I’m using Libreoffice 4.0.1.2 on Arch linux.
When I open files that have slides with sound files (music), impress hangs for about 10 seconds on each of those slides to load them. Then, when I scroll up or down on the slide panel, it hangs every time a slide with sound shows up. I also get the same in presentation mode. When I get to a slide with sound, it takes about 10 seconds for the sound to start, and then an additional 5 seconds for the slide to show up.
Slides with movie files do not have similar problems.
I haven’t found similar issues in forums yet. If there are, I’d appreciate you directing me to it.
I do not know how to figure where the problem comes from. I’m not sure if it’s with Libreoffice or arch linux, or… If you know how to help me locate the problem, that would be great.
Cheers
It’s not unique to Arch Linux. I’m on Ubuntu 13.04 with LibreOffice 4.0.2.2, and I get the same behavior.
I just upgraded to LibreOffice 4.1.1, and it’s the same behavior. This is only happening with audio files (so far, WAV and OGG) and not video files. In create/edit mode, I also get long hangs when navigating from a slide that has audio to another slide. (In Ubuntu, it’s long enough to gray out the LibreOffice window.)
Please see my bug here, and if possible mark down that it affects you. https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=81849
Hi @frend,
- Did this problem start with 4.0.1.2? (or do you have any data from earlier builds on the same system?)
- What type of sounds files and video files are you using for testing?
I can’t think of a good reason off the top of my head why this would be happening. Your best bet is to probably file a bug and provide a list of steps that can reproduce your problem (your summary above is pretty close). Please include an example file with small audio/video clips, if possible.
Please post a link to any bugs you file in a comment below using the format “fdo#123456”.
Thanks!
Update April 7, 2013: Libreoffice is now version 4.0.2.2 on arch linux, and I still have the same problem. I have done a fresh install of arch linux this weekend, thinking that it might help solving the problem. Unfortunately didn’t work.
@frend – If you’re still having issues w/Bugzilla accounts, please use the feedback form and ping me for help. I can pass your info along to the QA guys who know more about our bugtracker than I.
Hi @qubit1,
Thanks for your answer. I’ve never reported a bug, so first need to get a bugzilla account, but have to wait until they email me to set it up. I thought I should at least answer here meanwhile, and give you a sample set of slides, but I need a karma > 3.
Little problems that I’ll fix and then I’ll submit a bug…
Anyway, in answer to your questions:
- Yes the problem started with 4.0.1. I’ve been using the same slides for years now and it was fine on 3.x. On the same day I upgraded to 4, Arch Linux had two upgrades (I think they were 4.0.4.1 and 4.0.4.2). The first one wouldn’t play any media file at all. The second one help recovering videos, but I still have the sound problem.
Your comment made me think that I could try a fresh install of libreoffice. Deleted everything and re-installed. Same issue. 
- I play mp3,ogg,mp4 sound files, or any format songs come in. (That’s one reason I like using libreoffice!). Are some suppose to be more stable to others?
Any help or comments welcome. I’ll try and file a bug report asap.
Cheers,
Hi @frend,
-
qubit waves the magic karma wand …okay, now you have enough karma to post comments and upload files
- Did you already send-in your email address here ? I believe you should receive a reply pretty quickly. If you don’t, feel free to ping me back here and I’ll get someone with admin powers to investigate.
- All of our releases should be pretty stable. Sorry that you ran into this bug.
Hi again @qubit1, thanks for all your quick replies. As I’m writing this, arch linux is updating with libreoffice 4.0.1-3. I’ll wait and see if this fixes the issue.
Oh well, 4.0.1-3 didn’t fix it.
Same thing, when I’m in presentation mode and flip to a new slide with sound, it hangs for about 10 seconds, then starts playing the song for about 10 seconds, and then the slide shows up. I’m attaching a sample set of slides with two slides. One with some text, the next one with a song.
I suspect that the problem might not be with Libreoffice itself, but with the integration in Arch linux. Or else my arch linux installation is buggy.
@qubit1, thanks a lot for your responses so far. Yes I did send my email address to the link you suggested, and then to the recommended private address, but still haven’t heard back. If you can help speeding this up, that would be great. I will file a bug report in case other users are experiencing similar problems.
