Mozilla browsers: Getting video (other than YouTube) to work

[Makoto]

I originally posted this in the Pale Moon topic, but since this is actually a problem across all my Mozilla-based browsers, I've moved it here instead.

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I'm running Pale Moon v28.0.1 (32) under Precise (see my sig for version/system information), with media.ffvpx.enabled set to False. (plus Firefox and Seamonkey)
I've been trying to get video working on cwseed.com (and probably many sites other than youtube...), but it gives me this error:


(click the image for a larger version)

What else should I download and install?
(In PPM, I have the following installed...
ffmpeg-0.8.12-1-w5
gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg_0.10.13-1
gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-0.10.18.3
gxine_0.5.905
gxineplugin_0.5.905
libgstreamer0.10-0_0.10.36
libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-0_0.10.36
libxine1_1.1.20
libxine1-bin_1.1.20
libxine1-console_1.1.20
libxine1-ffmpeg_1.1.20
libxine1-misc-plugins_1.1.20
libxine1-plugins_1.1.20
libxine1-x_1.1.20
libxine2-bin_1.2.0-5
libxine2-ffmpeg_1.2.0-5)

[Mike Walsh]

@ Makoto :-

Well, the reason you can get Youtube is because nowadays it runs HTML5 by default.....which is usually built-in to most modern web-browsers.

Streaming services (such as NetFlix, Vimeo, Amazon Prime.....stuff like that) usually require the DRM 'WideVine' modules to be installed. In the Chrome packages I supply, these have to be added during the build process.

For FireFox, from around v.51 onwards, simply go to Menu->Preferences->Content.....and you should see a large tick-box for 'Play DRM content'. Check it - that's all you need to do - and the next time you want to watch anything other than Youtube, FF will download/install the necessary modules for you. You may need to reload the page, or restart the browser, for the changes to take effect.

PaleMoon/SeaMonkey, I'm not sure if it's even possible. PaleMoon is a fork of the older-style FF, 'cos the guys at MoonChild Productions didn't like the direction FF was heading in. SeaMonkey, despite being the default browser in most older Pups, is a mystery to me; I've never used it. I've always installed Chrome/Firefox straightaway.

But non-HTML5 stuff in the newer versions of Firefox is definitely possible. What FireFox release are you running, BTW?

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EDIT:- Hmm. www.cwseed.com is a weird one. Even in Chrome 69 or FF-Quantum 62 (newest versions available), the page point-blank refuses to display properly.....and even links just seem to 'feed back' to the same page.

It's entirely possible this site has geared itself to providing a feed only to Windows users running the 'Silverlight' plug-in. I understand it is possible to 'install' this in Linux, but apparently it's a complete PITA to get working.....

Just my tuppence-worth.


Mike.

[8Geee]

Your experience may differ from mine (using FF27 here), but I've discovered that most sites that do not play the movie/show/audio 'need an app for that' that is 'free' (of course you supply name/e-mail and your ip is recorded).

Further, such sites usually are, or have an agreement to allow, viewing of copyrighted works and display one or more trademarks. If you don't agree that such works and trademarks are legally protected (abuse of such is OK), then there is legal recourse against such person because the owner and the website have chosen to enforce such laws. Thats usually why the app is needed. By using the app, you agree not to abuse the copyright and/or trademarks. And of course the content will not be further distributed without prior approval/consent.

I would imagine these sites will function if using Windows.

Just my thoughts on the topic in general
8Geee

[OscarTalks]

Looking at that cwseed.com it certainly is rather weird. I clicked a link for a Ghost Whisperer video and if I scroll down it is playing in a tiny window in the middle of a black band. I can right-click this and play in full-screen and it is working.
Firefox ESR 45.7.0
Wheezy Puppy by Pemasu, with remastering modifications by me.

[Mike Walsh]

Yes, you're right, Oscar.

I never thought to scroll all that way down.....and, at the time when I tried it, this morning, I didn't have sound turned on, so wasn't aware it even was playing...!

