Videos Don't Play on IOS Apps

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cbologne

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In the past few days, I've been unable to view or download videos via the Video Buddy or Bomb Cyclone iOS apps. When trying to download videos, I get an HTTP 403 error and when trying to play the video it never starts playback. I've tried unlinking/relinking the app and the issue still persists. Videos play fine on the website.

If I look at https://www.giantbomb.com/api/ I don't see any issues with my API usage

You have used 6 requests in the last hour for API Path '/videos' (reset in 58 minutes)

You have used 1 requests in the last hour for API Path '/video_show' (reset in 58 minutes)

You have used 2 requests in the last hour for API Path '/video_types' (reset in 58 minutes)

Your request rate is fine

I've also seen a few other forum posts about this issue but didn't see a resolution:

https://www.giantbomb.com/forums/bug-reporting-33/video-problems-including-rokuchromecastetc-get-in--1806787/?page=18

https://www.giantbomb.com/forums/general-discussion-30/ios-app-bomb-cyclone-a-giant-bomb-video-app-for-ip-1867388/?page=1#js-message-31

Device info

iPhone 6 Plus

iOS 12.4.2

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rorie

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@cbologne: Hey there,

It sounds like you might be running into our download limiter, but I thought that issue was resolved. Can you attempt to not download anything from the apps for 24 hours, then seeing if you can download from the site itself on a PC or laptop? That should let us know if it's the apps that are still the issue here. Sorry for the trouble.

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pgyura

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I have been having troubles with IPad Video app for a few days now, unable to download and videos stop after about 15 minutes of playing.

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miirkat

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Hey,

just to add to this:

The issue has most certainly not been resolved.

I’ve been having the same issue for over a week now and still can watch only like 30 min of video before the limited kicks in.

Support said no ETA on a fix and has been silent since last week. I’m kinda starting to get impatient.

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cbologne

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@rorie: I waited 24 hours and i was able to start to download 1 video on the app and then I immediately got the 403 error again. When I try to download from the website I get the following error code:
Based on your subscription level, this content is unavailable

I haven't been able to get more than a been able to consistently view and download videos in more than a week.

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rorie

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@miirkat said:

Hey,

just to add to this:

The issue has most certainly not been resolved.

I’ve been having the same issue for over a week now and still can watch only like 30 min of video before the limited kicks in.

Support said no ETA on a fix and has been silent since last week. I’m kinda starting to get impatient.

Which apps are you using? Or are you just using the iOS browser?

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#7  Edited By miirkat

@rorie: GB Video Buddy on iOS and The GB App on Xbox one.

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kreppsyhead

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#8  Edited By kreppsyhead

@rorie I have tried using GBTV and Giant Cyclone both on iOS and have been having the same issue as other users above. I click play and it just spins and spins and nothing plays. When I browse to the website through Safari or Chrome on my phone the videos load and play normally. Something specific to the apps seem to be the issue.

Edit: Bomb Cyclone* not Giant Cyclone

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rorie

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@miirkat said:

@rorie: GB Video Buddy on iOS and The GB App on Xbox one.

Hmm, I tried to locate the previous to try out on this studio iPad but I'm unable to find it?

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rorie

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@rorie I have tried using GBTV and Giant Cyclone both on iOS and have been having the same issue as other users above. I click play and it just spins and spins and nothing plays. When I browse to the website through Safari or Chrome on my phone the videos load and play normally. Something specific to the apps seem to be the issue.

OK, I'll try those out and see how they affect my own account. I suspect there's something common between the way all these apps work that is still hitting the DL limit too quickly, but I'll try to figure it out!

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kreppsyhead

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@rorie: Its actually Bomb Cyclone not Giant Cyclone. My mistake. Also I am not downloading for offline use, just trying to watch like normal. Not sure if that changes anything.

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rorie

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OK, I have replicated the issue with GBTV on iOS. Playing the video in the app causes you to hit the download limit pretty much within minutes, whereas playing the same video in the Safari browser acts normally. If you are having issues where your video plays for a few minutes and then stops and you can't do anything for the rest of the day, please let me know the app/device here in this thread if you haven't already and I'll start adding them to the bug report. I don't know of an ETA for a new fix for this but we'll get working on it now that I can replicate the error. Sorry for all the trouble!

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krisseck

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Yep, getting the same issue with GBTV app on iPad

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conmulligan

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Hey @rorie, I make Bomb Cyclone for iOS. If you'd like me to test anything on my end, let me know and I'd be happy to help! One thing to keep in mind is that, because the API doesn't expose HLS streams for archived video, pretty much all 3rd party apps are going to progressive load the MP4 files regardless of whether the video is being streamed or downloaded. This might explain the discrepancy between users playing video in apps and those watching in a browser using the "HTML5" playback option.

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rorie

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Hey @rorie, I make Bomb Cyclone for iOS. If you'd like me to test anything on my end, let me know and I'd be happy to help! One thing to keep in mind is that, because the API doesn't expose HLS streams for archived video, pretty much all 3rd party apps are going to progressive load the MP4 files regardless of whether the video is being streamed or downloaded. This might explain the discrepancy between users playing video in apps and those watching in a browser using the "HTML5" playback option.

Excellent, good to know! I suspect it's not an issue with the apps themselves but the way we're serving the videos but I'll hand it off to Will for verification!

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miirkat

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#16  Edited By miirkat

@rorie:

Apparently the GB Video Buddy is gone from the App Store.

For context its this app:

https://www.giantbomb.com/forums/general-discussion-30/ios-app-giant-bomb-video-buddy-545452/

In any way it’s good to hear that you’ve been able to replicate the issue with other apps and I’m hopeful that once this gets fixed it will be fixed for all apps.

