Twitter & Streamable.com videos play Win 7, but not in XP - why?

[E-66]

This has been going on for some time and I still haven't found a solution on my own, so I'm asking here.  I've done the obvious, like creating a fresh Firefox profile without any add-ons, but no luck.

 

Using the same version of 32-bit Firefox (currently v44.0.2), short videos from Twitter & Streamable.com play without issue when I'm on Win 7, but the same videos won't play if I'm on XP.  If I press 'play' on the Streamable.com videos they just sit there.  On the Twitter videos it says "This browser does not support video playback."

 

Streamable.com examples:

http://www.cbssports.com/soccer/eye-on-soccer/25505347/watch-arsenal-spurs-produce-crazy-memorable-derby-clash

http://www.cbssports.com/soccer/eye-on-soccer/25505422/watch-ronaldo-scores-four-to-pass-messi-reach-these-milestones

 

Twitter examples:

http://www.cbssports.com/soccer/eye-on-soccer/25506528/watch-messi-opens-his-bag-of-tricks-with-panenka-style-penalty-kick-goal

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/25505552/watch-jose-bautista-left-handed-slugger

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

[submix8c]

It's Twitter. They play fine on this XP (FF v12). Twitter hates anything less than Windows 7. The same thing happens to me 50% of the time (on Twitter).

 

For that matter Twitter hates everybody (almost). Disagree with an opinion, you can get reported. Yes, that's part of their new policy and actaully in the Report Screen (look it up). I suggest live with it or go to another social media platform. Twitter sux...

[dencorso]

Sorry to disagree, submix8c, but it's not Twitter, nor it's Steamable.com.

It's most of the browsers, except Chrome ( ), rely on Windows Media Foundation (WMF) to render true H.264 mp4 video, Firefox, Pale Moon and recent Opera included.

 

The OP should perform two tests: (i) play the video samples on this test page: the uppermost one is H.264, and should only work for Chrome on XP; (ii) while still on XP, try to play the things you weren't getting to play, by using Chrome ( ) on XP.

Then let us know what the tests have shown you.

[E-66]

I suggest live with it or go to another social media platform. Twitter sux...

 

I don't have a Twitter account nor do I use it in any way except to watch videos that are embedded on the sports website I go to to see game highlights.  Videos from Twitter & Streamable used to play with FF.  The one thing I haven't done is to go back to an earlier version of FF to see if they still work, but maybe that's my next step.

 

edit: dencorso, we posted at about the same time.  I'll try what you suggested and post back.  Thanks.

Edited March 8, 2016 by E-66

[E-66]

Went to the test page.  With FF the first video didn't work as you predicted, but the others did.

 

Downloaded and installed Chrome inside Sandboxie and all the videos played.

 

Then tried the links from my first post in Chrome.  The videos from Streamable didn't show the actual video on the webpage, but a gray box with an icon in the middle of it with an unhappy face.  Presumably that means "you ain't gonna see nothin' here... sorry!"

 

The Twitter videos didn't show on the webpage either, but showed the link to the video on Twitter.  Upon clicking those links, I got the same message over and over:

 

"amp.twimg.com normally uses encryption to protect your information. When Google Chrome tried to connect to amp.twimg.com this time, the website sent back unusual and incorrect credentials. This may happen when an attacker is trying to pretend to be amp.twimg.com, or a Wi-Fi sign-in screen has interrupted the connection. Your information is still secure because Google Chrome stopped the connection before any data was exchanged.

You cannot visit amp.twimg.com right now because the website uses HSTS. Network errors and attacks are usually temporary, so this page will probably work later."

 

What do my test results mean?

[dencorso]

Sandboxie is possibly interfering somehow. I am on XP SP3 fully up to date, using FF 44.0.2 and Chrome 48.0.2564.116 m directly on the OS. On that test page, FF does not display the 1st video, but displays the others OK, and Chrome does so all 3. Now, when I open this page on Chrome, then click on your sample links, the pages open normally, with the top video palying. I can then stop that one or not. In any case, when I click on the game snippets, they, too, play OK. The only difference, AFAIK, is that I'm not using Sandboxie.

[E-66]

Let's say I did have the same results as you.  What are you saying - that my option would be to use Chrome?  That won't work for me unless it can be visually customized (I don't mean themes, I mean UI ergonomics).  I imported my FF bookmarks but I had to access them way over on the right side of the browser.  That alone made using it really annoying.

[Dibya]

I am FF 44.0.2 and Vivaldi, never faced that problem.

[E-66]

I am FF 44.0.2 and Vivaldi, never faced that problem.

 

Hmm.  I just downloaded & installed Vivaldi (also in a Sandbox), and the videos from my first post played perfectly.

 

Interesting.  I'd never heard of the Vivaldi browser before, but I see it's related to Opera.  I was a big Opera user back in the day but migrated to FF as Opera seemed to go in a direction I didn't care for.  From what I briefly read, it looks like Vivaldi is kind of the modern version of what Opera used to be.  Might be time for another migration.  I'll have to play around with it for a while first, though.

[Dibya]

really true vivaldi can beat crome easily

[dencorso]

@E-66:  Does your Vivaldi on Sandboxie also play the uppermost of the 3 videos in that test page I mentioned before?

[submix8c]

(Big fat DOH!)

Windows Media Foundation (WMF) to render true H.264 mp4 video

Forgot all about that.

 

Nonetheless, Twitter doesn't like FF12 for the 50% I said before. (...checks on the above - later, though.)

[E-66]

@E-66:  Does your Vivaldi on Sandboxie also play the uppermost of the 3 videos in that test page I mentioned before?

 

No, it doesn't.

 

And apologies - it was a complete false alarm on my part.  Vivaldi installed on XP does in fact NOT play the videos in the links in my first post.  I have Win 7 configured to look much like XP, and in my haste to see how Vivaldi would work I absentmindedly installed and ran it on Win 7 last night, not XP.  It does work perfectly on 7.  Nice browser too, I like it.  Stuff loads noticeably faster than with FF.

 

Back to the issue though.  Dencorso, I understand what you said earlier, that FF relies on Windows Media Foundation and that XP doesn't have it..... but why did videos from Twitter and Streamable work on FF at one time (maybe 9 months ago)?  Did those sites change their video format?

[E-66]

OK, I just installed FF versions 9, 11, 16, & 24, and none of the videos from the links in my first post played.  They looked the same as they do in FF v45.

 

I'm not imagining things.  I'm 100% sure that I used to play videos from both those sites on FF, and the only way I ever accessed them was through the sports website in my first post.  So same question as I ended my last post with - did those sites change their video format from what they were using 9+ months ago?

[Tripredacus]

Twitter supports video in MP4 (H264) and MOV format. It is possible the examples you remember were of MOV type. The only way to know would be to find a video you remember working and see if it still works.