Format string variables in the video snapshot prefix do not expand or are not being parsed
Since upgrading from 2.0.8, the format string variables described at https://wiki.videolan.org/Documentation:Snapshots/ and https://wiki.videolan.org/Documentation:Play_HowTo/Format_String/ no longer work; they do not expand into the data they are supposed to hold.
Example: Previously, if using a snapshot prefix such as "$N $T_-", taking a screenshot 4 seconds into a video named "coolvideo.mp4" would produce a snapshot with the filename "coolvideo.mp4 00_00_04-_2013-11-20-00h02m02s229".
Under 2.1.1, using the same snapshot prefix results in the filename "$N $T_-_2013-11-20-00h02m02s229".
I hope I have been clear in describing the problem.
Activity
Works as documented on the Format_String wiki page https://wiki.videolan.org/index.php?title=Documentation:Format_String&oldid=26201
added Component::Video: filters Type::feature labels
changed milestone to %Features paradize
I'm sorry, but the feature does not work.
The issue originally arose on a fully-updated 64-bit Arch Linux install. After reading your response just now, I installed VLC 2.1.1 on a 64 bit Windows 7 box to rule out the possibility that the bug was in my OS. However, I get the exact same behavior on both operating systems.
I have uploaded a short video demonstrating the bug (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbwMHm5EUc). I apologize for the poor quality, but I have a very slow internet connection and needed to minimize file size. You can clearly see my settings and the resulting snapshot filenames in the OSD text.
I would like to stress again that I have tested this on two different operating systems, one of which was a fresh install of VLC. I will gladly provide anything which may help you track down this bug, so please do not dismiss my problem out-of-hand.
Thank you.
I can confirm that this problem began with VLC 2.1 and continues on 2.1.1.
I have tested it on the Windows 64bit and Mac OS 10.6.8 platforms. In fact, I just downloaded fresh copies (22 November 2013) and found the same bug.
However, I will add, regarding shvelven's video, that I've often had the problem with changes to VLC's preferences not taking effect until the app has been closed and restarted. This has long been the case with changes to the video prefix. So, shvelven, you may wish to test $T by closing VLC and re-opening it.
Regards,
Jeremy
PS A related, but different, problem happened waaaaay back with VLC version 1.0.0.
In that case, it worked on MacOS, but not Windows:
I'd like to recommend that this ticket be changed from "enhancement" to "defect".
The "Documentation:Snapshots" documentation can be used to illustrate why this is not working the way it used to:
For example,
T- while watching a DVD of Friends, then the snapshot filenames would look something like this: Friends-00_05_21-00004.png . This indicates a snapshot taken at 5 minutes and 21 seconds into the video; and it was the number 00004 snapshot of the day.However, since version 2.1, changing the prefix to Friends-$T- results in file names that look like this: Friends-$T-00004.png.
Doesn't this qualify as a defect since it is a change in previous behavior?
Thanks.
Hello,
but the problem/bug is not fixed. I use Win 8 64bit and in vlc-2.2.0-git-20140221-0018 (32bit) the bug is still there. Format string variables are not processed like they used in vlc 2.0.8. Yes, I reset my preferences in %appdata% by deleting them. And yes, I saved, closed and restarted vlc after setting my format string.
Please have another look at this.
And thanks to every developer on vlc for their great work.
added Status::fixed label
Just popping in to confirm that it's still broken for me as well on Arch linux.
As dfuhrmann said above, 2.2 is the current development version and hasn't been released yet. I'm willing to wait until then before making a fuss about it. According to the roadmap, 2.2 is already 8 months late so I assume it'll be released sometime soon.
shvelven@kajiura ~ $ vlc --version VLC media player 2.1.5 Rincewind (revision 2.1.4-49-gdab6cb5) VLC version 2.1.5 Rincewind (2.1.4-49-gdab6cb5) Compiled by nobody on (Oct 13 2014 06:22:25) Compiler: gcc version 4.9.1 20140903 (prerelease) (GCC) This program comes with NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. You may redistribute it under the terms of the GNU General Public License; see the file named COPYING for details. Written by the VideoLAN team; see the AUTHORS file.Davell:
The nightly builds (which are up to version 3.0 now) may be found here:
http://nightlies.videolan.org/
They can be a little unstable, sometimes, but I've downloaded versions since 2.2 and they work fine. And they do indeed have this long-standing problem fixed!
Regards,
Jeremy
I just tried night build 3.0.0 64-bit (2-3-2015) and had mixed results, however there is a way to get it to work. Testing out the 7z file (without install) it worked. However, once I uninstalled VLC 2.0.8 and actually installed 3.0.0 (using the exe), it stopped working correctly. Preferences were still intact and it even had my previous snapshot prefix in the prefs, but it didn't work correctly. I uninstalled but it still didn't work from the non-installed version. I was going to reset prefs, but got it to work without having to do that. I deleted the snapshot prefix, closed, restarted VLC, added the snapshot prefix ($N $T) and then it worked. This solution may or may not work with the installed version, and I'm not going to try now that I finally don't have to use a 2 year old version of VLC.
To summarize - extract the 7z or use the exe from here: http://nightlies.videolan.org/build/win64/vlc-3.0.0-20150203-0441/
Then after uninstalling your current version of VLC, keep your preferences but delete the snapshot prefix, then restart VLC and add them again.
mentioned in issue #10784 (closed)
mentioned in issue #11216 (closed)
