VLC plugin

[vlc-cucumber]

I tried to install the vlc plugin 1.0.5 but, unfortunately, it does not work.
The installation process had no problem, but, when I opened Firefox (version 8.0..but I also tried with the same results with Firefox 7) the plugin does not work (and it is not either reported among the list of firefox plugins).

Suggestions?
Thanks a lot!

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

For Firefox 7 and 8, you need us to fix the vlc plugin...

[jml674]

Hello j-b

what's the estimation to get a mac OS plugon working under Lion ? (1.2 release ?)

thanks, Jean-Michel

[Dowhulo]

Hi,

I have a problem with plug-in. I tried installing 1.0.5 and 1.1.5, neither works. I tried opening the same page in Safari, Chrome, Firefox 7, 8 and 9.0.1. Get the same result.

In Firefox 8, when I try to install the plug in file (xpi) directly into the browser, it gives me a mssg saying "The plug in will be installed once the browser is restarted", but when I press restart button, and the browser restarts, I get the same firefox without a plug in.

Can you please provide me with a version of plug-in and recommended browser to use so that I can run iptv on my mac.

Thank you!

[Xolivier]

Hello,

I have the same trouble as the first threader on this topic:
I was trying to stream a video from my Synology Nas for the first time through Firefox8 when the nas user interface told me to install Vlc plugin.
So I downloaded the 1.0.5 plugin, installed it,restart Firefox , and logged again on my Nas but the same message appeared.
I then installed Firefox last version (9), and verified that the vlc plugin was in the Library/Internet Plug-ins folder : checked.
I tried new logins to the Nas via both http and https but still no video and the same message from the Synology interface : " Installez le plug-in de navigation Vlc(MAC)"
Moreover, when I checked in the Firefox installed plug-ins list, no Vlc plug-in is listed.
I use Lion 10.7.2 and my Nas Synology who told me to install your plugin is driven by Dsm 3.2.(well, no...It didn't really told me but it was written in red characters you know).

Do you have a solution ?

Olivier

[ravenxero]

Hi,

We have several people that are running the web plugin through various browsers on MAC OSX (both Snow Leopard and Lion), and the plugin is not appearing to be installed in their browsers. We have tried removing and re-installing the plugin/program, and although VLC works, the plugin does not appear. We run version 1.0.2 of VLC, and this has been working fine until about a month ago, when we are getting more and more people with this type of problem. We think that an OSX update may have occured to 'break' the plugin.

Can we have any information that you might have for a resolution, or even an acknowledgement that you are aware/looking in to it?

Dave.

--edit

If you need any further information, please let me know.

[ravenxero]

Further information:

We now have 12 persons who are not able to load or see the plugin. We have also replicated the problem over 3 devices in our offices, 2x iMac, and a Macbook Air.

The plugin does not appear as installed on any browser on the device. OS's affected range from 10.6.8 to latest versions, and the latest versions on Firefox/Chrome/Safari have also been checked. VLC plugins version 1.0.2 and 1.0.5 have been installed, but the webplugin is still not showing. This seems to have started mid December.

Do we have any information on this problem, or are VLC aware of this?

Dave.

[fkuehne]

We are aware of this, but it is unlikely to be solved soon for 2 reasons:
- the main developer of VLC's browser plugins left the project more than 3 years ago. Since then, no major contributions to the plugins were made and therefore they don't seem to be compatible with modern browsers anymore. This particularly affects the plugins for the Mac. The plugins for Windows-based PCs are in better shape right now.
- most current browsers on the Mac run in 64bit mode and no longer support 32bit plugins (except for Flash, but that's really an exception for this plugin only). VLC's browser plugins for Mac were never updated for 64bit compatibility.

There may be progress on this matter later this year, but I can't promise a proper date of release as usual, since this is mostly a volunteer-driven project and you can't schedule volunteers' availability in advance.
So, in case you have a commercial interest in VLC's browser plugins for the Mac (which would be great!), I would encourage you to develop the required code within your company or through a contractor. I can happily recommend a specialist in custom VLC development based in the Netherlands, if needed.

[daveisanerd]

Thank you Felix. I work for the same company as "ravenxero" and have sent you a private message re the specialist in the netherlands.

Thanks

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

We are aware of this, but it is unlikely to be solved soon for 2 reasons:
- the main developer of VLC's browser plugins left the project more than 3 years ago. Since then, no major contributions to the plugins were made and therefore they don't seem to be compatible with modern browsers anymore. This particularly affects the plugins for the Mac. The plugins for Windows-based PCs are in better shape right now.

Well, indeed, there were a lot of fixes for VLC 2.0 webplugins for Linux and Windows lately.
I have not done anything so far, on the Mac port.

To be done, we need:

• Fix mininal_macosx for the new API (should be fast for someone who knows a bit the Mac platform)
• Fix the webplugins in 32bits on Mac OS to compile and load (a bit tricky, to be honest)
• Compile in 64bits (Should be simple)

[ginger]

I have a situation were VLC won't run without the plug in and the plug in won't load without VLC.
Any help available for this knotty problem.
I'm using OS Lion on a MacBook Air.

Ginger

[fkuehne]

sorry, but that's impossible. The VLC browser plugin and VLC.app are completely separate products, which don't interface on a runtime level at all. Make sure to reset your preferences and stuff.

[james.h.bates]

So I've been playing around lately on my Mac OS X Lion 10.7.3 system, trying to get the VLC plugin working.

Initially I couldn't get the prebuilt binary (which is plugin version 1.0.5, 32-bit Intel) to work. This is mainly due to the fact that the installation isn't performed properly.

