Vlc Won't Play Downloaded Youtube Videos in Ubuntu 8.10

[Kwabena39]

Hi,

I am using a distribution based on Ubuntu 8.10 (Crunchbang 64 bit) On both this and on regular Ubuntu 8.10, I get this message when I try to play downloaded youtube videos (.flv, or videos named "Flash8oEv7, etc.)

This is the message I get, cut and pasted directly from the window:

No suitable decoder module:
VLC does not support the audio or video format "undf". Unfortunately there is no way for you to fix this.
No suitable decoder module:
VLC does not support the audio or video format "undf". Unfortunately there is no way for you to fix this.

I really want to be able to play my videos like I used to when I was using Ubuntu 8.04, 32-bit on my old computer.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Can you share one?

[Kwabena39]

Can you share one?

I don't know. I don't know what 'share' means in this instance; if you mean sharing files over the Internet with friends, or putting it up onto a Torrent, I don't do that, so I can't answer that question.

I just use Vlc to play downloaded youtube files. I'm running Crunchbang, based off of Ubuntu 8.10. In Ubuntu 8.04, Hardy Heron, I had no problems playing youtube videos in Vlc.

But in Ubuntu 8.10, there seems to be a problem. As well as a problem with a lot of other things

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Put the file on ftp://streams.videolan.org/incoming

[Kwabena39]

How do you do that? I clicked on the link and nothing happened

[edong23]

i can share several if you would like. what is strange, is that these files play with vlc current (at least 9.4) on windows, but not in linux even with 0.9.8a. codec shows up as undef.

how can i upload them? will my username and pass log me in? nope, i tried. um.. maybe if you could tell us how to ftp the file, i could. or just go to this page..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY2lSSmKBNk

and use your favorite flv getter i use downloadhelper firefox extension.. worked til recently. some different codec? must be. like i said works in the windows vlc (and even works in windows vlc on linux with wine) but not with even current vlc in linux. im still investigating myself here... but i will provide a file or 2 if someone needs.

[edong23]

something to add here. just tested, as i am actually a slackware and source-code user, when i download them in slackware, they work fine. but the files i downloaded in ubuntu dont work on slackware or ubuntu. same files though, downloaded the flv and the mp4 in slackware (with mplayer and lots of video stuff installed) and it works. so that doesnt make much sense. good luck. i have my answer, i just wont use ubuntu. but there is a cause here, maybe some dependancy? i dont really understand though, cuase downloadhelper just gets the flv file for me, and so does magic downloader, even using an alternative url, so it isnt encoding it on the machine. im lost. good luck.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

vlc --list| grep avformat
vlc --list| grep avcodec

[^rooker]

Having the same problem here (with hardy 8.04). However, only newer videos seem to be affected. Videos downloaded from e.g. youtube before a certain date work fine. I'm willing to help debugging this.

@edong23:
In order to verify your slackware/ubuntu difference-experience, could you download the same file on each OS and then compare them (e.g. using "vbindiff")?

I am currently trying to find a non-working youtube video where I have a previous, functional version. Strange thing is, that one video I've re-downloaded now works, but a video waaaay older on youtube (uploaded 2 years ago) doesn't.

[edong23]

@^rooker:

ill try that if you would like. are we thinking im am actually getting a different file? cause that doesnt seem right. im downloading them the same way, one of the downloaders i tried just sends you a url that you click the link and get the flv. but ill try whatever to contribute. ill do it tonight when i get off work.

@j-b

ill see what ubuntu has as a result of those commands, and what my slackware has tonight and update everyone. but it isnt a vlc thing, cause like i said, i downloaded a file in ubuntu, and cannot play it in slackware, but it plays in windows vlc through wine, but i can go to the same url in slackware with the same downloaded and download it and it works. that it is ... well... weird.. that is all i can say.. cause im not encoding it at any point.. just downloading the file. ill mess some more tonight. but it was annoying that i couldnt do it anymore.

[Kwabena39]

I am currently trying to find a non-working youtube video where I have a previous, functional version. Strange thing is, that one video I've re-downloaded now works, but a video waaaay older on youtube (uploaded 2 years ago) doesn't.

