Can't playback mp4 videos in Gwenview

Issues & Assistance KDE
1

When I try to playback a video in Gwenview, the screen remains black. Audio is playing though, and the videos have thumbnails in overview.
I’ve tried installing the phonon-qt6-gstreamer-git, because it was suggested here, but it’s not helping.
The files (recorded with my Android phone) play fine in VLC.

╰─λ garuda-inxi
System:
Kernel: 6.10.5-zen1-1-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 14.2.1
clocksource: tsc avail: acpi_pm
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-zen
root=UUID=dc229e5a-50c1-478a-b84b-e60401e4d6c0 rw rootflags=subvol=@
quiet quiet rd.udev.log_priority=3 vt.global_cursor_default=0
resume=UUID=258393c9-45c2-4f11-9c89-8fb56cf7d7ab loglevel=3 ibt=off
Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.1.4 tk: Qt v: N/A info: frameworks v: 6.5.0
wm: kwin_x11 vt: 2 dm: SDDM Distro: Garuda base: Arch Linux
Machine:
Type: Laptop System: TUXEDO product: TUXEDO v: N/A
serial: <superuser required> Chassis: Notebook type: 10
serial: <superuser required>
Mobo: TUXEDO model: N141CU serial: <superuser required>
uuid: <superuser required> UEFI: INSYDE v: 1.07.07RTR1 date: 11/08/2019
Battery:
ID-1: BAT0 charge: 33.6 Wh (100.0%) condition: 33.6/35.3 Wh (95.0%)
volts: 12.4 min: 11.4 model: Notebook BAT type: Li-ion serial: <filter>
status: full
CPU:
Info: model: Intel Core i7-10510U bits: 64 type: MT MCP
arch: Comet/Whiskey Lake note: check gen: core 10 level: v3 note: check
built: 2018 process: Intel 14nm family: 6 model-id: 0x8E (142)
stepping: 0xC (12) microcode: 0xFC
Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 4 tpc: 2 threads: 8 smt: enabled cache:
L1: 256 KiB desc: d-4x32 KiB; i-4x32 KiB L2: 1024 KiB desc: 4x256 KiB
L3: 8 MiB desc: 1x8 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 800 high: 801 min/max: 400/4900 scaling:
driver: intel_pstate governor: powersave cores: 1: 800 2: 800 3: 801 4: 800
5: 800 6: 800 7: 800 8: 800 bogomips: 36799
Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
Device-1: Intel CometLake-U GT2 [UHD Graphics] vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK
driver: i915 v: kernel arch: Gen-9.5 process: Intel 14nm built: 2016-20
ports: active: eDP-1 empty: DP-1,HDMI-A-1,HDMI-A-2 bus-ID: 00:02.0
chip-ID: 8086:9b41 class-ID: 0300
Device-2: Chicony USB2.0 Camera driver: uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-7:4 chip-ID: 04f2:b649
class-ID: 0e02
Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.13 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.2
compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X: loaded: modesetting
alternate: fbdev,intel,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915 display-ID: :0 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 508x285mm (20.00x11.22")
s-diag: 582mm (22.93")
Monitor-1: eDP-1 model: AU Optronics 0x543d built: 2017 res: 1920x1080
hz: 60 dpi: 158 gamma: 1.2 size: 309x174mm (12.17x6.85") diag: 355mm (14")
ratio: 16:9 modes: 1920x1080
API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris platforms: device: 0 drv: iris
device: 1 drv: swrast gbm: drv: iris surfaceless: drv: iris x11: drv: iris
inactive: wayland
API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 24.1.6-arch1.1
glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics (CML GT2)
device-ID: 8086:9b41 memory: 7.48 GiB unified: yes
API: Vulkan v: 1.3.279 layers: 7 device: 0 type: integrated-gpu name: Intel
UHD Graphics (CML GT2) driver: mesa intel v: 24.1.6-arch1.1
device-ID: 8086:9b41 surfaces: xcb,xlib device: 1 type: cpu name: llvmpipe
(LLVM 18.1.8 256 bits) driver: mesa llvmpipe v: 24.1.6-arch1.1 (LLVM
18.1.8) device-ID: 10005:0000 surfaces: xcb,xlib
Audio:
Device-1: Intel Comet Lake PCH-LP cAVS vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_skl, snd_soc_avs,
snd_sof_pci_intel_cnl bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:02c8 class-ID: 0403
