crash alerts delay problem

[duedilly]

First let me give a BIG thanks for the wonderful VLC project - I have enjoyed VLC's development as the highly reliable swiss army knife of media players

My use of VLC for the last year has been in streaming real time content (rtsp in a wmv container). I use it 5 days a week, for 10-12 hours a day, and it crashes on average probably 2 times a day. I don't know what exactly causes the crashes, but i always let the program send the crash details to VLC, so am confident that they are logged and being tuned into by the developers.

my request here however is for the alert. When VLC crashes, and i restart it in hopes of getting the stream as close to real time as possible, i am often slowed down by having to first respond to two popup alert screens before VLC will start playing again - one that says it has crashed and asks to send the details in, and a second which thanks me for doing so. Only after mousing OK to both of those popups will VLC start again.

My request is to have an automated preset request to allow VLC to send all crash details out, and to immediately start VLC upon launch, without the several second delay of the popups and the requirement of my response to each.

Thank you again for the wonderful program!

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

OK. Is it arriving at the maxing memory?

Else, --no-crashdump

[duedilly]

OK. Is it arriving at the maxing memory? Else, --no-crashdump

Hi Jean-Baptiste - thank you for responding

Sorry, but I am not sure what you are asking exactly, but if you are asking whether my RAM is maxed out each time VLC crashes, i would have to say definitely not. I just now looked to see if any VLC crash dump file has ever been generated, but there is no VLC crashdump file anywhere on my drive.

I do allow the VLC program to send the crash info to you (i presume it goes to you?) each time it crashes, which i would say on average is maybe 10 times every week, and has been doing so for nearly a year now (so maybe 500 times)

Thank you for considering "why" VLC crashes, and i would be happy to do some diagnostics on that (if you can guide me), but i was hoping that perhaps in the interim, an option could be added to VLC, such that when the client restarts after each crash, that it can send its info to you automatically, and not require that i give approval each time, and then also approve (with a mouseclick) the "thank you" popup for sending it, before a new instance of VLC will launch?

or else maybe you could just allow new instances of VLC to launch without first requiring approval to send the info, even if approval to send is still required?


again, thanks so much!

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

The only way to do correctly debug is:
- check the backtraces in %appdata%/vlc and file a bugreport on it...
- use gdb and run vlc in it...

[duedilly]

The only way to do correctly debug is:
- check the backtraces in %appdata%/vlc and file a bugreport on it...
- use gdb and run vlc in it...

thanks, but i don't have any backtraces, as i don't know how to compile a version that creates one

http://wiki.videolan.org/Debug

and i don't run linux, and there doesn't look to be a windows version of gdb - oh well


but if the feature i requested (of an automated affirm and send option) might be considered to be added, that would be really appreciated!

[VLC_help]

gdb is available for Windows.
http://hamsterrepublic.com/ohrrpgce/GDB_on_Windows.html

[duedilly]

gdb is available for Windows.
http://hamsterrepublic.com/ohrrpgce/GDB_on_Windows.html

thanks! installed and ran it, (using this helpful 8.3 conversion utility - http://www.theeldergeek.com/forum/index ... opic=28753), to get this command line syntax:

c:\mingw\bin\gdb.exe C:\PROGRA~1\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe

and it shows to be running, but looks like that version was not compiled with the -g option, as i get this "no debugging symbols" message:


http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/40 ... utput.jpg/

in any case, when VLC crashes, it is launched as my system default player) by wm recorder - not sure how gdb can be run to launch vlc from that process?

thanks

[VLC_help]

You can download debug versions from http://nightlies.videolan.org/build/win32/?C=M;O=D (branches are 1.1.x)

[duedilly]

You can download debug versions from http://nightlies.videolan.org/build/win32/?C=M;O=D (branches are 1.1.x)

thanks - a little over my pay grade, but i am willing to learn - i presume this is the case, but want to confirm: if i set this version up as my system default player (so that wm recorder will launch it) will it allow gdb to run successfully (ie., has the purportedly missing "debugging symbols")?

thanks again

[VLC_help]

I don't know what WM recorder actually does, so I can't say. If you know how WM recorder starts VLC, you can paste the same command to debug version.

[duedilly]

WM Recorder records streaming video from urls - i use it to record some shows, but i also use VLC to display the stream "live" (or as close to live as i can get VLC to quickly launch)

i have VLC set up as my system default player (XP SP3) for .asf and .wmv files (which the stream i watch is) - i could not see how to launch gdb which would then launch VLC from WM Recorder, so was just going to hope that at least the request to NOT have VLC always ask to send the crash info and then a mouseclick response to the thank you before it would launch again (and i still hope that option can be added)

but i realized today that when VLC crashes, i am often recording it, and can replicate the VLC crash from the recorded file (which is the same as the streaming file that causes my multiple times a day VLC crashes)

here is a link to a file that caused a VLC crash -

http://www.filefactory.com/file/cd4daa1 ... _28644.wmv

its 230MB - sorry i couldn't edit it down to just the section that causes the crash, but i have found that trying to edit .asf / .wmv files (even with asftools and asfbinwin) that i am almost always unsuccessful in getting playable/synchronized files

fwiw, it occurs right after 2:20:13, and though VLC crashed, WM Recorder did not, so i was able to record for another minute after VLC crashed - VLC crashes each time at that same place on replay, hich is exactly where it crashed on the stream (since WM Recorder saves the exact stream)

and though VLC won't play through that marker point, it will however play past it if i scroll to just after that point first

hopefully this will help determine exactly is the cause of my 2-3 times a day VLC crashing


...but even if not, hopefully my previous request of a preset allowance for VLC to send the data and also to not have to acknowledge the "thank you" can be made as an option


and thanks so much again for a truly GREAT player!