You know what's REALLY strange? I just accessed my old hard drive and copied a bunch of flash files from there, which I had downloaded from youtube. When I used Vlc to open these files, they played fine, just as they did when I had my old system (Hardy, 32 bit.)

But any NEW files I download, I can't play. Some of them are the same files, in fact.

So what could it be about Ubuntu 8.10 AMD 64 that is blocking? Is it that after a certain date, something was added to encrypt the flash files so that when you download them, you can't play them?

Could it perhaps be some kind of change in policy on Youtube or Google that they've added to protect copyright? What I mean is, like certain DVD's where if you copy them, they have encryption/scrambling on them so that people can't copy them? Could Google / Youtube be doing that also?

[edong23]

I am currently trying to find a non-working youtube video where I have a previous, functional version. Strange thing is, that one video I've re-downloaded now works, but a video waaaay older on youtube (uploaded 2 years ago) doesn't.

You know what's REALLY strange? I just accessed my old hard drive and copied a bunch of flash files from there, which I had downloaded from youtube. When I used Vlc to open these files, they played fine, just as they did when I had my old system (Hardy, 32 bit.)

But any NEW files I download, I can't play. Some of them are the same files, in fact.

So what could it be about Ubuntu 8.10 AMD 64 that is blocking? Is it that after a certain date, something was added to encrypt the flash files so that when you download them, you can't play them?

Could it perhaps be some kind of change in policy on Youtube or Google that they've added to protect copyright? What I mean is, like certain DVD's where if you copy them, they have encryption/scrambling on them so that people can't copy them? Could Google / Youtube be doing that also?

no, none of these. like i said, they can be played on windows. so not encrypted or licensed. it is definately a video thing. it is however, possible that a codec is now used, that wasnt used months ago, to encode the videos, and players used a generic codec to play them, and that generic codec wont play the new files? if you read that and go crosseyed, im sorry, i tried... just not good with words.

[^rooker]

@kwabena39:
I've experienced the exact same thing: Old files already on my harddisk: play fine. Same files re-downloaded don't work. I've compared them with the following results:
1) They differ in filesize - so it's obvious that they are not the same.
2) There's hardly any byte matching within the whole stream (used vbindiff).
3) The header also looks very different.

This seems like youtube is re-encoding their videos.

Super-strange thing is, that *some* re-downloaded files also different completely from their older copies, but could be played. There was no correlation between their age at youtube (e.g. 2 month old video could be downloaded yesterday and worked, but a 3 year old video didn't), which rules out my assumption of newer videos being stored using a new codec.

Does anyone know a way of manually (e.g. using a hex editor) finding out what kind of codec it could be? I guess that's really hard without a proper header, and an obviously useless fourcc, but maybe...

[meka4996]

Hi, I use Ubuntu 8.04[u804], and Ubuntu 804 based UE 1.9[u804ue19], and Ubuntu 8.10 based UE 2.0[u810ue20],
in all 3 distro, youtube video plays well in firefox with flash 10 no problem at all
but in Ubuntu 8.04 and Ubuntu 804 based UE 1.9, most recently downloaded flv flash video files don't play... even with every relevant deb packages installed after searching in synaptic for gstreamer, flash, flv, vlc... yet Totem_GStreamer plays well in Ubuntu 8.10 based UE 2.0 [u810ue20].
-> I think because it has no missing decoder module/format support (or codecs??), or youtube re-encoding their videos recently...??

thus far, I see three types of flv formats...
VLC_u810ue20: No suitable decoder module: VLC does not support the audio or video format "undf" ... majority of problematic flv files
VLC_u810ue20: can't recognize the input's format... occasionally


Testing parameters
VLC_u810ue20= VLC 0.9.4 Grishenko, Ubuntu 8.10 based Ultimate Edition 2.0
VLC_u804ue19= VLC 0.8.6e Janus, Ubuntu 8.04 based Ultimate Edition 1.9
VLC_u804 = VLC 0.8.6e Janus, Ubuntu 8.04
Totme_gstreamer_u810ue20 ... Totem Movie Player 2.24.3 + GStreamer 0.10.21
Totem_gstreamer_u804 ... Totem Movie Player 2.22.1 + GStreamer 0.10.18
Totem_gstreamer_u804ue19 ... Totem Movie Player 2.22.1 + GStreamer 0.10.18
please help!!! thanks
--sample flv files can be downloaded via downloadhelper from youtube.com ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY2lSSmKBNk file plays fine with my VLC_u804

