hello I have a problem with videoreader on matlab R2016a with ubtuntu LTS16.04

hello, I tried to use videoreader on matlab R2016a on ubuntu LTS 16.04. I first encounter an error message as follow:

'Error using VideoReader/init (line 619) The VideoReader plugin libmwgstreamerplugin failed to load properly.

Error in VideoReader (line 172) obj.init(fileName);'

which wasn't solved by the workaround in the solution 1246784 (still unlinking successfully the libstdc++.so.6.0.17 version of matlab and the libstdc++.so.6.0.21 version of ubuntu, cf. http://www.mathworks.com/support/bugreports/1246784)

and rather installing gstreamer-0.10 plugins partially change the problem to:

'v=VideoReader('xylophone.mp4');

giving

Error using VideoReader/init (line 619) Could not read file due to an unexpected error. Reason: Unable to initialize the video obtain properties'

this latter installation wasn't straightforward as gstplugin doesn't includes all packages for ubuntu http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1658232 Error in VideoReader (line 172) obj.init(fileName);'

If anyone has any idea? In advance thanks you for time and support

[aquino 328]

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mc3man/gstffmpeg-keep

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg

It works for me.

http://askubuntu.com/questions/575869/how-do-i-install-gstreamer0-10-ffmpeg-on-ubuntu-14-10/707612#707612

[Margaret Byron]

I am having the same issue. Despite having the latest gstreamer0.10 plugin, and following MathWork's bug fix (solution 1246784), I can't read AVI files. This is a huge workflow disruption for me and (I'm sure) many others. I am getting the following error:

Error using VideoReader/init (line 619)

Failed to initialize internal resources.

Error in VideoReader (Line 172)

obj.init(fileName)

[Mikheil Azatov]

Same problem. Tried the unlinking solution and it did not work for me. When I try to open the video with Totem payer it wants to install gstreamer1.0 plugins to play it, but I know Matlab does not support them yet...

I have Matlab 2016b and Ubuntu 16.04

[Vardan Mikayelyan]

I had the same problem with mp4 file.

Error using VideoReader/init (line 619) Failed to initialize internal resources.

Error in VideoReader (line 172) obj.init(fileName);

And "sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-*" solved my issue.

[Mikheil Azatov]

Barev Vardan,

I'm still struggling with this. I can read videos now but every time I try to access the video I get the following message:

 GStreamer-CRITICAL **: gst_object_ref: assertion 'object != NULL' failed

Could you post your final list of plugins that successfully works with Matlab? What do you get as an output of this?

 dpkg -l | grep gstreame

[Hir I Mogul]

I want to add something to this solution. It is not sufficient to run

sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-*

in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. Lets have a look which gstreamer packages are installed:

dpkg -l | grep gstreamer            
ii  gir1.2-gstreamer-0.10                           0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                         amd64        Description: GObject introspection data for the GStreamer library
ii  gstreamer-qapt                                  3.0.2-0ubuntu1.1                           amd64        GStreamer plugin to install codecs using QApt
ii  gstreamer0.10-alsa:amd64                        0.10.36-2                                  amd64        GStreamer plugin for ALSA
ii  gstreamer0.10-doc                               0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                         all          GStreamer core documentation and manuals
ii  gstreamer0.10-gconf:amd64                       0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2.16.04.2              amd64        GStreamer plugin for getting the sink/source information from GConf
ii  gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs:amd64                    0.10.36-2                                  amd64        GStreamer plugin for GnomeVFS
ii  gstreamer0.10-nice:amd64                        0.1.13-0ubuntu2                            amd64        ICE library (GStreamer 0.10 plugin)
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-base:amd64                0.10.36-2                                  amd64        GStreamer plugins from the "base" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-base-apps                 0.10.36-2                                  amd64        GStreamer helper programs from the "base" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-base-dbg:amd64            0.10.36-2                                  amd64        GStreamer plugins from the "base" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-base-doc                  0.10.36-2                                  all          GStreamer documentation for plugins from the "base" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-good:amd64                0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2.16.04.2              amd64        GStreamer plugins from the "good" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-good-dbg:amd64            0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2.16.04.2              amd64        GStreamer plugins from the "good" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-good-doc                  0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2.16.04.2              all          GStreamer documentation for plugins from the "good" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-pulseaudio:amd64                  0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2.16.04.2              amd64        GStreamer plugin for PulseAudio
ii  gstreamer0.10-qapt                              3.0.2-0ubuntu1.1                           all          transitional dummy package
ii  gstreamer0.10-tools                             0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                         amd64        Tools for use with GStreamer
ii  gstreamer0.10-x:amd64                           0.10.36-2                                  amd64        GStreamer plugins for X11 and Pango
ii  libgstreamer-plugins-bad1.0-0:amd64             1.8.3-1ubuntu0.2                           amd64        GStreamer development files for libraries from the "bad" set
ii  libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-0:amd64           0.10.36-2                                  amd64        GStreamer libraries from the "base" set
ii  libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-0:amd64            1.8.3-1ubuntu0.1                           amd64        GStreamer libraries from the "base" set
ii  libgstreamer-plugins-good1.0-0:amd64            1.8.3-1ubuntu0.3                           amd64        GStreamer development files for libraries from the "good" set
ii  libgstreamer0.10-0:amd64                        0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                         amd64        Core GStreamer libraries and elements
ii  libgstreamer0.10-dev                            0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                         amd64        GStreamer core development files
ii  libgstreamer1.0-0:amd64                         1.8.3-1~ubuntu0.1                          amd64        Core GStreamer libraries and elements
ii  libreoffice-avmedia-backend-gstreamer           1:5.1.4-0ubuntu1                           amd64        GStreamer backend for LibreOffice
ii  phonon-backend-gstreamer-common:amd64           4:4.8.2-0ubuntu2                           amd64        Phonon GStreamer 1.0.x backend icons

