Play in VLC integration now broken?

[chDVRuser]

Trying to play a live channel from the dvr web UI in VLC

VLC says
Your input can't be opened:
VLC is unable to open the MRL 'http//192.168.1.4:8189/devices/ANY/channels/703/stream.mpg'. Check the log for details.

VLC log says
main error: vlc_credential_get: invalid url
access error: HTTP connection failure
main error: vlc_credential_get: invalid url
main error: connection failed: Connection refused by peer
main error: connection failed: Connection refused by peer
http error: cannot connect to :80

Same error trying to play a recording.
Your input can't be opened:
VLC is unable to open the MRL 'http//192.168.1.4:8189/dvr/files/7555/stream.mpg'. Check the log for details.
main error: vlc_credential_get: invalid url
access error: HTTP connection failure
main error: vlc_credential_get: invalid url
main error: connection failed: Connection refused by peer
main error: connection failed: Connection refused by peer
http error: cannot connect to :80

Could this be related to the security fix?

⚠️ Security Update in v2024.01.08.1431

hey everyone. We've just released Channels DVR Server version 2024.01.08.1431 to the stable channel. This release has a major security fix that may change how you access your Channels DVR Server via your web admin or client, Please read our official post to learn more:

Getting the same error from my server running on bare metal (Synology Package install).

Your input can't be opened:
VLC is unable to open the MRL 'http//192.168.1.4:8190/devices/ANY/channels/9004/stream.mpg'. Check the log for details.
main error: vlc_credential_get: invalid url
access error: HTTP connection failure
main error: vlc_credential_get: invalid url
main error: connection failed: Connection refused by peer
main error: connection failed: Connection refused by peer
http error: cannot connect to :80

But VLC plays direct from my HDHR Prime, no problem.
http://192.168.1.7:5004/auto/v703

[tmm1]

@chDVRuser

cannot connect to :80

It's not using the right port. Must be a VLC change

[eric]

Very strange. It looks like the URL is missing a : between http and the //. What browser are you using?

[babsonnexus]

@eric

It looks like the URL is missing a : between http and the //. What browser are you using?

This, in Firefox. I went through this the other day and discovered that the people who made the plugin have a completely new method of installation and setup that might resolve the issue. So one could uninstall everything, make sure it is completely removed from all registries, rebuild Firefox from scratch to remove the association with the file type, and then try the new way. Or...

Head to the VLC directory and edit the vlc-protocol.bat file:

Add a line that says:

set url=!url:https/=https:/!

So it will end up looking like this:

This will take anything that looks like https/ and change it to https:/ (with the colon). You may need to do the same for http if you use that protocol, but you shouldn't be for Channels.

SOURCE: Beating my head against a wall for hours trying to figure out why this didn't work with Channels in Firefox, but worked with everything else and in every app before finally noticing the colon was missing and admonishing myself for missing the most obvious thing in the world.

[chDVRuser]

Thanks!
I was too tired to do any troubleshooting last night when I ran into the issue.
Indeed, modifying the vlc-protocol.bat file fixes it.

I have to assume something changed in Firefox to break it (stripping the colon from the url), but I'm not curious enough to go chasing it down.

@babsonnexus

the people who made the plugin have a completely new method of installation and setup that might resolve the issue

Where did you see that?
I got mine from here and don't see any updates since I downloaded it

GitHub - stefansundin/vlc-protocol: Open vlc:// links directly from your web...

[babsonnexus]

@chDVRuser

Where did you see that?
I got mine from here and don't see any updates since I downloaded it

Oh, you know, I just googled "Open in VLC" and ended up here:

GitHub - andy-portmen/open-in-vlc: a browser extension to send media links to...

I totally forgot what I originally installed and just thought this was the update to that! I guess it is a successor program since the one we are using hasn't been updated in years.

[chDVRuser]

@chDVRuser

Trying to play a live channel from the dvr web UI in VLC

VLC says
Your input can't be opened:
VLC is unable to open the MRL 'http//192.168.1.4:8189/devices/ANY/channels/703/stream.mpg'. Check the log for details.

This is what is being passed to the vlc-protocol.bat file when using Firefox
"vlc://http//192.168.1.4:8189/devices/ANY/channels/703/stream.mpg"
It's missing the colon between http and //

Brave and Edge passes the MRL correctly to the vlc-protocol.bat file
"vlc://http://192.168.1.4:8189/devices/ANY/channels/703/stream.mpg"

Obviously something changed in Firefox.
In any case, the fix that @babsonnexus found works for all the browsers.