Here are two flv files that my Ubuntu 8.04 can play with no problem via VLC player and Totem_GStreamer player ... before youtube encode them
Michael_Badnarik_on_liberty.flv ... 3:34 downloaded 22 March 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m68lUe40nXI
VLC_u810ue20 and VLC_u804 and VLC_u804ue19 all play well no problem, no sound delay
... this represents "other files playing well" via VLC in different distro
Totem_gstreamer_u810ue20 and Totem gstreamer_u804 and Totem_gstreamer_u804ue19 all play well no problem, no sound delay
... this represents "other files playing well" via Totem_gstreamer in different distro


Ron_Paul__The_Power_of_the_Treasury.flv ... 3:42 downloaded 22 March 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj2JhB5GJYw
VLC_u810ue20 and VLC_u804 and VLC_u804ue19 all play well no problem, no sound delay
... this represents "other files playing well" via VLC in different distro
Totem_gstreamer_u810ue20 and Totem gstreamer_u804 and Totem_gstreamer_u804ue19 all play well no problem, no sound delay
... this represents "other files playing well" via Totem_gstreamer in different distro


Michael_Badnarik_on_the_Federal_Reserve_System.flv 9:58 downloaded 22 March 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpOhWvOoraw
VLC_u810ue20 ... No suitable decoder module: VLC does not support the audio or video format "undf"... while other files play well
VLC_u804 ... no error, but no video or sound, while other files play well
VLC_u804ue19 ... no error, but no video or sound, while other files play well
Totem_gstreamer_u810ue20 ... plays ok, sound delay "2 seconds lagging", while other files play well
Totem gstreamer_u804 ... internal data stream error, while other files play well
Totem_gstreamer_u804ue19 ... internal data stream error, while other files play well


Electric_car_conspiracy.flv ... 3:02 downloaded 21 March 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb9ypkc9Uvs
VLC_u810ue20 ... No suitable decoder module: VLC does not support the audio or video format "undf"... while other files play well
VLC_u804 ... no error, but no video or sound, while other files play well
VLC_u804ue19 ... no error, but no video or sound, while other files play well
Totem_gstreamer_u810ue20 ... plays ok, sound delay "5 seconds lagging" while other files play well
Totem gstreamer_u804 ... internal data stream error, while other files play well
Totem_gstreamer_u804ue19 ... internal data stream error, while other files play well


The_speech_that_got_John_F._Kennedy_Killed.flv ... 1:45 downloaded 21 March 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WSGwnz7XpY
VLC_u810ue20 ... "VLC can't recognize the input's format" not playing, while other files play well
VLC_u804 ... no error, but no video or sound, while other files play well
VLC_u804ue19 ... no error, but no video or sound, while other files play well
Totem_gstreamer_u810ue20 ... plays well, "sound delay not sure
Totem gstreamer_u804 ... internal data stream error, while other files play well
Totem_gstreamer_u804ue19 ... internal data stream error, while other files play well

[meka4996]

try this way...
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1103825

[ddv]

I'm also having trouble playing some of the new flv videos in vlc from various sites.

I have uploaded a file called "ubuntu8.10 - shutter.flv"

I can played in totem, but not vlc. I can played in vlc in windows??

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

Probably because Ubuntu VLC is out-of-date.

[ddv]

It is version 0.98 in Ubuntu. And the file is playing with version 0.96 in windows???

[meka4996]

the problem maybe is downloading method
(as mentioned in http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1103825)
and/or the problem maybe is the player, as I use VirtualBox to run Windows XP + sp2,
then it seems Applian FLV Player 2.0 plays all the downloaded flv files that VLC 0.9.9a in Ubuntu 8.04 cannot play
[I even compiled the latest VLC 0.9.9a on Ubuntu 8.04 with all updates installed]
[http://applian.com/flvplayer/index.php]