Video Troubleshooting

In this topic, you will learn how to troubleshoot the Brightcove player by diagnosing some common playback error messages. If you need further assistance, you will learn how to gather relevant information and contact support.

Overview

This topic contains the following sections:

• Supported browsers
• Common error messages
• Player debugger
• Capture information
• Contact support

Supported browsers

We strongly recommend checking for available browser updates regularly to ensure that you have the latest and greatest fixes and performance.

For a complete list of supported browsers, see the Brightcove Player System Requirements document.

Common error messages

Below is a list of error messages which you might receive when trying to play videos, along with suggested steps to try to fix the problem:

MEDIA_ERR_ABORTED

• Error code: 1
• Headline: The video download was cancelled
• Message: You aborted the media playback

Possible cause

A somewhat generic browser error that indicates that something stopped the video download process in its tracks. This could be:

• An issue with the computer, such as a crash or interruption to the network service
• A browser problem, or a configuration issue
• The browser is not supported, or currently lacks support for video
• A firewall, web proxy, or network issue is blocking the video download when the browser tries to play it

Steps to try

Here are some steps to try to fix the problem:

• Refresh the page
• Try an alternative browser
• If using Internet Explorer, check the version of Flash installed in your browser. An easy way to check is to visit this website: http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/
• Flash is required for all versions of Internet Explorer except for Edge

MEDIA_ERR_NETWORK

• Error code: 2
• Headline: The video connection was lost, please confirm you're connected to the internet
• Message: A network error caused the media download to fail part-way

Possible cause

Here are some possible causes:

• A firewall blocking the video data
• A web proxy interrupting the connection or filtering traffic
• Filtering software (such as Sophos, or Lightspeed Web Filter blocking content)
• A general network failure (for example, the internet connection to your home/school/personal computer fails)

Steps to try

Here are some steps to try to fix the problem:

• Check that the internet is working correctly on the affected machine
• Refresh the page, which can restart a connection that may have dropped
• Try another video. Does that work? If not, it suggests that content as a whole cannot be reached.

MEDIA_ERR_DECODE

• Error code: 3
• Headline: The video is bad or in a format that can't be played on your browser
• Message: The media playback was aborted due to a corruption problem or because the media used features your browser did not support

Possible cause

A browser being unable to play back the requested content. This can happen during playback, or more likely, at or towards the beginning.

Steps to try

Here are some steps to try to fix the problem:

• If using Internet Explorer, check the version of Flash installed in your browser. An easy way to check is to visit this website: http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/
• Flash is required for all versions of Internet Explorer except for Edge
• Refresh the page, which may re-download a piece of content that failed to play back due to a partial download on the first try.
• Update your browser to the latest version. Chrome and Firefox should prompt you with updates, but it is useful to check.

MEDIA_ERR_SRC_NOT_SUPPORTED

• Error code: 4
• Headline: This video is either unavailable or not supported in this browser
• Message: The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported

Possible cause

A browser being unable to play back the requested content due to it being unavailable, or cannot be played in this particular browser. It differs from error 3 in that playback fails before it begins, rather than during playback.

Steps to try

Check the version of Flash installed in your browser. An easy way to check is to visit this website: http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

The latest version of Flash is required for all versions of Internet Explorer except for Edge. If you are using Internet Explorer, it is essential that it is not running in “Compatibility” or “Enterprise” mode, and that the rendering mode is set to be the same version as the version actually running. Some versions of IE will describe this as Edge mode - if you see that mode listed, that’s the correct one to choose. Having either of these set incorrectly may break playback, cause incorrect behavior, or prevent the player from working at all.

In most cases, both of these settings will be correct, but may have been specifically set by your IT team.

PLAYER_ERR_TIMEOUT

• Error code: -2
• Headline: Could not download the video
• Message: Could not download the video

The player is unable to play back content / buffers for 45 seconds

Possible cause

• Insufficient bandwidth / network speed
• A firewall blocking the video data
• A web proxy interrupting the connection or filtering traffic
• Filtering software (such as Sophos, or Lightspeed Web Filter blocking content)
• A general network failure (for example, the internet connection to your home/school/personal computer fails)
• At times, it can be caused by player specific bugs

Steps to try

Here are some steps to try to fix the problem:

• Check that the internet is working correctly on the affected machine
• Refresh the page, which can restart a connection that may have dropped
• Try another video. Does that work? If not, it suggests that content as a whole cannot be reached.
• Does the issue always happen at the same point in time?

Player debugger

The Brightcove player debugger is a plugin that you can easily attach to your player to capture and log information about your player, media and advertising.

For detailed steps on how to setup and use the player debugger, see the Quick Start: Brightcove Player Debugger document.

Capture information

The following information will be helpful for support to research your problem.

End user information

Collect the following information about your system environment:

• Take a screenshot or export environment details from http://supportdetails.com/. These details include:
  • Operating system
  • Screen resolution / Browser size
  • Web browser, including version
  • Flash version installed
  • IP address
• Take a screenshot or export your Network speed results from http://beta.speedtest.net/

Useful information

Create and save a network log from your browser.

• Open the Chrome developer tool. (F12 on Windows / CMD+OPT+I on Mac)
• Select the Console tab to determine if errors are reported.
• Select the Network tab.
• Right click and select Save as HAR with Content.
• Save the .har file (the extension is .xml with IE) on your computer for further review.

For more detailed instructions, see the Creating a Network Log document.

Contact support

If you did not resolve your issue with the error message steps or the player debugger, then you can submit a support request.

Essential troubleshooting information

The following information is essential for troubleshooting your problem:

• URLs or video Name of the content affected
• A rough time frame when the issue occurred/began, if not ongoing, that we can use to correlate findings/deployments/system issues/known issues
• Clarify the type of issue (Does not play, does not load, pause and buffering, bad quality, video jumps or cuts, not sound etc...)
• A brief statement explaining the steps followed to reproduce the issue if not immediately obvious
• Indicate the configuration where the issue is happening, and whether this is on desktop or mobile (OS platform, browsers and versions)
• Confirm, to the extent that it’s possible, if this happens for several/all users and if one or multiple networks seem to be affected
• Provide screenshots or the error message text as applicable
• Browser console HAR logs (see instructions in the previous section)
• The session ID which is displayed in the error message. Supply the session ID, or easier take a screenshot of the error message.
  

  

Submit your issue

Use the following to enter your issue to the support team:

• Create a support ticket