1372397 - Audio stops in HTML5 <video> element when monitor goes into power saving

Status: UNCONFIRMED

(Core :: Audio/Video: Playback, defect, P3)

Description

[t.ambetarak]

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:52.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/52.0
Build ID: 20170524163630

Steps to reproduce:

- Open a Youtube live stream or any other video, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpIQNxiKJoE
- Right-click within the HTML5 player, select "Stats for nerds"
- Force the monitor to turn off, e.g. via "xset dpms force off"
- After a while, the audio stops. When returning from power saving, the audio resumes as well and it's evident that the buffer has run out, i.e. "Buffer health" has been to zero.


Actual results:

When listening to audio on Youtube via the HTML5 player, the stream stops when the buffer has been depleted after the monitor turning off due to system inactivity. This is most readily evident on live streams, as the buffers are shorter, but happens with static content as well.

Environment: Firefox 52.1.2 ESR, Arch Linux up to date, XFCE 4.12. about:buildconfig contents: https://bpaste.net/raw/2e1bc2016fac 

I did not encounter this problem with FF 51.0.1 with the same or very similar build configuration. This problem does not occur in the same environment on Chromium 58.


Expected results:

It is not always desirable for the audio in a <video> element to stop when the monitor turns off. The evident use case is listening to music on Youtube, as outlined. The bug seems to be similar to #1190434, but that was marked resolved 2 years ago and the platform was mobile instead of desktop.

Comment 1

[Anthony Jones (:ajones, :kentuckyfriedtakahe, :k17e)]

I think this is a YouTube issue. Can you reproduce it on Twitch?

Comment 2

[t.ambetarak]

Can confirm this is not YouTube-specific. Streams cut out on Twitch as well.