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rorie

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@miirkat said:

@rorie:

Apparently the GB Video Buddy is gone from the App Store.

For context its this app:

https://www.giantbomb.com/forums/general-discussion-30/ios-app-giant-bomb-video-buddy-545452/

In any way it’s good to hear that you’ve been able to replicate the issue with other apps and I’m hopeful that once this gets fixed it will be fixed for all apps.

Me too! I don't have an ETA but I have the bug in with steps to replicate. We'll see!

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wchigo

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Had this happen a while back with both GB Video Buddy and GBTV. It went away after I went to sleep and tried it the next day.

Unfortunately, it just now returned after trying to download the Extra Life stream archives on GBTV. I’ll wait until the morning and try again to see if that resolves anything.

iPad Pro 10.5” running iOS 12.3.1 for reference.

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Celluloidste

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I have the same issue, was using the GB video buddy but now just getting the based on your subscription error messge, if i go safari GB and log in its 15 minutes of content tops before it pin wheels, iPad IOs 13,2.1

Safari browser

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sillo

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I started having this on iOS too. Vid will play for a while then just drop andrefuse to load anything at all until the next day. This is maddening because it keeps happening and if I’m relegated to watching on YouTube then why am I paying for a sub!

Contacted support - they took a day before asking me what version of video buddy I was using...yikes.

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reaveybeach

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Getting the same problem with the GBTV app on ios and the Giant Bomb Enthusiast app on Android NVIDIA Shield. I can now only watch GB videos through a browser. First time I’m running into this problem

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jakeyjake

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Experiencing the same issue - gb video buddy app on ipad.

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Celluloidste

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@celluloidste: i can also confirm that waiting 24 hours meant i could download again

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I believe Will has a resolution to this in place and hopefully it will be deployed soon. Sorry for the long wait!

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Any update or ETA for the fix?

Every IOS app is still broken for me. Video playback stops after 10 minutes and then I am locked out for 24 hours.

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suikoden352

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It’s different for me. I have 2 Apple TV boxes. I have an Apple 4K in my living room and then my Apple TV from 2 years ago in the bedroom. The one in the bed room runs fine. The 4K studders like no ones business. Audio will play, but video studders like it is freeze framing through the video. If I throw the video up to the apple 4K tv through my iPhone from the site, it works alright. This has been going on for almost what seems like 2 months now.

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sheiter

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It’s different for me. I have 2 Apple TV boxes. I have an Apple 4K in my living room and then my Apple TV from 2 years ago in the bedroom. The one in the bed room runs fine. The 4K studders like no ones business. Audio will play, but video studders like it is freeze framing through the video. If I throw the video up to the apple 4K tv through my iPhone from the site, it works alright. This has been going on for almost what seems like 2 months now.

I have the same issue with my Apple TV 4k and it has been going on since the latest OS update. Audio plays fine but video is a slideshow.

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rorie

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@sheiter said:
@suikoden352 said:

It’s different for me. I have 2 Apple TV boxes. I have an Apple 4K in my living room and then my Apple TV from 2 years ago in the bedroom. The one in the bed room runs fine. The 4K studders like no ones business. Audio will play, but video studders like it is freeze framing through the video. If I throw the video up to the apple 4K tv through my iPhone from the site, it works alright. This has been going on for almost what seems like 2 months now.

I have the same issue with my Apple TV 4k and it has been going on since the latest OS update. Audio plays fine but video is a slideshow.

Are you using the Apple TV app, a browser, another app? I'm not sure I have a 4k Apple TV for testing but I can see if I can replicate.

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rorie

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Any update or ETA for the fix?

Every IOS app is still broken for me. Video playback stops after 10 minutes and then I am locked out for 24 hours.

Hmm, I'm not showing that you (or anyone) should be hitting the download limit now. Can you let me know a specific app you're using and a specific video that errors out for you? are you trying to download or just play back? What quality settings are you using and what iOS revision are you on?

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suikoden352

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@rorie: I have the Apple TV GB app installed on both Apple TVs. The 4K one is running tvOS 13.2 (17K82). I have both Apple TVs on wireless as I don’t have them close enough to hook them up to a wired connection. Live stream seems to do fine. It’s mainly any archived content. If I pull up the site on my iPhone through safari, as it’s the only browser I use on my iPhone, and do airplay for videos from the site from my phone then the video plays fine.

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rorie

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@rorie: I have the Apple TV GB app installed on both Apple TVs. The 4K one is running tvOS 13.2 (17K82). I have both Apple TVs on wireless as I don’t have them close enough to hook them up to a wired connection. Live stream seems to do fine. It’s mainly any archived content. If I pull up the site on my iPhone through safari, as it’s the only browser I use on my iPhone, and do airplay for videos from the site from my phone then the video plays fine.

OK, let me file a separate bug on this issue and hopefully the developer will be able to look into it soon. Sorry for the trouble!

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sheiter

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@rorie said:
@sheiter said:
@suikoden352 said:

It’s different for me. I have 2 Apple TV boxes. I have an Apple 4K in my living room and then my Apple TV from 2 years ago in the bedroom. The one in the bed room runs fine. The 4K studders like no ones business. Audio will play, but video studders like it is freeze framing through the video. If I throw the video up to the apple 4K tv through my iPhone from the site, it works alright. This has been going on for almost what seems like 2 months now.

I have the same issue with my Apple TV 4k and it has been going on since the latest OS update. Audio plays fine but video is a slideshow.

Are you using the Apple TV app, a browser, another app? I'm not sure I have a 4k Apple TV for testing but I can see if I can replicate.

Hi Rorie,

I am using the Apple TV app on tvOS 13.2. It has been an issue since tvOS 13.