Full-screen gives you a watchable video in Quantum 62.0, and right-click gives you usable play controls.

But it's an odd layout, no getting away from it.... As 8Geee says, it doubtless runs perfectly in Edge, under Win10.


Mike.

[Makoto]

@ Makoto :-

Well, the reason you can get Youtube is because nowadays it runs HTML5 by default.....which is usually built-in to most modern web-browsers.

Yes, but I switched it away from HTML5 (was having problems with it a while back, don't remember what ).

For FireFox, from around v.51 onwards, simply go to Menu->Preferences->Content.....and you should see a large tick-box for 'Play DRM content'. Check it - that's all you need to do - and the next time you want to watch anything other than Youtube, FF will download/install the necessary modules for you. You may need to reload the page, or restart the browser, for the changes to take effect.

I'm running Firefox 60.0.2 (later versions require a dbus update that I couldn't quite get working, yet), and already had that checked. The error persists across refreshes and browser restarts.

PaleMoon/SeaMonkey, I'm not sure if it's even possible. PaleMoon is a fork of the older-style FF, 'cos the guys at MoonChild Productions didn't like the direction FF was heading in. SeaMonkey, despite being the default browser in most older Pups, is a mystery to me; I've never used it. I've always installed Chrome/Firefox straightaway.

But non-HTML5 stuff in the newer versions of Firefox is definitely possible. What FireFox release are you running, BTW?

The error message both on the page and console sounds like it's looking for a specific codec (/version of ffmpeg, or such). But, yes, as I mentioned above, I'm running the non-HTML5 version of YouTube at the moment with no problems, as far as I'm aware.

I do run the cwseed app on my phone, but I wanted to stream it on something with a larger screen and better volume control. Guess I'll have to start saving some spare change for a ChromeCast.

(...and yes, of course, all three browsers have no problem with the site on our Windows system downstairs. )

It's entirely possible this site has geared itself to providing a feed only to Windows users running the 'Silverlight' plug-in. I understand it is possible to 'install' this in Linux, but apparently it's a complete PITA to get working.....

I thought Silverlight had been somewhat deprecated? Does anyone know if Netflix is still using it?

[Mike Walsh]

@ Makoto:-

Libdbus, huh? I'll lay you odds of 10 to 1 you want the same version I used to get T-Bird 60 running in the 5-series Pups...

I forget the exact post/thread, but watchdog put me onto it. You want the libdbus from DPup 'Wheezy'. You're still running Precise, yes? Most Pups have libdbus in /usr/lib. Precise, for whatever reason, has it in /lib, instead.

Watchdog's advice was to put it in /lib, anyway, as that it gave it precedence in the /path over the one in /usr/lib. And it works great like that. T-Bird/Quantum can find it there, and other apps can still find the one they want in /usr/lib. Win-win all round.

For any 5-series Pup (except for Wary/Racy & Lucid - the glibc's too old), unpack the attached tarball of libdbus-1.so.3, and stick it in /lib. You should now be able to run Quantum 62.0, as it currently is (updated yesterday, I believe.) Which I'm posting from right now, as it happens.....in Slacko 560.

Let me know if that helps.


Mike.

[Mike Walsh]

@ Makoto:-

The error message both on the page and console sounds like it's looking for a specific codec (/version of ffmpeg, or such). But, yes, as I mentioned above, I'm running the non-HTML5 version of YouTube at the moment with no problems, as far as I'm aware.

Hmm. I wonder.....

Fredx181 compiled a newer version of ffmpeg, with a far greater range of options, when Will McEwan was working on WeX, Weav & scrox a while back. Statically-compiled against a newer set of AV libs'n'stuff, so there's no need to have the corresponding newer versions of those libs on your system.

Toward the end of the WeX, Weav & scrox thread, when I was assembling all the separate .pet packages for this into a single, 'all-in-one' .pet (for ease of installation), and Fred had created the 'wex-portable' AppImage (with that newer ffmpeg incorporated), we discussed using this to replace the built-in Puppy ffmpeg for system-wide use.....'cos the default Puppy version is pretty ancient (with only minimal options compiled-in). It's several years old, and long overdue for an update.

