When trying to play any HTML URL, for example "PLAY 1-9 [HTML] “https://google.com” CUT 30 Linear RIGHT, server “hangs”. It still responds to the commands, technically, but doesn’t play any media anymore. There is no log output at all after the confirmation that the message was received and debug information that playback starts. On another machine the exact same command results in the google.com website showing up on the output + some trace and debug messages appearing in the console after “Executing command: PLAY” debug message. Below are results
Expected result:
CasparCG server should open the page and display it on outputs + produce log as below, then accept another PLAY commands
PLAY 1-9 [HTML] "https://google.com" CUT 30 Linear RIGHT
[2025-08-10 02:39:33.479] [info] Received message from Console: PLAY 1-9 [HTML] "https://google.com" CUT 30 Linear RIGHT\r\n
[2025-08-10 02:39:33.479] [debug] Executing command: PLAY
[2025-08-10 02:39:33.480] [trace] [cef_task] executing task
[2025-08-10 02:39:33.480] [trace] [cef_task] task succeeded
#202 PLAY OK
[2025-08-10 02:39:33.481] [debug] Executed command (0.002s): PLAY
[2025-08-10 02:39:33.481] [trace] Ready for a new command
Actual result:
CasparCG server doesn’t react at all, only logs confirmation that it received command and from now on the same result is for any PLAY command. Console log:
PLAY 1-9 [HTML] "https://google.com" CUT 30 Linear RIGHT
[2025-08-10 02:39:33.479] [info] Received message from Console: PLAY 1-9 [HTML] "https://google.com" CUT 30 Linear RIGHT\r\n
[2025-08-10 02:39:33.479] [debug] Executing command: PLAY
When I try that on my machine everything works, so the command itself seems to be ok. So you say, that you see this behavior only on one of your machines, while it works on others, right? What OS and Caspar version?
We have this issue on one of our client’s machines. They have used the machine without problem until earlier this year, when all of a sudden the server stopped animating graphics. The commands would be received but nothing would happen. At the time it seemed that it coincided with them updating the machine to Windows 11 from Windows 10, but having rolled it back to Windows 10 the issue persisted. Graphics will animate for a short period of time, before it then hangs. Graphics are being triggered from Caspar Client and also from a dedicated software application, but the result is the same from either. On my own machine I cannot recreate it at all. We had a second machine which we sent to them after testing it here without problems, but that machine has the same issues once it was with them. All machines have been running Caspar 2.3.3, some on Windows 10, some on Windows 11.
I believe an image of the machine taken from before the laptop was delivered to them was used to go back to Windows 10, so I don’t think there should be driver issues there. The second machine we sent them was a Windows 11 laptop that had always been Windows 11 OS. We had used that ourselves in broadcast on other projects before testing their graphics and sending to them all without issue. When they began to use it they experienced the same problems as before. I cannot see any difference in the way the config is set up on their machines and my own when accessing it from the Server Configuration options in the Server Launcher.
So you say, that when you tried their graphics at your place, it worked, and at the clients site it did not, right? Sounds like a weird (network?) issue.
That’s right. Once the machine was with the client the issue was present on that machine. The only difference in set up is that we are storing the templates in a Sharepoint, synced to a local folder through OneDrive, they are using Google Drive to sync to a local folder on the machine. I have noticed that this gives a very long file path to the templates. I have also remoted into both the original machine and the new machine to test whilst they are at the client’s site to test and experience the issue. Usually the machine is out at different locations in OB trucks.
It’s very frustrating. Particularly as these graphics worked for 2 years before this problem occurred.
I will be able to test on the second machine this afternoon, I will try again creating a local version of the templates to see if a shorter path helps.