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Thread: Same problem with Totem with video hesitation on a different laptop

  1. #1
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    Same problem with Totem with video hesitation on a different laptop

    After having this problem with Ubuntu 18.04 on a laptop running an AMD processor with integrated Radeon R7 series graphics, I eventually gave up and installed Linux Mint based on Ubuntu 16.04. I was convinced that it was the graphic driver that was at fault.

    So fast forward to yesterday. I installed Ubuntu 18.04 on a laptop running an i5 core Intel processor with Intel graphics and also NVIDIA graphics. Not sure why two graphics, but that's what it has. There is an NVIDIA driver for this video card.

    Lo and behold, the same problem with Totem exists on this laptop as well. The video plays in stops and starts with hesitations, especially with mp4s. Since the problem exists on two laptops with completely different graphics and processors, I doubt that it has anything to do with video drivers.

    Has no one else noticed this? Is there any solution to this? I know a work around would be to use a different video player, but it still bothers me that I can't use Totem and knowing that this problem exists without resolution kind of spoils the Linux experience for me. Incidently, the problem appears to be on Dragon Player as well.

    Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

    EDIT: I have installed ubuntu-restricted-extras.
    Last edited by jeo7; May 22nd, 2018 at 09:25 PM. Reason: Added information

  2. #2
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    Re: Same problem with Totem with video hesitation on a different laptop

    Have you tried VLC to see if it has the same condition/problem?

  3. #3
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    Re: Same problem with Totem with video hesitation on a different laptop

    The first thing I do after installing Ubuntu is getting rid of Totem and use a better player like mpv+ Smplayer or vlc. Totem has always been kind of a piece of crap, buggy and lacking in features (maybe even less features now the way gnome is going) Totem != Linux experience, only gnome experience.

  4. #4
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    Re: Same problem with Totem with video hesitation on a different laptop

    Quote Originally Posted by Autodave View Post
    Have you tried VLC to see if it has the same condition/problem?
    Yes, I know the problem doesn't exist with either VLC or Kaffeine.

    Totem != Linux experience, only gnome experience.
    Since Gnome is my (much) preferred environment to work in, whatever is a Gnome experience for me is pretty much a Linux experience for me. But I get where you are coming from. I just can't believe that this problem exists and more people have not complained about it.

  5. #5
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    Re: Same problem with Totem with video hesitation on a different laptop

    Install inxi then run & post results
    Code:
    inxi -GC

  6. #6
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    Re: Same problem with Totem with video hesitation on a different laptop

    Quote Originally Posted by mc4man View Post
    Install inxi then run & post results
    Code:
    inxi -GC
    Code:
    CPU:       Dual core Intel Core i5-7200U (-MT-MCP-) cache: 3072 KB
               clock speeds: max: 3100 MHz 1: 1374 MHz 2: 868 MHz 3: 906 MHz
               4: 881 MHz

  7. #7
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    Re: Same problem with Totem with video hesitation on a different laptop

    Code:
    sudo apt-get install vainfo
    vainfo
    1. Totem uses gstreamer
    2. gstreamer uses VA-API for hardware decode
    3. gstreamer-vaapi modules sometimes has its own issues (crazy colors etc.)
    4. open-source radeon driver tends to work better with VDPAU (mesa-vdpau-drivers pacakge) than VA-API (mesa-va-drivers package) in my experience

  8. #8
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    Re: Same problem with Totem with video hesitation on a different laptop

    Quote Originally Posted by Temüjin View Post
    4. open-source radeon driver tends to work better with VDPAU (mesa-vdpau-drivers pacakge) than VA-API (mesa-va-drivers package) in my experience
    I thought this for a very long time when I was using just an AMD/Radeon laptop, but now the same thing is happening with an Intel i core 5 with Intel graphics. So I am thinking that the problem is not a driver problem, but some kind of a problem with Totem.

    I just tried Totem again with an .mp4 file, and believe it or not, it appears to be working now. I can't say for sure because I need to play with it for a while to see if it really is working. But it appears to be working. I wonder if that has anything to do with a bunch of updates I did last night.

    I am attaching the output of vainfo for the Intel laptop.
    Attached Files Attached Files

  9. #9
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    Re: Same problem with Totem with video hesitation on a different laptop

    Quote Originally Posted by jeo7 View Post
    I thought this for a very long time when I was using just an AMD/Radeon laptop, but now the same thing is happening with an Intel i core 5 with Intel graphics. So I am thinking that the problem is not a driver problem, but some kind of a problem with Totem.

    I just tried Totem again with an .mp4 file, and believe it or not, it appears to be working now. I can't say for sure because I need to play with it for a while to see if it really is working. But it appears to be working. I wonder if that has anything to do with a bunch of updates I did last night.

    I am attaching the output of vainfo for the Intel laptop.
    With the intel graphics machine you've got pretty good support for vaapi. The only downside of totem is there isn't any way to disable hwdec on any particular file (or any easy way), so if you have an occasional file that doesn't work well via vaapi then you could just try another player rather than removing the gst-vaapi plugin.
    Honestly a large number of vid's don't really need hwdec, maybe useful for high bitrate hevc & vp9 or for some power saving? on battery operated devices. (also maybe more helpful on dual core machines..

  10. #10
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    Re: Same problem with Totem with video hesitation on a different laptop

    It's not just an occasional video ... it's a problem with all my .mp4's. Do you think it would be useful to remove the gst-vaapi plugin on the AMD machine?

    I don't know why inxi returned that this machine is a dual core machine, but the Intel i5 core has 4 cores.

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