VLC and the screensaver on LMDE

[gotjazz]

Now I know this used to be a common problem with older VLC versions but since 1.1.0 VLC has been able to deactivate the gnome screensaver while playing back videos. Somehow this seems not to be true on lmde.
Is that a regression in VLC, an lmde problem or maybe just an issue with the rights my user account has?
Any ideas?

Thankfully I sit pretty close to the screen so it's not a big problem to wiggle the mouse a little when I see the screen darkening but it is kind of annoying....

[gotjazz]

bump?

[BabyLaptop]

I would love to see solution for this too. Thanks in advance.

[beep_gr]

I would love to see solution for this too. Thanks in advance.

One simple solution is to add the "inhibit applet" from the panels. By this, your power manager and screen saver will be disabled...

I hope the developers will fix that bug...

[mzsade]

Inhibit applet does the trick, thanks for the info, wouldn't have occurred to me otherwise.

Edit: Nope, doesn't work when playing with VLC.

[dbkblk]

Inhibit Applet is needed, because fullscreen flash videos have the same behavior !

I tried to report the bug a few weeks ago but someone already did. VLC 1.1.5 fix the bug, it is actually in the experimental repository. I think it will be pushed to squeeze, just be patient.

I'm also new to Debian (but i'm using Sid).

I don't know if adobe will ever fix that bug, i don't know where to report that one ?

[kwevej]

for mplayer
put into your ~/.mplayer/config:
stop-xscreensaver=true

VLC, dunno

[terdon]

No dice... This line from ~/.config/vlc/vlc has no effect:

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disable-screensaver=1

[gotjazz]

well I've settled for https://launchpad.net/caffeine until the vlc devs get this handled again - you can set it to automatically disable the screensaver when certain processes are running. Just add vlc or whatever else you need it for to the list and you're good. It's not ideal but it works.

[terdon]

A simpler workaround is to inhibit gnome screensaver when vlc is playing. Add this line to your ~/.xsessionrc file (create it if it does not exist):

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gnome-screensaver-command -i -n vlc -r "playing video" &

This way the inhibit command will be run just once on starting an X session.

[mzsade]

If this is an upstream issue, i would harp on this there..if only somebody would tell me. @terdon And doesn't the Inhibit Applet do/is supposed to do, exactly what that code in ~/.bashrc file does?

[Scorpio_Snake]

EDIT: Even better, add this line to your ~/.xsessionrc file :

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gnome-screensaver-command -i -n vlc -r "playing video" &

I don't seem to have a ~/.xsessionrc file. Do I just create a new one?

[terdon]

Yes, just create it and paste that line. $HOME/.xsessionrc (or ~/.xsessionrc) is the successor to the old .xsession. Any commands in that file will be run when you start a new graphical user session (X session).

[asymmetros]

This problem confuses me too. For a certain period of time i was experiencing this problem, then i hadn't that problem at all, now again vlc and screensaver are trying my patience

I have tried a few things, disabling screensaver and power mangager with different ways (via terminal, not starting in login etc) but those attempts didnt seem to have any connection with the above mentioned observations.

In any case, i am using a laptop and a "long-cabled" mouse. The odd thing is that i have never faced this problem when i am booting in xfce. A bit strange, so right now, my instinct tells me to follow the "inhibit applet" solution from gnome-panel.

[paro1991]

i've been using inhibit applet for a while now for flash videos and now gotta use it for vlc too. will upgrade to experimental to see if it disables screensavers.

[bobcollard]

A simpler workaround is to inhibit gnome screensaver when vlc is playing. Add this line to your ~/.bashrc file:

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alias vlc='gnome-screensaver-command -i -n vlc -r "playing video" &  vlc'

Adapted from http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php ... er#p255844

EDIT: Even better, add this line to your ~/.xsessionrc file :

Code: Select all

gnome-screensaver-command -i -n vlc -r "playing video" &

This way the inhibit command will be run just once on starting an X session.

I used both and it works in VLC on LMDE x86_64, Thanks.

[terdon]

If this is an upstream issue, i would harp on this there..if only somebody would tell me. @terdon And doesn't the Inhibit Applet do/is supposed to do, exactly what that code in ~/.bashrc file does?

Not really. If I understand correctly, one has to manually activate the applet every time. With the .xsessionrc line this happens once, automatically and you can completely forget it.

[terdon]

@bobcollard: I would not use both. That would result in many instances of gnome-screensaver-command being launched. Use only the .xsessionrc method. I have edited my previous post to avoid confusion.

@assymetre: The issue here is that gnome-screensaver has changed its API. The method that vlc uses to turn the screensaver off no longer works. The vlc devs do not want to fix it (see https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour ... bug/428884 and http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php ... er#p253153 ) However, using the command I gave before in .xsessionrc works perfectly and requires no active input from the user.

[bobcollard]

@bobcollard: I would not use both. That would result in many instances of gnome-screensaver-command being launched. Use only the .xsessionrc method. I have edited my previous post to avoid confusion.

@assymetre: The issue here is that gnome-screensaver has changed its API. The method that vlc uses to turn the screensaver off no longer works. The vlc devs do not want to fix it (see https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+sour ... bug/428884 and http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php ... er#p253153 ) However, using the command I gave before in .xsessionrc works perfectly and requires no active input from the user.

Thanks, removed the line from ~/.bashrc

[mzsade]

I have a ~/.xsession-errors and ~/.xsession-errors.old but no ~/.xsessionrc..