[VLC_help]

Thanks. I can replicate the crash. It is a libavcodec issue

#0 0x5f3b1b17 in ff_mspel_motion ()
from /cygdrive/c/softa/vlc-1.1.12-git/plugins/libavcodec_plugin.dll
#1 0x00000000 in ?? ()

[duedilly]

Thanks. I can replicate the crash. It is a libavcodec issue

#0 0x5f3b1b17 in ff_mspel_motion ()
from /cygdrive/c/softa/vlc-1.1.12-git/plugins/libavcodec_plugin.dll
#1 0x00000000 in ?? ()

thanks so much for isolating the cause! - as i said, it occurs to me several times every week day, and has been doing so for over 1 year now

i wonder if this is fixable? and if not, if at least that option for quickly restarting VLC without first requiring two distinct post-crash mouseclick "OKs" is possible?

thanks again!

[VLC_help]

You can create .bat file for VLC startup, that removes the crashdump file first and then starts VLC.

Bug might be fixed in some upcoming libavcodec release, I will ticket this issue later.

EDIT:
Ticket is http://trac.videolan.org/vlc/ticket/5255

[duedilly]

You can create .bat file for VLC startup, that removes the crashdump file first and then starts VLC.

Bug might be fixed in some upcoming libavcodec release, I will ticket this issue later.

EDIT:
Ticket is http://trac.videolan.org/vlc/ticket/5255

thanks so much VLC_help

however, my problem (and need) isn't simply the convenience of not having to click through 2 screens on VLC relaunch - its the time delay

i need to launch VLC immediately to be able to stream the live stream as close to real time as possible - and while a .bat file would likely speed up the process of sending the crash dump and then the thank you a bit, it is still not as effective as having the option to have VLC start immediately (or as quickly as possible - without the need for any user intervention or even automated waiting) and then send the crashdump automatically (or even manually), but AFTER the new instance of VLC has already started

or else, perhaps have the option of NOT sending a crashdump at all (after all, i have already sent well over 500 of these over the last year, on the same libavcodec bug that you found and reported)

thanks so much for you help on this issue, and for routing the bug report details to the correct vlc forum

best

[duedilly]

hi all

i started this thread as a feature request for a problem i have with the time delay required after a VLC crash, for the crashdump request and then a thank you response

i really appreciate that the underlying crash cause is being looked into - obviously that is a superior response to simply speeding up the post-crash restart time

but since crashes occur for a wide variety of causes, fixing this one libavcodec crash cause (if it is able to be fixed) still leaves the post-crash relaunch startup delay problem of VLC first requesting to send a crashdump, and then sending it and then requiring an acknowledgment with a thank you - and while a batch file might be able to be written to somewhat speed up that post-crash process, it wouldn't be as fast (which then disallows a closer to real-time stream) as offering an in-app option of allowing a post-crash VLC relaunch to start up immediately, and then either sending a crashdump with responses or not


so i would like to know if my original new feature/option request as described above is noted, or if i should maybe start a new thread for just that option, without involving details of any specific VLC crash cause as i did in this thread?


and thanks much again for all the help and for a fantastic media client!

[VLC_help]

I don't think you have to open another thread. Hopefully no-crashlog will be GUI option at some point.

[duedilly]

I don't think you have to open another thread. Hopefully no-crashlog will be GUI option at some point.

ok great - thanks

as always, i look forward to newer and even more excellent versions!

[duedilly]

Thanks. I can replicate the crash. It is a libavcodec issue

#0 0x5f3b1b17 in ff_mspel_motion ()
from /cygdrive/c/softa/vlc-1.1.12-git/plugins/libavcodec_plugin.dll
#1 0x00000000 in ?? ()

Hi again

Since VLC has been crashing on me more frequently these days (up to 10 times every day), i saved another file snippet to see if perhaps it is the same libavcodec error as found before

This file is much smaller - 2MB - and the crash comes ~2/3 of the way into a 1 1/2 minute clip at 1:01

here is a link to the new file example - i hope it might help solve this annoying crash problem:

http://www.filefactory.com/file/cebfdb4 ... t_1.01.wmv

thanks much again and best

[VLC_help]

I will check that file during weekend.

[VLC_help]

Same issue

(gdb) bt
#0 0x5eae1b17 in ff_mspel_motion ()
from /cygdrive/c/softa/vlc-1.1.12-git/plugins/libavcodec_plugin.dll
#1 0x00000009 in ?? ()
#2 0x76e46c4c in ntdll!RtlEqualLuid ()
from /cygdrive/c/Windows/system32/ntdll.dll
Backtrace stopped: previous frame inner to this frame (corrupt stack?)

[duedilly]

Same issue

(gdb) bt
#0 0x5eae1b17 in ff_mspel_motion ()
from /cygdrive/c/softa/vlc-1.1.12-git/plugins/libavcodec_plugin.dll
#1 0x00000009 in ?? ()
#2 0x76e46c4c in ntdll!RtlEqualLuid ()
from /cygdrive/c/Windows/system32/ntdll.dll
Backtrace stopped: previous frame inner to this frame (corrupt stack?)

great (that it seems to be just a single problem) - thanks much VLC

hope someone can figure a solution

[VLC_help]

Hopefully it will be fixed in VLC 1.2.0 as contrib update.

[duedilly]

Hopefully it will be fixed in VLC 1.2.0 as contrib update.

great

but we are at 1.1.11, so maybe after 89 more releases?

[VLC_help]

but we are at 1.1.11, so maybe after 89 more releases?

VLC releases don't follow that scheme =)