Issues with video reproduction in browser

[Cicciograna]

Hello, I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 running Cyanogenmod version 12.1-20151117-SNAPSHOT-YOG7DAO1k4-t0lte, Android version 5.1.1.

Apparently I can't reproduce videos in my browsers. I am currently using CM Browser, and whenever I try to play a video from YouTube or Vimeo or other video hosting websites, the video is blocky, apparently corrupted. In the best case scenario, the video is simply blank; in the worst case, it's all jumbled. The audio is always fine. I have uploaded a screen recording to show you what I mean.

The issue is not browser-dependent, as it's the same on the stock Android browser. It is limited to browsers, in that if I open the videos with YouTube App they regularly play.
Even more odd, if I play YouTube videos fullscreen, they play regularly (which somehow leads me to think that it's something codec related).

I cannot pinpoint an exact moment at which the videos started to go wrong: I am sure that it is not something I experienced in the past, but I can't seem to remember any particular instance in which I tweaked my phone in a way that could have corrupted any piece of video reproduction software.

I tried wiping cache and Dalvik cache, to no avail. I don't really know how to access or edit codecs on Android, so I'm stuck.

Thank you for your help.

 

[psionandy]

No idea about your video problem... but I hope the CM Browser you're refering to is a Cyanogenmod Browser (Gello) , and not the CM Browser by Cheetah Mobile (which has serious privacy issues...)

 

[Cicciograna]

It's the CM Browser you refer to.

 

[psionandy]

It's the CM Browser you refer to.

I mentioned them both... but if it is the one from Cheetah Mobile... you really should read the privacy policy,.. which includes such lovely gems as

What information do we collect?
We collect information to improve our application and provide better services to all of our users - including:


the information we get from your use of our application and services, like the keywords you type in our application to search, the websites link you input, click, interact, and trigger from any application in your device;

We ask that you not send us, and you not disclose, any sensitive Personal Information (e.g., information related to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion or other beliefs, health, sexual orientation, criminal background or membership in past organizations, including trade union memberships) on or through an Application, the Services or the Site or otherwise to us.



I've added the bold for emphasis... They may also share this information with 'Trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. Which means you've agreed to share all of that stuff directly with the advertisers or anyone else that helps them earn money.

They then go on to contradict themselves several times... so its unclear as to exactly what they are doing with your data.

http://www.cmcm.com/protocol/cmbrowser/privacy.html

Its completely your choice if you are happy with that privacy policy or not.... personally I wouldn't let it anywhere near my device.

 

[Cicciograna]

Okay, thanks for your input.

Anybody else, ideas on my issue with videos?

 

[svim]

Try going to: https://www.youtube.com/html5
Are your browsers showing a checkmark or an exclamation mark by each of the six items? If they're not all checkmarks there's some codec and/or web media element that CM Browser isn't capable of. Maybe try Firefox or Chrome. Or just stick with the Youtube and Vimeo apps to view their respective content.

 

[Cicciograna]

Both CM Browser and the Android browser show six checkmarks. It's somewhat frustrating, since if there's some video embedded in a webpage I cannot watch it.
I tried Opera, and it seems to solve the issue; problem is, I had previously Opera as my browser, and switched to CM because Opera is way slower: for now I'll keep the Big Red O, but I'd like to solve the problem, especially since it touches also the stock browser.

Additional suggestions?

 

[svim]

You might want to use this HTML5 support app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.the4thdimension.androidhtml5supported
It won't help you actually fix anything but it might at least give you some info about what's happening.

If it's some random, embedded video, maybe it's Flash? Try using Puffin:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cloudmosa.puffinFree&hl=en
Since Adobe nixed Flash support for all mobile devices years ago and there's still way too much of Flash vids online even now, Puffin's solution is to have Flash on their servers so when you encounter a Flash vid, it gets re-directed to their servers and you're just getting the feed from there.

 

[FalconF]

I tried Opera, and it seems to solve the issue; problem is, I had previously Opera as my browser, and switched to CM because Opera is way slower: for now I'll keep the Big Red O, but I'd like to solve the problem, especially since it touches also the stock browser.

Additional suggestions?

I think this is a problem with Webkit for your phone , the HTML rendering engine of the browsers you are using. Since you mentioned that using Opera partially solved the problem, then i could only arrive at that conclusion.
My suggestion?

1. Try using a browser that does not use Webkit, Firefox is a good example.

2. Update Android system Webkit from the Play Store(might help )

3. Change your browser user-agent. For example, use the option 'request desktop site ' f4om your browser. But the best way is to download Dolphin browser as it allows you to directly switch between various user agents. You can also do that with Firefox via an addon...

 

[mikedt]

You really want to avoid Cheetah Mobile Browser, otherwise you'll be complaining about horrible intrusive ads, or worse.

 

[Cicciograna]

I thank you for your replies. Since I posted on this thread, the problem seems to have been solved without any intervention on my part, in that videos started to show correctly again on whatever browser I was using.
You'll be happy to know that I uninstalled CM Browser after reading your comments on it, and now I'm a happy user of Chrome: it's slower than CM, but not as slow as Opera, and definitely fast enough for my tastes.

Thank you for your contributions.