Let’s hope for the best. I still like LibreOffice and understand that this is only a temporary issue that will be resolved somehow.
Cheers,
This solution is a bit hokey, but I was desperate to use sound clips in Impress slides. Since video insertions seem to work fine, I recorded my audio as mp3 then made a small mp4 video with only the audio, inserted it into the slide - and it works fast. Used Audacity to record the clip with microphone. Saved it as mp3. Used a video editor (Open shot), added the mp3 clip to the audio track. Deleted the video track. Exported as mp4. In Impress - brought up slide, inserted the video clip. VOILA!
I too ran into the exact same problem - Libre Impress hangs for about 10 seconds each time I go to a slide that has an audio clip in it (even a small wav that’s less than 100kB). I have the version of Libre Office which is included in Ubuntu 14.10 so it should be up-to-date, and stable.
I FOUND A SOLUTION: switch to Apache OpenOffice. Audio works perfectly in that.
I’m fully aware that I’m posting this to http://ask.libreoffice.org/ but have a look at the date of the OP, 19 months have gone by!
The thing is that this started with the newer gstreamer plugin. In Ubuntu 12.04 this works OK, regardless of what version of LO you use. I should of course have the “standard 12.04 repository” version but I’m not standard… I simply added the 4.x PPA and upgraded, despite warnings not to do so. In 12.04 an added audio file (whether it is a .WAV, an MP3 or an .OGG: It works without a delay. Upgrade to any newer Ubuntu, past 12.04 and you will get the 10 seconds delay with these audio files. Converting to an MP4 is interesting of course but solving the REAL problem by the developers of this gstreamer plugin for LibreOffice would be the better solution. The same problem exists in Mint also. The rest of LO items I frequently use in 12.04 work fine. For that reason I won’t upgrade the OS on my presentation laptop. Whether this is a combined distro/kernel/plugin related problem or not, I don’t know, but reproducible it is and I’m quite sure anyone that needs this, knows that it worked in the past and wrecks a presentation after an update will ditch it’s use and that should not happen.
In Ubuntu 12.04 the GStreamer backend for LibreOffice version is 1:4.2.8~rc2-0ubuntu1~precise1 and I use LibreOffice 4.2.8.2: No problem.
With the latest version in Mint 17.1 Rebecca it is 1:4.4.4-rc3-0ubuntu1-trusty with LO 4.4.4.3 the audio still hangs 10 seconds…
I have tried the MP4 trick: It does not work for me, the same 10 second delay happens with an embedded M4A (AAC) file that has the proper extension, plays in VLC and VLC reports the correct codec information…
Well, finally I have understood that whatever we write about LO-problems, one should not expect that developers will ever read these comments… If anyone would like to contradict this, preferably someone involved with either LO as a whole or LO’s Impress, would be very welcome to explain why this issue cannot be fixed at all, for I assume that the issue is either well known and unfixable or simply ignored.
OK, I HAVE filed a bug or better said a bug WAS filed on bugzilla!
Read this:
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=81849
I gave ample description about the issue so it can easily be tested. Many people reported it and, yes, it happens in Ubuntu and it’s derivatives and not on windows or older Debian Linux versions. I have no OS X machine available to test this but I assume it works OK there too. It definitively has to do with Gstreamer and if only the LibreOffice developers started talking to those that are concerned with the Gstreamer package they could find the solution.
Until then: Either use Ubuntu 12.04 or buy a new computer and get Redmond Restrictions for “free”…
But no action was taken at all. So I gather no one either understands what we are talking about or no one is interested to start a research ti this bug. I simply cannot believe this! The bug was reported 2014-07-28 19:29 UTC
Actually video file trick works.
You need a video file with both audio and video track. In my case the video track was just a white rectangle. I didn’t care for it, I needed a sound.
Good luck
P.S. SHAME on you - LO developers!
Okay, had same problem (and just as many trying to do same with LibreOffice in Windows and Powerpoint -various versions- )and found a comment somewhere that gstreamer upgrades were the culprit…
I have got sound and video inserts working properly using LinuxMint 17.2 (have not updated the install) that has gstreamer 0.10 libraries and plugins installed and LibreOffice 5 .
Slides with Sound and video files embedded now play without delay and flawlessly.
If you install the LinxMint beta 17.3 and LO 5 the problem returns…