An important package is missing:

sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg
[sudo] password for matlab: 
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
E: Unable to locate package gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg
E: Couldn't find any package by glob 'gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg'

Fortunately you get this package from a PPA by Doug McMahon.

Add the PPA to Ubuntu and than install gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg again.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mc3man/gstffmpeg-keep

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg

Since then my Matlab is running error free :D

[Po-Hsuan Huang]

Is there a solution for Ubuntu 17.04 ?

I tried

    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mc3man/gstffmpeg-keep
    sudo apt-get update

It gave me the error below. I guess it is because the Zesty(Ubuntu 17.04) is not available at PPA right now. https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/zesty/+source/gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg

    W: The repository 'http://ppa.launchpad.net/mc3man/gstffmpeg-keep/ubuntu zesty Release' does not have a Release file.
    N: Data from such a repository can't be authenticated and is therefore potentially dangerous to use.
    N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.
    E: Failed to fetch http://ppa.launchpad.net/mc3man/gstffmpeg-keep/ubuntu/dists/zesty/main/binary-i386/Packages  404  Not Found
    E: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.

[kevin pierce]

This did not work for me in 16.04 with matlab 2016b

Answer 1

[Dhananjayan Santhanakrishnan]

I fixed the problem by installing gstream0.10 and after that, we need to make sure that the plugins are also installed, especially the gstream0.10's plugins and not any other higher versions plugin.

