Plays in VLC but not in Kodi (RPi4)

    I have some video files I downloaded and they seem fine in the windows environment. I DL in windows and try the files out by evoking VLC in windows. If they seem OK you scrape the files and scan them into KODI's library.

    I am noticing a number of files that work well when they are tested with VLC won't work in KODI. When played in KODI it quickly brings up a black screen that disappears just as quickly. Whole seasons of TV shows don't work in Kodi.

    I am not sure how to troubleshoot this problem. Is the file(s) broken and VLC does something to make them playable, but when used in KODI, KODI can't deal with the "error", so they seem unplayable? Is my down-loader suddenly not putting the rar's together properly after years of being dependable? Or is it actually something with Kodi that can't deal with a perfectly fine file?

    Thanks for your troubleshooting ideas.

    Try latest LE 11. If the problem remains...

    Please provide a full debug log.

    How to post a log (wiki)

    1. Enable debugging in Settings>System Settings>Logging
    2. Restart Kodi
    3. Replicate the problem
    4. Generate a log URL (do not post/upload logs to the forum)

    use "Settings > LibreELEC > System > Paste system logs" or run "pastekodi" over SSH, then post the URL link
    Quote from WarpLover

    I am noticing a number of files that work well when they are tested with VLC won't work in KODI. When played in KODI it quickly brings up a black screen that disappears just as quickly. Whole seasons of TV shows don't work in Kodi.

    Is the file(s) broken and VLC does something to make them playable, but when used in KODI, KODI can't deal with the "error", so they seem unplayable?

    The method how the files contains the video information... Exists a lot of codecs, different resolution, etc. Probably that file use an unusual (old?) video codec what don't supported by video player in Kodi. I had some old video files (old TV show season), what when I played in Kodi (last year, LE10), after few minutes, the video became desynchronized to audio (delayed sound). A quick solution for me was to recode that files using the PC to a recent video codec. The result was some far smaller files, without any quality change. Exists free tools for this. Probably always will be old/exotic video files, that will create player problems in Kodi.

    I appreciate your reply. But I do not think "old codec" is always the answer. Go look for the 60s Outer Limits HD. The file sizes are about 5g. Almost none of them work.

    Re-encoding is an interesting idea, but costs way more time and $ than scraping and failing in Kodi.

    I see the same non-function with a newer show Shipwreck Hunters Australia. The first episode works. The others don't. This is a very new show but exhibits the same quick shutdown when asking to play it.

    I'm sure there are more examples in the library that I have not run across yet.

    Is there a way to check Kodi compatibility without going through the trouble of scraping and moving to the library before finding out it is a fail? Is there a stand alone Kodi player outside of Kodi?

    Playing a new file in VLC to test used to be all that was needed. Been building this library for 20 years.

    We shortly did an RPi firmware fix for wrong video size encoding. I think that fix is now available on LE 11.

    Please update on SSH...

    Code
    cd .update
wget https://test.libreelec.tv/upload/LibreELEC-RPi4.arm-11.0.0.img.gz
reboot

    A quick mention. The Outer limits files did not work on The Core (OSMC) video box either. It's not just the Pi!!!

    I have not tested The Shipwreck files on the core.

    Also, this complaint does NOT appear for my movies, just TV files, for what that is worth.

    I have a busy schedule today. I'll do as suggested above re: the logs and check back later.

    Quote from WarpLover

    A quick mention. The Outer limits files did not work on The Core (OSMC) video box either. It's not just the Pi!!!

    I have not tested The Shipwreck files on the core.

    Also, this complaint does NOT appear for my movies, just TV files, for what that is worth.

    I have a busy schedule today. I'll do as suggested above re: the logs and check back later.

    Not as busy a schedule as the guys here have answering your query. You were asked to supply logs and possibly a snippet of the offending video. Still no sign of either. Maybe when you get around to it

    I occasionaly run across a similar situation where VLC can play a file but Kodi can't. The VLC folks have gone to great effort to make their product play absolutely anything. Maybe Kodi's player isn't quite as robust? Anyway, my solution is always to use Handbrake to re-encode the original file to an MP4 file. Kodi is always able to play anything that Handbrake produces. Handbrake is a free download.

    Without more info, we can't tell for sure why VLC can play it but Kodi can't. It would be interesting to run the Mediainfo tool on one of the files and compare it to one that Kodi can play. You said this is an Australian TV show which made me wonder if the source was PAL instead of NTSC. It all depends on how the recording was captured.

    Quote from petediscrete

    Not as busy a schedule as the guys here have answering your query. You were asked to supply logs and possibly a snippet of the offending video. Still no sign of either. Maybe when you get around to it

    Debug logging has been turned on. But since none of my TV drives mount in KODI anymore, I cannot test the TV files in KODI on the Pi to get your logs. For the last while, only my movie drives show up. 7 drives, only 3 mount. So there is more than one challenge here.

    Once, while trying to figure out the mounting issue, I plugged the same usb hub full of drives into a Vero 4K box (I got the name wrong earlier) and found the same issue-just a few mount. Plug it into windows, and everything is good. I saw all the drives mount on the Pi, in KODI (10.95.1), back when the installation was new. After a few days, this problem appeared. (mentioned in another thread)

    Would the log file help you see why the drives aren't always mounting? It seems KODI does not like ANKER USB 3.0 hubs. I am willing to fulfill your request, if KODI changes its mind about mounting my drives.