generate two H.264 UDP multi-cast streams: one at 12 Mbps 1080p/30 and the other at 1.5 Mbps 320p/15 and use a number of VLC clients to view the streams, including VLC Mobile 1.0.7 for Apple TV.

When we ran tvOS 10.x on a 4th Generation Apple TV, VLC 1.0.7 worked fine. But once we upgraded to tvOS 11, both streams broke. The high-rate stream would freeze both video and audio after about 30 seconds, and sometimes crash the VLC app. The low-rate stream would freeze both video and audio after about 2 minutes. In either case, the streams would not restart --- we had to manually restart VLC (but the streams would again quickly freeze --- it was consistent).

We just downgraded (re-flashed) the Apple TV back down to tvOS 10.2.2 and everything works as before and the frequent freezing is gone.

We did not try installing any beta VLC as it's not clear how to on Apple TV since one has to go through Apple's App Store.

Note that the streams still do occasionally freeze, but only after many, many hours.

Note that we run VLC 2.2.6 on a number of macOS 10.11.x and 10.12.x systems with no problem. Once in a while the video of the streams will freeze (but not the audio) however the streams will automatically restart.

Has anyone else experienced this? Any fixes/workarounds?

I will file a bug report on the VideoLAN Trac site but since I don't have the latest beta or any logs, I'm not sure if it will be picked up.

Thanks.

[summit48]

Try running a trace of the packets using Wireshark https://www.wireshark.org/

They have a free app for OS X/macOS 10.6 or later 64-bit Intel.

This is not a solution to the problem, but hopefully it will give you a better understanding of the problem.

There is still NO guarantee that even when/if you identify the problem, the problem will be fixed by VLC.

[DCStreamer]

I know about Wireshark but how does that help with this issue? Wireshark is a network debugging tool.

The network and source are fine as the stream can be viewed on a number of macOS devices running VLC 2.2.6.

The issue is that VLC 1.0.7 works fine under tvOS 10.2.2 but breaks under tvOS 11. It's a software problem, not a network one. Wireshark, if it even exists under tvOS (which I don't think it does) is below the network stack and only monitors packets coming in from the network interface. The problem could be in the tvOS 11 network driver but another issue is that VLC 1.0.7 doesn't automatically restart after a glitch (like it VLC 2.2.6 does).

I don't understand how wireshark can be used on tvOS or debug this software issue. What am I missing?

[summit48]

How do you know it is not a network problem with tvOS 11?

You don't install Wireshark on tvOS. You would need to install Wireshark on macOS and then monitor the packets between the Osprey and the problem VLC client in question (Apple TV/tvOS 11).

[DCStreamer]

Yea, I know how to run Wireshark --- if it was a network problem --- but it isn't a problem on the wire. If it were a network problem with tvOS 11, it would be inside the network stack of tvOS 11 --- which is a passive receiver for UDP packets, not a transmitter. Monitoring the network OUTSIDE the Apple TV doesn't indicate what is happening INSIDE the Apple TV. And Wireshark monitors packets from the network card, BEFORE the network stack in the OS so it wouldn't indicate a problem with the tvOS network stack (but maybe the tvOS network driver --- if I could get into tvOS, which I can't).

I monitored the SAME encoder stream via a number of Macs simultaneously throughout our network across multiple switches, including one connected to the same switch as the Apple TV, and *ALL* Macs running VLC 2.2.6 were fine.

VLC 1.0.7 under tvOS 10.2.2 worked. Upgraded tvOS to 11, VLC 1.0.7 broke. Downgraded tvOS to 10.2.2, VLC 1.0.7 works again.

Network issue given the above ?

[fkuehne]

@DCStreamer: are you interested in testing a beta version of VLC-tvOS to see if it works for you on tvOS 11?

[DCStreamer]

Felix Paul Kühne: Yes --- thanks for the offer. How would I install the VLC beta given I normally download the release from the App Store ? Would I have to jailbreak the Apple TV (I'd prefer not to) ? If the beta doesn't work, how would I revert back to VLC 1.0.7 ( I know I can re-flash the Apple TV from the 10.2.2 image I downloaded from Apple) ? Would I delete the beta then re-download 1.0.7 from the App Store ?

Thanks.

[fkuehne]

No, there is no need to jailbreak (ist that even possible with Apple TV?!). All you need is the TestFlight app available for free from the App Store and I need your email address (doesn't need to be your Apple ID - feel free to PM).

[DCStreamer]

Cool (didn't know about TestFlight). Yes, we would want to try to a test version --- I just PM'd my e-mail address.

Do you think you know what the problem is ?

I'll try the beta first, then upgrade to tvOS 11 to see the differences.

Thanks.

[fkuehne]

Invitation sent!

[DCStreamer]

Just did a PM request for another code (for some reason the one you sent expired).

[DCStreamer]

Felix,

The beta version worked great ! First I updated VLC (to 1.1.0 Build 110.40 --- more on that later) to confirmed that that version worked. Then I updated tvOS from 10.2.2 to 11.1 and the beta VLC worked great. It think it's actually more stable and less glitchy than VLC 1.0.7 (on tvOS 10.2.2).

A few questions...

1) When will the non-beta be released ? (It looks like the beta self-expires in 73 days (from today, according to the info screen after the install)
2) Note sure of version numbers... When I clicked on link from the 13 Nov 2017 e-mail invite from "TestFlight", the web site said "VLC for Mobile 2.8.5 (285.3)" however after I installed the beta code, the version of VLC was 1.1.0 (110.40). Are there both versions (iOS and tvOS) on the App Store and it picked the right one?
3) A few hours *after* I installed the beta, I received 4 "TestFlight" messages:
3a) "VLC for Mobile 1.1.0 (110.40) for tvOS is ready to test"
3b) "VLC for Mobile 2.8.5 (285.3) for iOS with Apple Watch is ready to test"
3c) "VLC for Mobile 2.8.5 (285.5) for iOS with Apple Watch is ready to test"
3d) "VLC for Mobile 1.1.0 (110.50) for tvOS is ready to test"

It looks like the "invite" was for both iOS and tvOS but they each have different versioning. I did not yet update VLC for tvOS to build 110.50 --- do I do that update from the Apple TV, i.e., is the App Store smart enough to keep updating the beta (TestFlight) versions ?

Thanks.

[gudmundsonsc]

I was seeing this problem with UDP streams.

Now, as of today, I have received VLC for tvOS 1.1.0 (110.50) and the same UDP streams are working again.

Thanks!

[DCStreamer]

Was VLC 1.1.0 (110.50) officially released via the open App Store or was your download a beta from TestFlight?

BTW, we too saw the original trouble on UDP.

[The following was added a few hours after the above...]

I just upgraded the TestFlight Beta VLC to 1.1.0 (110.50) and it still works (plus we get another 89 days before the beta expires).

[DCStreamer]

To close my original post on this thread...

Yesterday I deleted the beta VLC 1.1.0 (110.50) on our Apple TV and replaced it with the same version but downloaded it normally from the App Store, i.e., without using TestFlight.

So far, so good (thanks Felix).