Since then, I've been using it in many of my Pups for quite a while, with absolutely no adverse effects. Perhaps it might do the trick for PaleMoon, 'cos the Mozilla-based browsers always look in standard locations for what they want....

(It's totally cured the issues I'd been having with audio recording for the last 4 years in all my Pups, I know that much..!)

-----------------------------------------------

1.) Download Fred's ffmpeg from the link in this post:-

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 951#922951

.....from his G-Drive link. (Be warned, though; the original is only about 150-170k in size, what with being compiled against dynamic libs. Fred's is around 30 MB.....but the corresponding, newer dynamic AV libs aren't required.)

2.) Go into /usr/bin, and move the existing ffmpeg to a safe location (just in case, like.) Unpack the tarball of Fred's ffmpeg, then copy it over into /usr/bin, to replace the original.

Yo might need to re-boot, but I don't recall having to do that myself.

It certainly shouldn't hurt to leave the new ffmpeg in place, anyway. See what PaleMoon makes of that.

Worth a shot, I would have thought..... (*shrug*)


Mike.

[Makoto]

No such luck. I even tried rebooting, but the browsers still throw the same error on that site.

Maybe a more recent version of ffmpeg? Goodness knows they're always mucking with the AVC "standards..."

I'm wary (no pun intended) about messing with dbus - at least after I tried what watchdog suggested in another Firefox 60+ topic, which was to install a dbus meant for a later Puppy, a fix that was supposed to work with Precise... and my Mozilla-based programs suddenly started slowing to a crawl, followed by the system. One of these days, I'm going to have to try compiling the full dbus package, again. (I did it a long time ago for Puppy 4.3.1.)

[bigpup]

I'm running Pale Moon v28.0.1

Check in Palemoon>preferences>Content>Video
Make sure Enable Media Source Extensions (MSE) is checked (enabled).
Also enable the other two items for MSE

If this is not enabled. I get the same message, you do, when trying to run a video at cwseed.com.

With MSE enabled the videos play OK.

[Makoto]

I had all three enabled, already.

[OscarTalks]

with media.ffvpx.enabled set to False.

What happens if you set media.ffvpx.enabled to "True"?

Looks like this setting is about enabling/disabling some of the internal demuxers and codecs within the browser.

Doing this falls back to system ffmpeg which is almost certainly much older and may not even work at all.

As I posted above, I was able to view videos on cwseed.com in Firefox ESR. I didn't try Palemoon 28 but I did try Palemoon 27 and found that it was playing but the audio sounded slow and distorted. In Firefox it was all fine (in full screen).

[Makoto]

Tried it, and it still throws the same error.

The version of ffmpeg I have installed is basically the one Mike Walsh suggested, above (v3.1.2, from 2016). (I'm assuming that's the one anything making calls to ffmpeg is using, at any rate.)

[oui]

the divers Mozilla's have different libraries (until Seamonkey 2.30, and then until 2.46, and now the newer) with not compatible dependencies! this decreases terribly her ability to process all extensions on old versions of Linux, Puppy's are often old versions as base!

but the difficulties can also be on the side of VLC!

on 32 bit systems, I continue to prefer the combination of Seamonkey 2.30 (xulrunner oriented, the last one version) + mplayer (mplayer in the most actual version really made for my actual linux)

but some videos or sounds (yes, sounds also! for example this wonderful free page to learn foreign languages with sound, the souns are declared freeware on this page! and you can get free MP3 files for you MP3 player! see at http://www.goethe-verlag.com/book2/ ) requires most modern browsers, and it seems not possible to add some kind of ability on old browsers!

(note: if you test book2 , you have eventually to add some fonts if the language need special fonts! "book2" is a name showing, that the creator hopes that you will order his "book on demand" to get some money for his wonderful online work iffered without some payment! Read for example "book TO Chinese!, book TO Arabic "etc..)