Disable/fix the new video player in Firefox for Android
Hi,
I've been using Firefox for Android for quite long without problems. However, since one of the recent updates (not sure which one), I have a problem with sites with embedded videos (from youtube, for example). I guess it's the new media player that comes with Firefox. I have two problems: - It stutters a lot, to the point it's unusable (I can't see the video). - The pause icon doesn't disappear during the reproduction.
I didn't have this problem with the old player (which I guess it's the old known flash player). In fact, with others browsers in the same cell phone I don't have any problems playing videos.
I've searched around and I've found two solutions: - First, set stagefright.disabled to true -> didn't change anything. - Second, somewhere (here) I've read Firefox wasn't going to have any third party media players and that the solution would be to long tap and then select other app to play the video. That would be ok, but the long tap doesn't work for me. It appears a menu (like pressing the right button on a desktop firefox over a video) that is not clickable (or touchable) and that is not related to android (like would be a list of apps to open the video with).
I'd like to use the old player, so I'm looking for a way to disable this new player. If that's not possible, is there a way to fix the stuttering and the icon visibility?
I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S2, with rom CM 9.1 (Android 4.0.3) and Firefox and Flash are updated. I've uploaded a picture here http://postimg.org/image/pwhqjcfc3/ to show you how I see the video (with the pause icon visible). Could someone tell me if this is how you see the videos in Firefox too?
Thanks in advance!
Regards, Solop
All Replies (5)
I know this may not be of much help, but I strongly believe this problem is with the new version 23. I had to uninstall V.23 and search V.21 in google. I love firefox but this newest version is a complete dog on my handset compared to all previous versions. Unfortunately I didnt have it long enough to test video. I was too busy cringing over how much lag it had and the super slow FPS. I'd suggest downloading an earlier version until they get their bugs worked out. Right now, this new overhaul has made it nearly unusable for me...and yes, im on Android 4.0.3 on an Htc Rezound. Make sure you backup your bookmarks before uninstalling ...if you do.
Thanks for your suggestion, Bruce. I think too that would fix this problem, since I've found it quite recently. However, I'd rather prefer not to downgrade the browser if possible (although I'm afraid I'll have to do it since I can't use this HTML5 player at all).
And what is worse, I've seached around a little bit more and I've found this: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=627752
It looks exactly like my problem with the pause icon, so that bug is not fixed. Should I report it on bugzilla? Maybe reopen that bug?
Yeah, file a new one. I didn' realize that one was dated 2011. :o. Will the pause button disappear if you pause and unpause the playback as noted in the earlier bug?
Well, it's not the same behaviour so probably doesn't deserve a bug ticket. I've uninstalled, cleared data and reinstalled again. At least now the stuttering is gone (or at least it's not noticeable enough). The pause button keeps visible while playing but if you touch the video once (not twice) it disappears. If you tap again it pauses as expected.
After all the tests, I'm not sure about this new player. I miss many things (full screen, for example). The long tapping shows a menu where if I select anything (for example, copy video url), it highlights the entry but doesn't do anything. The only one that works (opens a new tab) it's "About HTML5". I guess they will be fixed some time.
Anyway, thanks for your help, Bruce!
HTML5 SMH ..... Not to go off topic, but that is the boggest joke in internet history, and no ones laughing. I hate every site that uses it.....and unfortunately that's a lot of mobile sites in particular. YT's HTML5 player sucks....to say the least. HTML5 pages seem to ignore click-and-hold/right click behavior. Facebooks mobile site Is one prime example. Try to open a page in a new tab ..you can't because as soon as you take your finger off the screen to access the pop-open context menu, it opens the link in the same page as if you normal clicked on ot. I really hate that.
Sorry to OT, but i'd still file a new bug report. They brought back an old problem that needs to be addressed.