for that I ran

sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-*

you could view the list of plugins

dpkg -l | grep gstreamer

The list of plugins in my case was

ii  gir1.2-gstreamer-0.10                       0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                                          amd64        Description: GObject introspection data for the GStreamer library
ii  gir1.2-gstreamer-1.0                        1.8.2-1~ubuntu1                                             amd64        GObject introspection data for the GStreamer library
ii  gstreamer-qapt                              3.0.2-0ubuntu1.1                                            amd64        GStreamer plugin to install codecs using QApt
ii  gstreamer-tools                             0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                                          amd64        Tools for use with GStreamer
ii  gstreamer0.10-alsa:amd64                    0.10.36-2                                                   amd64        GStreamer plugin for ALSA
ii  gstreamer0.10-doc                           0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                                          all          GStreamer core documentation and manuals
ii  gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg:amd64                  0.10.13-5ubuntu1~wily                                       amd64        FFmpeg plugin for GStreamer
ii  gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg-dbg:amd64              0.10.13-5ubuntu1~wily                                       amd64        FFmpeg plugin for GStreamer (debug symbols)
ii  gstreamer0.10-gconf:amd64                   0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2~gcc5.1                                amd64        GStreamer plugin for getting the sink/source information from GConf
ii  gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs:amd64                0.10.36-2                                                   amd64        GStreamer plugin for GnomeVFS
ii  gstreamer0.10-nice:amd64                    0.1.13-0ubuntu2                                             amd64        ICE library (GStreamer 0.10 plugin)
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-base:amd64            0.10.36-2                                                   amd64        GStreamer plugins from the "base" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-base-apps             0.10.36-2                                                   amd64        GStreamer helper programs from the "base" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-base-dbg:amd64        0.10.36-2                                                   amd64        GStreamer plugins from the "base" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-base-doc              0.10.36-2                                                   all          GStreamer documentation for plugins from the "base" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-good:amd64            0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2~gcc5.1                                amd64        GStreamer plugins from the "good" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-good-dbg:amd64        0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2~gcc5.1                                amd64        GStreamer plugins from the "good" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-good-doc              0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2~gcc5.1                                all          GStreamer documentation for plugins from the "good" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-pulseaudio:amd64              0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2~gcc5.1                                amd64        GStreamer plugin for PulseAudio
ii  gstreamer0.10-qapt                          3.0.2-0ubuntu1.1                                            all          transitional dummy package
ii  gstreamer0.10-tools                         0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                                          amd64        Tools for use with GStreamer
ii  gstreamer0.10-x:amd64                       0.10.36-2                                                   amd64        GStreamer plugins for X11 and Pango

[Dhananjayan Santhanakrishnan]

If you want specific plugins to be only installed tweak the sudo apt command to match the plugins listed above.

Thanks, Dhananjayan. S

[Mona]

I have a similar problem. The error I get is

Error using VideoReader/init (line 619)
Failed to initialize internal resources.
Error in VideoReader (line 172)
          obj.init(fileName);

I use Matlab2016a on a RHEL7 machine. Reading your previous comments, I think I installed the suggested package (I would appreciate directions to install the package on RHEL) , along with VLC. After installing the packages, I can play some of the videos I wasn't able to play before. But other videos only play on my computer using VLC and Videos. Matlab still throughs this error on me. Any suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks

[Mikheil Azatov]

Thanks Dhanaanjayan,

After installing all gstream0.10 plugins I still have some gstreamer1.0 left that came with Ubuntu however, and Totem Player also wants to install gstreamer1.0-libav to even just play the video.Not sure how to proceed. I contacted Matlab support but still haven't heard from them.

[Mikheil Azatov]

Here is my list of plugins:

