VLC on iOS distorts audio?

General Discussion
#1

I tried to use VLC on iOS because making playlists is just much nicer than using YouTube, and noticed that some fields sound “off” when played there.

Coming from a computer science background, it sounds to me like the decoding algorithm struggles to unpack the audio live, resulting in some “drops”, “slowdowns” and “wobbly bits” (this precise terminology I do not owe to my CS education). My iPhone is pretty new, so it’s definitely not a computational power issue. Furthermore, when I play on iOS’s Files app I hear no such distortions.

So it’s either VLC’s algorithms or my own device (unlikely). But this raises to me a larger question: if this issue is indeed widespread, is there any risk of fields being less effective when played through this app? It certainly sounds like the sound delivered is not identical to the original intended sound.

What do you guys use on iOS aside from VLC?

(I feel this effect most on the Teeth Regeneration v2.0 field, if anybody wants to check.)

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What media player doesn't distort audio/fields? (Android user)
#2

I make play lists in Music on mac and play them on phone when I’m not working. On a side note, VLC development is still on? I thought it was stopped years back. Good old days when it came out.

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#3

Hello Aether,
It happened to me the same with VLC on my windows computer, so it seems to be a problem with the VLC app itself.
I didn’t spent time debugging the cause for VLC, i just download another player for windows and all fine.
There were some VLC app updates since then, i updated the app, tested again, but still not seems to work fine. Now it starts playing correctly the file, but after a while it distorts it again.
I don’t have iphone so i don’t know which player is ok for iphone. For android there are a lot of players on Store. I guess there might be some other app options for iPhone as well.
Hope this helps,

All the best to you :hugs::pray:

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#4

i have also extreme difficulties finding suitable player for android smartphone,

VLC destroys the fields in my opinion…have already posted here of this problem.

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#5

Well I got VLC on my Android and now you got me thinking, since I was kinda asking myself this question…
Is VLC the problem or the speaker… - in my case the speaker gave me some troubles, I will compare with other apps and see…

Is Media Player Classic Good?

#6

Many people I think here use VLC, may be new fields are giving some tough time to not-updated-in-ages VLC?

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#7

it is all the same old and new. as said only my opinion.

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#8

I meant the development is not happening for desktop versions but may be it is happening for android.

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#9

Yes, there is development, i just received Update notification on Windows pc

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#10

Good to see this!

#11

Yeah vlc has been an issue, just use Apple Music

#12

@anon71013580 recommended Glazba to me awhile ago and it has been a great app if you’re looking for a new one. I make most of my playlists there

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#13

I’ve never had an issue with VLC…

I don’t use special sound effects from my phone settings IE. Equalizer, Dolby ATOM, upscaling, or anything of that sort.

Maybe check if some of yah got this turned on…

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#14

Thanks all for the quick responses - it’s been a while since I’ve actively dived into an online community and I can already tell this one rocks!

You all (most) confirmed my suspicions. It sounds like VLC is definitely not the way to go.

@anon36260187 @Kalacakra Yeah, Apple music is fine, but needing a computer to sync is a pain. I’ve been a nomad for a while and I’m actually not traveling with one at the moment.

@Zen No filters on.

@anon25490707 Thanks so much for the recommendation! I’m downloading it right now.

@SoulStar33 I don’t know for this specific use case, but I do remember WMC being much better at preserving quality back in my cinephile days. If you haven’t noticed anything weird, chances are all is good.

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#15

I’ve tested Glazba and it works like a charm, I get none of the VLC distortion.

Judging by how light of an app it is (7 MB), I think it only acts as a “file manager”, delegating the audio playing to the iOS features (unlike VLC, which brings its own library of opinionated decoders).

It’s not the most polished app, but it more than does the job here - a good example of “less is more”.

@anon25490707 (and @anon71013580) thanks a lot for the recommendation!

(PS. Should there be a warning against VLC somewhere with high visibility on the forum?)

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#16

I have VLC on my Android and it sounds fine to me, what does it sound like for you guys?

#17

I’d expect them to have very different teams for iOS and Android dev so it’s totally possible that this is localized to iOS only. The respective APIs are very different too.

In lay terms, it sounds like “after a while, it gets tired”, distorting the output like a cartoonish slow motion thing.

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#18

Oh I see, yeah (at least for me) I’ve never had that effect happen. The sound is pretty consistent. Sounds clear.

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#19

what is this?

#20
2 Likes