Score:1

Ubuntu on Raspberry Pi (ARM architecture) - cannot run AVCHD MTS, or mp4 movies

um flag

I am running Ubuntu 22.04 on Raspberry Pi 400 (an ARM computer). I can connect to an Internet TV feed, or YouTube, using Firefox, and then the broadcast runs fine.

When trying to play .MTS videos (AVCHD - 60 fps) or .mp4 videos using the system default player, it gives the error messages:

An error occurred.
 The specified movie cannot be found. 
 Unable to create a GL context

MTS movies can be played with the "VLC media player" application, but then they are "jumpy" - "stuttering" - the movies keep starting and stopping continuously. Using ffplay: it's a bit better, but the videos are still "jumpy" - "stuttering" - the videos keep starting and stopping continuously - with a higher frequency, though.

System:

uname -a
 Linux 5.15.0-1027-raspi #29-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT Mon Apr 3 10:12:21 UTC 2023 aarch64 GNU/Linux

lsb_release -a
Description:    Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS

Those videos play fine on Ubuntu 22.04 on x64.

karel avatar
sa flag
Reported at Launchpad as bug #1969512: [Totem unable to play video: "The specified movie could not be found"](https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/totem/+bug/1969512)
Helen Craigman avatar
um flag
Karel: In Launchpad, this bug is reported, and they say: "Fix released"; but I can't locate the fix
Score:1
tl flag

Along with replacing the default media player with VLC, check refresh rate in your display settings. If it's less than 60 Hz, you'll see the symptoms you've described. Buffering also causes playback to stop momentarily. Subpar transmission quality and rate from the streaming media source are also factors.

Helen Craigman avatar
um flag
Bruzr: thanks. Where is the refresh rate in the "display settings"?
Bruzr avatar
tl flag
Launch Settings, scroll down and select Displays. On the right, you'll see your monitor and its settings listed: Orientation, Resolution, Refresh Rate, Scale, Fractional Scaling. You may have to change the resolution to one that allows for a 60 Hz refresh rate, e.g., 1920 x 1080.
Score:0
um flag

Turns out that this is a known bug in 22.04 on Pi (related to Wayland); and they say: "Fix released"; but I can't locate the fix:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/totem/+bug/1969512

Score:0
er flag

you can try to install the gl library using the sudo apt install freeglut3-dev and verify with dpkg -L freeglut3-dev

if you want to uninstall it use sudo apt remove freeglut3-dev

Just Please be careful in running below command as sometimes removal of this package might impact other active running applications.

or better yet just install vlc media player

Helen Craigman avatar
um flag
Aineasg: thank you for the prompt response. I have installed freeglut3-dev (and it installed about 15 more libs that it drew in), but the error (and error messages) stay the same.
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