So why does it work using Chrome?

menothappy said

So why does it work using Chrome?

Hi menothappy, are you running Windows XP? Some sites do not seem to "fail over" or "fail back" to Flash correctly in Firefox on operating systems where Firefox cannot decode MPEG video, such as XP.

Chrome doesn't have the same patent restrictions as Firefox, so it can decode MPEG video on XP and avoid the "fail over" problem.

jscher2000 said

menothappy said

So why does it work using Chrome?

Hi menothappy, are you running Windows XP? Some sites do not seem to "fail over" or "fail back" to Flash correctly in Firefox on operating systems where Firefox cannot decode MPEG video, such as XP.

Chrome doesn't have the same patent restrictions as Firefox, so it can decode MPEG video on XP and avoid the "fail over" problem.

Its the same "patent" issues on chrome (or any other browser use) - Firefox just chooses not to deal with it at the expense of many users.

this will become MUCH more important and a MUST HAVE as Chrome EOls its browser for WinXP holdouts (or for those like me with no proper update options).

Sorry but patents is a lame excuse these days.. just add it or at the bare minimum support for linking to and using user-installed codecs.

PPNSteve said

Sorry but patents is a lame excuse these days.. just add it or at the bare minimum support for linking to and using user-installed codecs.

Hi PPNSteve, it's not just about raising the money to buy a patent license, it's about fulfilling Mozilla's mission and keeping Firefox open source.

If you think there is a solution that has been overlooked, you could ask about it on this list: https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-media

Hey jscher2000, thanks for the reply. Most end users could care less about that open source madness, we just want a product that works.

mailing lists.. so 90's I'll pass.. on that, thanks.

FWIW on my Ubuntu 14.04.3 Linux box with FF V44 Twitter videos work just fine.

MAJOR UPDATE: The Greasemonkey script which bypassed the error no longer works. I am using Windows XP SP3. If anyone has any problems viewing videos on Twitter, post here with the following info:

1. If you installed the workaround script, and you get the error message "SORRY. Cannot read video source tag." 2. If you have Windows XP SP3 installed

Hi no1wammy, I think you're talking about my script. Can you give me a link to the tweet where it isn't working? That will speed up fixing the problem since lots of videos on Twitter are from YouTube and those don't have the problem.

This is strange. The script is mysteriously working again.

But just in case: https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/701190876224065537

Hi no1wammy, it's possible that with "endless scrolling" the script lost track of the video location until you reloaded the page. If you notice other problems, let me know.

(I realize that embedded Vines do not work at all... probably another script will be needed for those.)

Jscher, the problem has returned. Here is a fresher link:

https://twitter.com/warriors/status/704422238934556672

I am also including a screenshot just to show you what it looks like.

Hi no1wammy, that one's embedded from twitter.com instead of amp.twimg.com, so I added a second include to the script: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/12427-twitter-html5-video-error-to-link

jscher2000 said

Hi no1wammy, that one's embedded from twitter.com instead of amp.twimg.com, so I added a second include to the script: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/12427-twitter-html5-video-error-to-link

Thanks jscher for all your supposrt and effort. This made it work again. I wonder if Firefox will do anything about this issue.

Firefox is the third name of this web browser since version 0.8 as it is Mozilla that makes it. Mozilla is not likely going to do much for a Windows OS like XP that has been EOL since April 2014.

True, wasn't much more functional before April '14 though, was it. But I guess I'm the only one using xp on my laptop anymore. I could either throw away all those very functional programs that I've bought over the years that don't work with the new os's or try using Chrome or Opera. Not really much of a choice, is it.

Hi offshade, I think Mozilla has looked for an open source alternative for decoding MP4/H.264 but presumably has not found a good one yet.

So offshade and I are the only 2 Firefox users who also cannot afford to get into a newer Windows version. It's almost like Microsoft is paying Mozilla managements salary.

Hi menothappy, I think a lot of people are sticking with XP on older hardware. But casting aspersions on Mozilla doesn't help anyone. Mozilla is a not-for-profit organization that already is stretched thin trying to keep up with a rapidly changing environment. I suspect your efforts are best directed toward recruiting someone to develop an add-on solution. Maybe one of the many developers who publish video downloaders -- they are intimately familiar with how video works in Firefox -- can do it?

menothappy said

So offshade and I are the only 2 Firefox users who also cannot afford to get into a newer Windows version. It's almost like Microsoft is paying Mozilla managements salary.

At least Mozilla still supports Firefox on the old EOL Windows XP (April 8, 2014) and Vista (eol April 11, 2017) and Mac OSX 10.6 and newer and 32-bit Linux users.

Google is dropping support for WinXP, Vista, and Mac OSX 10.6/10.7/10.8, and 32-bit Linux as of April 2016. Chrome on those OS's will no longer receive updates and security fixes.

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chrome/wrMB9YbD5vk

jscher, the script no longer works. Twitter may have revised the handling of GIF images. Have a demo look here: https://twitter.com/CBSSportsNBA/status/705457283988332548

(I have yet to look at if whether videos are affected)