Videos won’t play—but they did a few minutes before
Hi guys:
This is not the first time it has happened but I thought I should ask this time.
I put up a page with some embedded videos:
There are a lot, but this error comes up even if there is only one.
A few minutes ago, the videos played.
Now, I get ‘Video format or MIME type is not supported’ on every video.
I might be able to come back tomorrow and find it is all fixed, but for now, those videos don’t play any more.
Since this is a site I run, I know I haven’t changed the videos.
Is there a reason behind Firefox “changing its mind” about what it is capable of? (Sorry, I know it technically hasn’t, but something is producing this error.)
Regards,
Jack
All Replies (6)
PS.: And it’s definitely not the site providing the video as it all works fine in (shock horror) Internet Explorer 10 beta.
Clear the cache and the cookies from sites that cause problems.
"Clear the Cache":
- Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Cached Web Content: "Clear Now"
"Remove Cookies" from sites causing problems:
- Tools > Options > Privacy > Cookies: "Show Cookies"
Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).
- Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe mode start window or otherwise make changes.
Hi Cor-el: thanks again!
I’ve now done the lot and I use the default theme in any case. It’s the same result in Safe Mode. I still can’t play these videos, though I could for a while yesterday.
I know on our end we haven’t changed the video format (no reason to!) but for some reason Firefox now believes they are unsupported.
As I mentioned, what is really strange is that this is all OK in Internet Explorer 10, a browser I normally avoid like the plague.
Could it be Adobe Flash playing silly buggers?
These video open for me a Flash player.
Is Flash installed and enabled (Tools > Add-ons > Plugins)?
Hi Cor-el:
Yes, Flash is definitely there and enabled.
I know it would be because the videos at http://lucire.com/insider/20130112/duchess-of-cambridges-official-portrait-unveiled-at-national-portrait-gallery/ play for me and they are from the same licensor and embedded the same way.
But every now and then, Firefox will pick one article, where the videos worked perfectly well one hour, and render all of them “incompatible”.
I can sometimes go back after a day and all is well again (though not today!). It’s why this bug is so weird.
And now, just as bizarrely, they all work again.