If audio muted in VLC, then mpv will have no sound, and can't un-mute within mpv

DoomsDay007 commented 2 days ago

mpv Information

mpv v0.38.0-dirty Copyright © 2000-2024 mpv/MPlayer/mplayer2 projects
 built on May 23 2024 10:30:57
libplacebo version: v6.338.2
FFmpeg version: n7.0.1
FFmpeg library versions:
   libavutil       59.8.100
   libavcodec      61.3.100
   libavformat     61.1.100
   libswscale      8.1.100
   libavfilter     10.1.100
   libswresample   5.1.100

Other Information

Linux version: Arch Linux
Kernel Version: 6.9.7-arch1-1-surface
GPU Model: VGA compatible controller - Intel - Iris Graphics 540 [8086:1926] (rev 0a)
Mesa/GPU Driver Version: Mesa 24.1.2-arch1.1
Window Manager and Version: KWin 6.1.1.2-1 (KDE 6.1.1)
Source mpv: Arch extra repo
Introduced in version: unknown

Reproduction Steps

Have both mpv and VLC installed

Open a video file in VLC

Mute the video in VLC, i.e. hit m to use the keyboard shortcut for mute

Quit VLC without un-muting audio, i.e. hit Ctrl+q to use the keyboard shortcut for quit

Open any video file in mpv (does not matter if it is the same one opened in VLC or not)

mpv plays the video file but there is no sound

Expected Behavior

mpv plays video files with sound, or alternatively, mpv should be able to un-mute the sound

Actual Behavior

mpv plays video files but there is no sound, and it cannot un-mute the sound

Note: I first noticed this issue in jellyfin-media-player because it uses mpv as its backend, and when trying to play any video in my library it did not have any sound.

While writing this issue report, I also noticed that if I dug a little in the system sound settings I could un-mute the sound for mpv (outside of mpv), however, I could not find a way to un-mute the sound from within mpv. mpv's mute and un-mute appears to work independently of whatever system VLC uses to mute the audio. Also note that, other sounds on the system were working just fine the whole time, i.e. YouTube videos played fine with sound, and sound was heard when using the system's speaker test. So it isn't like the whole system was muted, just certain programs.

Log File

output.txt

Sample Files

No response

I carefully read all instruction and confirm that I did the following:

[X] I tested with the latest mpv version to validate that the issue is not already fixed.
[X] I provided all required information including system and mpv version.
[X] I produced the log file with the exact same set of files, parameters, and conditions used in "Reproduction Steps", with the addition of --log-file=output.txt.
[X] I produced the log file while the behaviors described in "Actual Behavior" were actively observed.
[X] I attached the full, untruncated log file.
[X] I attached the backtrace in the case of a crash.

DoomsDay007 commented 2 days ago

I'll add that I'm not 100% sure if I should add this issue here or to VLC's github, but I just thought I should let you know because the issue affects mpv (whether directly or indirectly).

Also, thought it might be helpful to anyone that comes across this issue, because I was just trying to watch a movie and I could not get the sound to work, and it was a pain in the butt to figure out what was going on at first lol.

CounterPillow commented 2 days ago

You need to actually show mpv exhibiting the behaviour in your log file, not just printing its help output.

One reason I can think of what's happening is that you are using alsa, and VLC is muting audio at the mixer. Even if your mpv is using pipewire or pulseaudio, it would then be muted, since another application helpfully muted the entire audio device.

mpv's mute is not muting the system's audio output device, as that would be stupid. In general, it will not mess with the system mixer at all. It can control the audio output device's mute state with the ao-mute property, but I don't recommend it.

DoomsDay007 commented 2 days ago

Okay, no problem. I'll try posting the log file again. Hopefully, I do it right this time lol. I'm not a noob, but I'm not a programmer either, just a somewhat tech-savvy user trying to be helpful. :)

output.txt

DoomsDay007 commented 2 days ago

@CounterPillow

One reason I can think of what's happening is that you are using alsa, and VLC is muting audio at the mixer. Even if your mpv is using pipewire or pulseaudio, it would then be muted, since another application helpfully muted the entire audio device.

Yeah, perhaps that could be it. Yes, that would be ever so "helpful" wouldn't it. xD The weird part that really threw me off is, like I said, other sounds on the system were working just fine the whole time. YouTube videos played fine with sound, and sound was heard when using the system's speaker test. So it isn't like the whole system was muted, just certain programs.

The way I came across the issue in the first place was kinda random anyway. Yesterday, I was watching a video file that was saved on my computer in VLC. Then I muted it because my wife came in and started talking to me. Later on I closed VLC and started working on something else. Today I was trying to trying to play a video from my Jellyfin server using jellyfin-media-player (with the mpv backend) and I couldn't get any sound. I tried downloading the video from my server and playing it locally in mpv and VLC (which was still muted) and it didn't have any sound. It was only after I realized that VLC still was muted and un-muted it that the sound started working again everywhere.

mpv's mute is not muting the system's audio output device, as that would be stupid.

Agreed. I don't know if that is what's going on here, but agreed.

In general, it will not mess with the system mixer at all. It can control the audio output device's mute state with the ao-mute property, but I don't recommend it.

Okay, gotcha. Good to know. Thank you.

Edit: I forgot to mention that VLC's audio output module is set to automatic so I don't know which one (alsa, pulseaudio) it is actually using.

mpv-player / mpv