HLS live streams just stops no errors

[dbanbahji]

Have you read the FAQ and checked for duplicate open issues?
yes

If the problem is related to FairPlay, have you read the tutorial?

not related to fairplay
What version of Shaka Player are you using?

demo page

Can you reproduce the issue with our latest release version?
yes
Can you reproduce the issue with the latest code from main?
yes

Are you using the demo app or your own custom app?
demo

If custom app, can you reproduce the issue using our demo app?

yes
What browser and OS are you using?

chrome latest
For embedded devices (smart TVs, etc.), what model and firmware version are you using?
n/a

What are the manifest and license server URIs?

https://install.perfectgame.tv/speed/broadcast/15/desktop-playlist.m3u8

What configuration are you using? What is the output of player.getConfiguration()?
demo page default

What did you do?
play stream downloads 1-2 segments then stops downloading anymore, manifest continue to download and be updated.
ts stream with no encrtyption.

What did you expect to happen?

playback to continue

[dbanbahji]

seems to work fine on hlsjs videojs bitmovin etc and safari native. same behavior on chromecast sdk with just shaka. works with the MPL player.

[dbanbahji]

@avelad i checked 4.5.0 and i dont see any issues with the stream freezing.
is it possible transmuxers changed?
but i do see some of these after a discontinuty. seems like that might be seperate issue. is that worth another issue?
https://v4-5-0-dot-shaka-player-demo.appspot.com/demo/#audiolang=en-US;textlang=en-US;uilang=en-US;asset=https://install.perfectgame.tv/speed/broadcast/15/desktop-playlist.m3u8;panel=CUSTOM%20CONTENT;build=uncompiled

[joeyparrish]

If the transmuxer were to blame, I think we would still see network requests for segments. It stops requesting segments, so I think that is a bug in HlsParser, SegmentIndex, or StreamingEngine.

[joeyparrish]

I just confirmed this issue with the latest release, v4.7.11.

No configuration required. Quick link to repro:

https://shaka-player-demo.appspot.com/demo/#asset=https://install.perfectgame.tv/speed/broadcast/15/desktop-playlist.m3u8

[joeyparrish]

Update: while I was writing those last messages, network requests started happening again. It's still not playing, but my previous guesses about the root cause may be invalid.

[joeyparrish]

In v4.7.0, v4.6.0, v4.5.0, and v4.4.0 it is broken, but with different symptoms:

• "Possible encoding problem warnings"
• Repeated segments in buffer
• Jumping to catch up to seek range

It appears to be working in v4.3.0. I'll bisect through that range to see what changed. Likely the introduction of our transmuxer. :-)

[dbanbahji]

ive seen the possible encoding problems errors with media tailor streams as well for ad insertions on hls.
that link and this stream doesnt have any ad insertion just a disconintuty and cue markers to put in ads if they went through an ad server. so you might get 2 bugs here for the price of one :-)

[joeyparrish]

According to my bisection, your stream works fine before 50c9df4, PR #4870, which was meant to fix issue #4589. Between that and v4.7.0, we see the encoding problem logs I mentioned above. There is some other point at which we seem to transition to the "just stops" symptom.

[dbanbahji]

if you need more content with dynamic ad breaks, discontinuities, and mediatailor streams encoded/packaged by ateme, let me know. i still see those possible possible encoding problems, repeated segements/audio/frames/freezing, Jumping forward to catch up with the seek range with 4.7.11.

i sometimes see also segment_index.js:522 Assertion failed: SegmentReferences are incorrect and log.js:140 Possible encoding problem detected! Unexpected buffered range for reference shaka.media.SegmentReference and a lot of gap jumping but i dont see gaps  in some of these streams/media. most of the time these dont cause too much impact to the stream sync wise or error or playback wise outside of filling up the console.

[joeyparrish]

All these things are signs of something that is very wrong. They don't always lead to a failed playback, but they point to broken assumptions and/or bad content. (It's hard to tell which is which from the symptoms alone.)

I confirmed your bisection that the "just stops" symptoms start at 776b69d, PR #6059, which is meant to fix issue #5939.

Since reverting that just leads to different problems ("possible encoding problem", repeated segments, etc.), I don't think that is a viable solution.

[dbanbahji]

i dont think its bad content, ive been testing this on mpl default sdk for the new shaka hls opt in, along with safari native, bitmovin, hlsjs,theo,videojs plays fine on all those. probably just a small bug :-)

[avelad]

Yes, the issue is at 776b69d, and it looks like the same root cause as #6299

[dbanbahji]

yeah that might fix the stopping part, but do you want another issue for the discontinuity ads related errors?

[dbanbahji]

@avelad i do see nightly fixes the just stops behavior. i still see those possible possible encoding problems, repeated segements/audio/frames/freezing,Jumping forward to catch up with the seek range, console errors etc. should i open a new ticket for those?