API: ALSA v: k6.10.5-zen1-1-zen status: kernel-api with: aoss
type: oss-emulator tools: N/A
Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.2.2 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
4: pw-jack type: plugin tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
vendor: CLEVO/KAPOK driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s
lanes: 1 port: 5000 bus-ID: 3b:00.1 chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200
IF: enp59s0f1 state: down mac: <filter>
Device-2: Intel Wi-Fi 5 Wireless-AC 9x6x [Thunder Peak] driver: iwlwifi
v: kernel pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 40:00.0
chip-ID: 8086:2526 class-ID: 0280
IF: wlp64s0 state: up mac: <filter>
IF-ID-1: wwp0s20f0u2c3 state: down mac: <filter>
Info: services: NetworkManager, smbd, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant
Bluetooth:
Device-1: Intel Wireless-AC 9260 Bluetooth Adapter driver: btusb v: 0.8
type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-10:5
chip-ID: 8087:0025 class-ID: e001
Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 3 state: down bt-service: enabled,running
rfk-block: hardware: no software: yes address: <filter> bt-v: 5.1 lmp-v: 10
status: discoverable: no pairing: no
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 1.41 TiB used: 303.8 GiB (21.1%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Intel model: SSDPEKNW010T8
size: 953.87 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s
lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 002C temp: 31.9 C scheme: GPT
ID-2: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Crucial model: CT525MX300SSD1
size: 489.05 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: R060 scheme: GPT
Partition:
ID-1: / raw-size: 936.72 GiB size: 936.72 GiB (100.00%)
used: 303.8 GiB (32.4%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 maj-min: 259:2
ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%)
used: 584 KiB (0.2%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1 maj-min: 259:1
ID-3: /home raw-size: 936.72 GiB size: 936.72 GiB (100.00%)
used: 303.8 GiB (32.4%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 maj-min: 259:2
ID-4: /var/log raw-size: 936.72 GiB size: 936.72 GiB (100.00%)
used: 303.8 GiB (32.4%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 maj-min: 259:2
ID-5: /var/tmp raw-size: 936.72 GiB size: 936.72 GiB (100.00%)
used: 303.8 GiB (32.4%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2 maj-min: 259:2
Swap:
Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 15.32 GiB used: 1.43 GiB (9.3%)
priority: 100 comp: zstd avail: lzo,lzo-rle,lz4,lz4hc,842 max-streams: 8
dev: /dev/zram0
ID-2: swap-2 type: partition size: 16.85 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%)
priority: -2 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p3 maj-min: 259:3
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 50.0 C pch: 50.0 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
Memory: total: 16 GiB note: est. available: 15.32 GiB used: 6.84 GiB (44.7%)
Processes: 306 Power: uptime: 8h 25m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep
avail: s2idle wakeups: 2 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
suspend, test_resume image: 6.11 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,
power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd v: 256 default: graphical
tool: systemctl
Packages: 2109 pm: dpkg pkgs: 0 pm: pacman pkgs: 2084 libs: 551
tools: pamac,paru pm: flatpak pkgs: 25 Compilers: clang: 18.1.8 gcc: 14.2.1
Shell: garuda-inxi default: Bash v: 5.2.32 running-in: konsole
inxi: 3.3.35
Garuda (2.6.26-1):
System install date:     2023-10-28
Last full system update: 2024-08-23 ↻
Is partially upgraded:   No
Relevant software:       snapper NetworkManager dracut
Windows dual boot:       No/Undetected
Failed units:
2