 ~$ dpkg -l | grep gstreamer
ii  gir1.2-gstreamer-0.10                         0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                            amd64        Description: GObject introspection data for the GStreamer library
ii  gir1.2-gstreamer-1.0                          1.8.2-1~ubuntu1                               amd64        GObject introspection data for the GStreamer library
ii  gstreamer-qapt                                3.0.2-0ubuntu1.1                              amd64        GStreamer plugin to install codecs using QApt
ii  gstreamer-tools                               0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                            amd64        Tools for use with GStreamer
ii  gstreamer0.10-alsa:amd64                      0.10.36-2                                     amd64        GStreamer plugin for ALSA
ii  gstreamer0.10-doc                             0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                            all          GStreamer core documentation and manuals
ii  gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg:amd64                    0.10.13-5ubuntu1~wily                         amd64        FFmpeg plugin for GStreamer
ii  gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg-dbg:amd64                0.10.13-5ubuntu1~wily                         amd64        FFmpeg plugin for GStreamer (debug symbols)
ii  gstreamer0.10-gconf:amd64                     0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2~gcc5.1                  amd64        GStreamer plugin for getting the sink/source information from GConf
ii  gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs:amd64                  0.10.36-2                                     amd64        GStreamer plugin for GnomeVFS
ii  gstreamer0.10-nice:amd64                      0.1.13-0ubuntu2                               amd64        ICE library (GStreamer 0.10 plugin)
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-base:amd64              0.10.36-2                                     amd64        GStreamer plugins from the "base" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-base:i386               0.10.36-2                                     i386         GStreamer plugins from the "base" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-base-apps               0.10.36-2                                     amd64        GStreamer helper programs from the "base" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-base-dbg:amd64          0.10.36-2                                     amd64        GStreamer plugins from the "base" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-base-doc                0.10.36-2                                     all          GStreamer documentation for plugins from the "base" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-good:amd64              0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2~gcc5.1                  amd64        GStreamer plugins from the "good" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-good:i386               0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2~gcc5.1                  i386         GStreamer plugins from the "good" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-good-dbg:amd64          0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2~gcc5.1                  amd64        GStreamer plugins from the "good" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-plugins-good-doc                0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2~gcc5.1                  all          GStreamer documentation for plugins from the "good" set
ii  gstreamer0.10-pulseaudio:amd64                0.10.31-3+nmu4ubuntu2~gcc5.1                  amd64        GStreamer plugin for PulseAudio
ii  gstreamer0.10-qapt                            3.0.2-0ubuntu1.1                              all          transitional dummy package
ii  gstreamer0.10-tools                           0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                            amd64        Tools for use with GStreamer
ii  gstreamer0.10-x:amd64                         0.10.36-2                                     amd64        GStreamer plugins for X11 and Pango
ii  gstreamer0.10-x:i386                          0.10.36-2                                     i386         GStreamer plugins for X11 and Pango
ii  gstreamer1.0-alsa:amd64                       1.8.2-1ubuntu0.1                              amd64        GStreamer plugin for ALSA
ii  gstreamer1.0-clutter-3.0                      3.0.18-1                                      amd64        Clutter PLugin for GStreamer 1.0
ii  gstreamer1.0-plugins-base:amd64               1.8.2-1ubuntu0.1                              amd64        GStreamer plugins from the "base" set
ii  gstreamer1.0-plugins-good:amd64               1.8.2-1ubuntu0.1                              amd64        GStreamer plugins from the "good" set
ii  gstreamer1.0-pulseaudio:amd64                 1.8.2-1ubuntu0.1                              amd64        GStreamer plugin for PulseAudio
ii  gstreamer1.0-x:amd64                          1.8.2-1ubuntu0.1                              amd64        GStreamer plugins for X11 and Pango
ii  libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-0:amd64         0.10.36-2                                     amd64        GStreamer libraries from the "base" set
ii  libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-0:i386          0.10.36-2                                     i386         GStreamer libraries from the "base" set
ii  libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-dev             0.10.36-2                                     amd64        GStreamer development files for libraries from the "base" set
ii  libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-0:amd64          1.8.2-1ubuntu0.1                              amd64        GStreamer libraries from the "base" set
ii  libgstreamer-plugins-good1.0-0:amd64          1.8.2-1ubuntu0.1                              amd64        GStreamer development files for libraries from the "good" set
ii  libgstreamer0.10-0:amd64                      0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                            amd64        Core GStreamer libraries and elements
ii  libgstreamer0.10-0:i386                       0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                            i386         Core GStreamer libraries and elements
ii  libgstreamer0.10-dev                          0.10.36-1.5ubuntu1                            amd64        GStreamer core development files
ii  libgstreamer1.0-0:amd64                       1.8.2-1~ubuntu1                               amd64        Core GStreamer libraries and elements
ii  libreoffice-avmedia-backend-gstreamer         1:5.1.4-0ubuntu1                              amd64        GStreamer backend for LibreOffice
ii  phonon-backend-gstreamer:amd64                4:4.8.2-0ubuntu2                              amd64        Phonon GStreamer 1.0 backend
ii  phonon-backend-gstreamer-common:amd64         4:4.8.2-0ubuntu2                              amd64        Phonon GStreamer 1.0.x backend icons

[Erivelton Gualter]

Did you figure out the problem Mikheil Azatov ?

Answer 2

[Po-Hsuan Huang]

Is there a solution for Ubuntu 17.04 ?

I tried

    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mc3man/gstffmpeg-keep
    sudo apt-get update

It gave me the error below. I guess it is because the Zesty(Ubuntu 17.04) is not available at PPA right now.

    W: The repository 'http://ppa.launchpad.net/mc3man/gstffmpeg-keep/ubuntu zesty Release' does not have a Release file.
    N: Data from such a repository can't be authenticated and is therefore potentially dangerous to use.
    N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.
    E: Failed to fetch http://ppa.launchpad.net/mc3man/gstffmpeg-keep/ubuntu/dists/zesty/main/binary-i386/Packages  404  Not Found
    E: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.

Answer 3

[Binhua Zuo]

I've encountered the same problem on Ubuntu 17, If you have solved it, plz tell me ths.

Answer 4

[Omer Hazon]

I have the same problem on Ubuntu 17.10, the gstreamer-ffmpeg package cannot be installed