After installation there is a folder /Library/Internet Plugins/VLC Plugin containing the plugin. Inside Contents, there's a file "Info.plist", but on my system, it was missing some vital information, so I had to add it manually:

Code: Select all

<key>WebPluginMIMETypes</key> <dict> <key>video/x-ms-asf</key> <dict> <key>WebPluginExtensions</key> <array> <string>asf</string> </array> <key>WebPluginTypeDescription</key> <string>Windows Media Video</string> </dict> <key>video/x-ms-wmv</key> <dict> <key>WebPluginExtensions</key> <array> <string>wmv</string> </array> <key>WebPluginTypeDescription</key> <string>Windows Media Video</string> </dict> <key>application/x-vlc-plugin</key> <dict> <key>WebPluginExtensions</key> <array> <string>vlc</string> </array> <key>WebPluginTypeDescription</key> <string>VLC Plugin content</string> </dict> </dict> <key>WebPluginName</key> <string>VideoLAN VLC Plug-in</string> <key>WebPluginDescription</key> <string>VLC Webbrowser Plugin - Version 1.0.5 - (c) 1996-2010 The VideoLAN Team.</string>

(I added those keys to inside the top-level <dict> element, after all existing keys).

Note that I have only associated the WMV and VLC plugin mime types to the plugin; you can assign any other mimetypes supported by VLC in exactly the same way.

After this change, the plugin actually shows up in about:plugins in Firefox 10.0.2, and in chrome://plugins/ in Google Chrome 18.0.1025.165. It even shows up in Help -> Installed plugins on Safari 5.1.5.
Since the plugin binary is 32-bit, you must launch the browser in 32-bit mode to get the plugin to actually work. This is done by selecting the application in the finder, right-clicking, selecting "Get Info", and then activating "Open in 32-bit mode".

Doing all of the above, the plugin actually works in Firefox and in Google Chrome (in 32bit mode), with one quirk: the video opens in a borderless pop-up window, and sometimes gets stuck BEHIND the browser window, so you have to move it away, or open expose or something to find the video...

I couldn't get the 32-bit binary to work in Safari 5.1.5, even when Safari itself was started in 32-bit mode.


Now, concerning all the 64-bit discussions, here is what I was able to do sofar:

I downloaded the sources of the main VLC project, v1.1.13 (the v2 no longer contains the browser plugin: it has moved to a separate project, and I haven't played around with that yet), and, using appropriate configure options, was able to actually compile a 64-bit plugin from those sources (I won't describe the exact steps unless someone would like to know: it's rather long, and I used the Xcode 4.2 toolchain, which involves a bit of hacking to get the older sources to compile). The plugin version built from the sources also contained an incomplete Info.plist, into which I added the missing keys. And what do you know? It actually works, this time in ALL browsers, including Safari. Of course you must load them all in 64bit mode to get the 64bit plugin to run. Again, the videos load in a separate floating borderless window, which often ends up behind the browser window.

The odd thing here seems to be that the existing minimal_macosx gui module actually compiles and runs in 64-bit mode, which, given the previous discussion, I didn't really expect... The source code itself for minimal_macosx is actually (partly) in Objective-C, which would seem to suggest it is already 64-bit ready?

I will carry on investigating some more options, but at least it seems that not all is lost for the present...

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

1.1.13 is old, but yes, it should work in 64bits. Could you share the plugin with me, by mail, so I can test?
The big issue with minimal_macosx will happen with VLC 2.0.x, not 1.1.13.

Anyway, the split on a separate project for npapi is a better solution to make the plugin evolve correctly. And this is what the dev effort should be on, to be honest.

[james.h.bates]

@Jean-Baptiste: just sent you the binary. Going to check out what happens with VLC 2.0 and the separate plugin project now. I guess what you mean is that the libvlc "contract" has changed quite a bit with VLC 2, and that the minimal_macosx hasn't been updated to it yet?

Out of interest, is the opening of videos in separate top-level windows rather than in the browser page desired behaviour? Or is it some quirk of running on Lion?

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Thanks for the binary.
The VLC core (libVLCcore) for video output has changed quite a bit for 2.0 and the minimal_macosx code has not been updated, but it should be fixed to have it correctly working.

The opening in a separate top-level windows, is, of course a bug, that is related to the above issues.

[james.h.bates]

Have been trying to get this working again. A summary of my efforts so far: http://mailman.videolan.org/pipermail/v ... 88465.html

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Great!

[rdong]

Hi James, any update on the plugin fix for osx?

[tubieso]

I downloaded the sources of the main VLC project, v1.1.13 (the v2 no longer contains the browser plugin: it has moved to a separate project, and I haven't played around with that yet), and, using appropriate configure options, was able to actually compile a 64-bit plugin from those sources (I won't describe the exact steps unless someone would like to know: it's rather long, and I used the Xcode 4.2 toolchain, which involves a bit of hacking to get the older sources to compile).

[daveisanerd]

Does all the above mean a working 64bit plugin is likely? If so, how would one go about getting hold of it?

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Yes. You need to wait a bit more.

[romcoub]

It's weird, the vlc plugin doesn't appear either on my firefox, however it works perfectly with mov and mp4 files.

MacBook with Snow Leopard (10.6), Firefox 15 (beta).

[romcoub]

Sorry, after checking, mov and mp4 files seem to be taken in charge directly by HTML5 (no need to VLC) that's why these formats work very well!

It's weird, the vlc plugin doesn't appear either on my firefox, however it works perfectly with mov and mp4 files.

MacBook with Snow Leopard (10.6), Firefox 15 (beta).

[vivekanandm]

Hi James,

I was able to compile a 64-bit plugin from vlc source code version 1.1.13. This 64bit plugin works for 64bit Firefox and Safari but the video was loaded in a separately floating borderless window. have you been able to play video in same browser window ? Is it posible with any work around ?
Thanks in advance