Do you have the kimageformats and qt6-imageformats packages installed? Just guessing but maybe these are what you’re missing.

EDIT:
Noticed you have a pending / queued reboot. Reboot your machine and try again.

3 Likes
3

Why in the world would you try to play a video file in a image app? Smplayer with skins or VLC are your friends.

1 Like
4

You can view MP4 files in Gwenview if you have the required packages.
Is it the best way to view them? Probably not, but it is possible! :laughing:
I have phonon-qt6 (and the required dependency phonon-qt6-vlc for the backend) and it seems to work.
@bennypr0fane installing phonon-qt6-gstreamer-git also should pull in those dependencies I’ve listed. They probably just had to restart to get it detected.

4 Likes
5

Thanks for the hints! I installed kimageformats and qt6-imageformats, rebooted, but no dice. Then I looked at phonon-qt6 again and noticed there is also the phonon-qt6-mpv backend and installed this too - now it works! Playback is very jerky though, and Gwenview mostly crashes after one video. Gonna open a separate issue for that.

6

Not wanting to be rude but it was asinine to create plugins to allow the playing of video files in a image app.

1 Like
7

It doesn’t make any sense to me either.

Why do people voluntarily run a marathon?
There are bicycles, cars …, but then there are many people who like to watch others struggle over the marathon course or collapse near finish line.

It’s probably just about having fun, and you do it because you can.

1 Like
8

Do you still want me to answer this? Imho it takes little imagination to envision a common use case for this. Gwenview is used for managing images, right? The vast majority of images on my system are the photos - and, hang on: videos - I took with my phone cam. The phone saves them in the same folders, sorted by date. Videos do not go in a separate folder. No, I don’t find it worth the while finding some way to make it change that behavior. Indeed, having the images, still or moving, sorted by date, suits me just fine, in a journaling kind of way.
Gwenview displays tumbnails of all the images it finds in a folder, much like a file manager, and it makes a lot of sense to me that it’s not omitting the video files there. I wanna at least be able to preview them right there in the same window as the photos, I do not wish a separate app to be opened (possibly with a new window for each file, no thanks). That doesn’t require a great deal of viewing quality for me, this is for organizing and remembering purposes.
Next, show me some other mainstream photo managing apps that exclude video files. The stock image managers on Windoze and Macos, much like Gwenview, do not, iirc - probably because a lot of people use them that way.
If anything was “asinine” here - let’s better call it a lamentable omission - it’s the fact that video playback in an app that provides this functionality is somehow not fully available out of the box, but needs hunting for extra packages - imho these should be pre-installed by default.

3 Likes
9

Which is weird… it should be? I didn’t have to install anything additional, and looking at the dependencies for gwenview, phonon-qt6 is a requirement (not optional) and that requires a backend (phonon-qt6-vlc).

https://archlinux.org/packages/extra/x86_64/gwenview/
https://archlinux.org/packages/extra/x86_64/phonon-qt6/

1 Like
10

Right, I have no mp4 in my “Pictures” folder on KDE, just for fun I start from my “Video” folder one, it works OOTB with small files, big need lot of time to start. :rofl:
I prefer mpv.
You never stop learning.

But KDE is not really my area.
1 Like
11

Thinking about it more, maybe at one time in the past there were other backends that fit the requirement phonon-qt6-backend in the extra repo? Only thing listed now is phonon-qt6-vlc; the other backend is only in the AUR (the MPV one)… maybe they don’t work as well as they used to? Might be why @bennypr0fane is having troubles with using that backend. The MPV backend has been reported to cause crashing in some situations dolphin crashes when trying to preview files · Issue #20 · OpenProgger/phonon-mpv · GitHub

1 Like
12

Weren’t all the phonon (not that there ever that many) deprecated with FW, Gear, or Plasma 6? I thought I remembered reading that, unless I’m mistaking it for something else.

13

Don’t think that is thing because the packages are being updated still in the Arch repos… and I can’t seem to find any sources for that claim. You are most likely thinking at a certain point of time with phonon-qt5-gstreamer or other packages at that time that only had qt5 support Phonon Gstreamer is deprecated and no longer has Qt6 support - Applications - EndeavourOS . (So not all phonons, just there is only one with KDE 6 / qt6 support now that I can see that KDE actually recommends)

I’ve looked into this backend issue more and found out that KDE recommends only the VLC backend (package phonon-qt6-vlc), and is probably why it is only the one listed to fill the requirement for phonon-qt6-backend when looking at the phonon-qt6 package in the extra repo.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/KDE#Phonon
(@bennypr0fane worth the read as it talks about prioritizing multiple backends if they are in use, and also has a possible fix for crashes using the VLC backend by suggesting to rebuild the VLC plugins cache.)

Edit:
Probably also why the first suggestion to fix issues with Gwenview and MP4 is to make sure that phonon-vlc is installed 487619 – mp4 files dont open
(forgot to mention that link when I first made a post in this topic)

Note: moved topic back to KDE as this issue is about KDE programs and phonon; which phonon is also widely used in KDE for sounds/media (for even like notification sounds).

1 Like
15

This is exactly what I meant. I just forgot to put the word ‘backends’ in there.

16

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