Media Playability - but not Deutschlandfunk

[nimanima]

I don't know whether this is a bug of the browser, or of the website (since before spring 2018 playing worked fine with Internet Explorer at least and since then no longer, I suspect it's rather the website, however the website says "no"), but I had set my hopes in Pale Moon version 28 and your continued concentration on improved media playability to be finally able to play on demand broadcasts of Deutschlandfunk and Deutschlandfunk Kultur, one day, such as these:

https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/dorothee ... _id=420785

In vain. What's the matter?

[satrow]

Both 'Listen' and 'Live' work for me, W7x64, Pale Moon 28.0.1 x64 using the 'Native' UA (Preferences > Advanced (General tab) > Compatibility).

[doofy]

Make sure media.autoplay.enabled is set to true, and, if you have a script blocker, you disable it.

[coffeebreak]

Check that you're not blocking requests from akamaihd.net - either on deutschlandfunk.de, or on deutschlandradio.de (for "Live").

[nimanima]

Thank you, I have Firefox compatibility set. When I change that will I not get bombed with "compatibility issues" on websites?

Is this "media.autoplay.enabled" to find among about:config?

As far as I know I have no blocker add-ons.

[doofy]

Is this "media.autoplay.enabled" to find among about:config?

Yes

[satrow]

Thank you, I have Firefox compatibility set. When I change that will I not get bombed with "compatibility issues" on websites?

I don't and it's my normal setting, switching is 'on the fly' needing only a page refresh so not a big deal.

[nimanima]

What do I do with media.autoplay.allowscripted? Both "allowscripted" and "autoplay" are set to false at the moment. I suppose when I set autoplay to true all videos I come across on websites will start to play in future, right? I have a drak remembrance that I changed that setting when the first add-on "stop autoplay" went out of function a long time ago ...

[gepus]

What do I do with media.autoplay.allowscripted?

The above setting doesn't exist in PM 28. It is probably an inherited setting from a previous version of PM.
It might not have any effect now, sitting there only as residual garbage.

I suppose when I set autoplay to true all videos I come across on websites will start to play in future, right?

Only videos intended by site owners to autoplay.

[therube]

The above setting doesn't exist in PM 28. It is probably an inherited setting from a previous version of PM.

Or perhaps from an extension.

[therube]

Blocking autoplay may...

Work on some sites
Break some sites totally
Work on some sites - after an interaction

In the case of www.deutschlandfunk.de, both Live & Horen will work - with autoplay disabled, with interaction.
That interaction is to click the Play button a second (or third) time.


Also note that there is a media.block-autoplay-until-in-foreground Pref (that I'm unfamiliar with), defaulted to false, that sounds interesting.

[gepus]

The above setting doesn't exist in PM 28. It is probably an inherited setting from a previous version of PM.

Or perhaps from an extension.

Extensions can't simply set prefs which the browser doesn't understand.
Therefore the above must have been a PM pref - a specific PM pref probably, since I can't recall such a pref for Firefox.

[yami_]

Extensions can't simply set prefs which the browser doesn't understand.

False.

[gepus]

Extensions can't simply set prefs which the browser doesn't understand.

False.

Browser related prefs which the browser will carry out?

[therube]

An extension can set a Pref that that it knows of & that the browser does not natively know of.
And in that case - without said extension installed, the (extension created) Pref would have no affect on the browser.


You can create a Preference - right now.
Call it gobblygook, type: Boolean, & set it to 'true', & PM will be none the wiser.
And it will in no way affect PM.

[gepus]

You can create a Preference - right now.

Of course I can add bogus prefs to "about:config" endlessly but the browser won't take notice of them. That was my point.

Whatever, a forum search reveals that the pref was added by Moonchild in 2015.

[therube]

But you said:

Extensions can't simply set prefs which the browser doesn't understand.

Which we both agree, an extension (or user) can.

As far as that Pref being added back then, now we have to see if it is still relevant today?
It's coding may have been pulled (?), just as you may remove an extension, but the associated Prefs remained in pref.js.
(That is not uncommon.)
And if coding was removed, or if the extension removed, then the fact that the Prefs "exist" in pref.js, would have no impact on the browser.


Do note, that an extension may also affect "PM" preferences, i.e. preferences that belong to the browser.
And if those Prefs are not reset to their defaults upon extension removal (or by manual resetting), they will forever affect the browser.
Likewise, you can set or force (browser) Prefs to a non-default value in prefs.js & in user.js (among other ways).

[coffeebreak]

The above setting doesn't exist in PM 28. It is probably an inherited setting from a previous version of PM.

As far as that Pref being added back then, now we have to see if it is still relevant today?

AFAIK PM 28 replaced the code for Tycho's autoplay preferences with those of Firefox. So no, it wouldn't still be relevant.

(To my recollection, media.autoplay.allowscripted was adopted to give better control over scripted HTML5 autoplay at a time when the other existing pref, media.autoplay.enabled, just worked for Flash. But I think that in PM 28 media.autoplay.enabled handles that. Someone should please correct this if it's wrong.)

media.autoplay.allowscripted is not present in the code of Pale Moon 28 (UXP):
http://xref.palemoon.org/uxp-trunk/search?string=media.autoplay.allowscripted

But it is in the code of Pale Moon 27:
http://xref.palemoon.org/palemoon-rel27/search?string=media.autoplay.allowscripted
and 26:
http://xref.palemoon.org/palemoon-rel26/search?string=media.autoplay.allowscripted

Or perhaps from an extension.

The extension Autoplay Toggle (Non-Restartless)
(it's formally compatible with PM 26/27 and is meant to toggle both autoplay preferences and expects to find them both) Somehow it does add that pref to about:config if it's not already present.

But Autoplay Toggle doesn't add the code that would make the preference effective (it assumes such code is already present). So in the case of this particular extension I assume it's an empty pref that does nothing.

[nimanima]

In the case of http://www.deutschlandfunk.de, both Live & Horen will work - with autoplay disabled, with interaction.
That interaction is to click the Play button a second (or third) time.


Also note that there is a media.block-autoplay-until-in-foreground Pref (that I'm unfamiliar with), defaulted to false, that sounds interesting.

Live always worked, also with my "original settings".

UA set to Native, the two "media.autoplay" things set to true: "Hören" still does not work, also not after having clicked the play button several times. I always get "Fehler bei Wiedergabe".

Would I need a Flash Player for this, maybe? I haven't used FP ever since I changed the operating system from Win XP to Win 7 and would prefer not to since it runs VERY unstable in combination with Firefox / Pale Moon (that was the reason why I killed it for this kind of browser).

media.block-autoplay-until-in-foreground: this I have also just discovered, it is set to false on my end.

[satrow]

I only have one, media.autoplay.enabled, and it's at default - true. Delete your 'extra' media.autoplay and restart Pale Moon in Safe Mode (from Help Menu) and test with/without 'Native' UA.

I have Flash installed and active (I haven't had a stability issue with Flash for years) - but if Flash was required and not installed or active, it (almost?) always asks for it to be enabled or installed.

media.block-autoplay-until-in-foreground is also at the default of false here.