How do I get libvlc_media_player_get_time() to return a more accurate result?

Question

With libvlc, how do I get libvlc_media_player_get_time() to return a more accurate result? With 60fps video the value it returns is only updated a few times per second at most. Is there any way to get frame accurate timing?

I'm having an issue with this now because the player I'm building is made for playing short videos (< 1 min in length) and the slow time updates make the position indicator look sluggish and choppy. It's depressing that there is no real solution for this. — arjabbar, Mar 30 '16 at 02:13

score 10 · Answer 1 · edited Aug 06 '17 at 05:28

This issue says that there is no way to get more accurate result from libvlc.

But you can interpolate it:

private long lastPlayTime = 0;
private long lastPlayTimeGlobal = 0;

 /**
 * Get current play time (interpolated)
 * @see https://github.com/caprica/vlcj/issues/74
 * @return
 */
public float getCurrentTime(){
    long currentTime = directMediaPlayer.getTime();

    if (lastPlayTime == currentTime && lastPlayTime != 0){
        currentTime += System.currentTimeMillis() - lastPlayTimeGlobal;
    } else {
        lastPlayTime = currentTime;
        lastPlayTimeGlobal = System.currentTimeMillis();
    }

    return currentTime * 0.001f;    //to float
}

great, this is awesome solution – user25 Jan 03 '18 at 21:41 — user25, Jan 03 '18 at 21:41

How do I get libvlc_media_player_get_time() to return a more accurate result?

1 Answers1