Xfce Forum

IpreferXfce

Member

Registered: 2016-02-25

Posts: 67

Re: (UPDATE: 8:31 AM) VLC 3.0.11 and Renders Desktop Useless. (Reporting)

I looked into it. They are using version 3.0.2 on both Mate and XFCE. And yet the one on XFCE freezes up but the one on Mate doesn't. I don't get it. Anyways this is probably my last report.

MrEen

Member

Registered: 2019-04-19

Posts: 295

Re: (UPDATE: 8:31 AM) VLC 3.0.11 and Renders Desktop Useless. (Reporting)

In Xfce, goto Menu > Settings > Desktop Settings and see if the Window Manager is just Xfwm4 without any compositor. In your first post of the thread, you mentioned that worked on MX Linux.

IpreferXfce

Member

Registered: 2016-02-25

Posts: 67

Re: (UPDATE: 8:31 AM) VLC 3.0.11 and Renders Desktop Useless. (Reporting)

In Xfce, goto Menu > Settings > Desktop Settings and see if the Window Manager is just Xfwm4 without any compositor. In your first post of the thread, you mentioned that worked on MX Linux.

Thank you for interest in this thread.  I was just about ready to call it done and walk away.

I've been running Xfce for 6 years.  I'm ashamed to admit that I do not know that much about it. I just managed to learn the things that effected what I needed to get done. 

I am aware of the setting your talking about.  However I never understood what the purpose of having all of these: "Metacity", Metacity + Compositing", "Xfm4", "Xfwm4 + Compositing", "Xfwm4 + Compton" and "Compiz" is.  I know that Compton is a compositor.  I Know that Compiz is an advanced compositor.  But it would be nice if someone would explain to me the who, what, when, where, and why you would  use Metacity or Xfm4?

Onto your question:
The MX Linux devs removed "Desktop Settings" and replaced it with "MX Tweak"  It appears that they have it on Xfwm4 with XFCE compositor.

IpreferXfce

Member

Registered: 2016-02-25

Posts: 67

Re: (UPDATE: 8:31 AM) VLC 3.0.11 and Renders Desktop Useless. (Reporting)

@MrEen  You are correct, I did say that the compositor seemed to cause the problem.  But it can take a long time for the issue to show up.  I don't know what would happen if I turned the compositor off for a whole day and just played VLC video for hours on end.

MrEen

Member

Registered: 2019-04-19

Posts: 295

Re: (UPDATE: 8:31 AM) VLC 3.0.11 and Renders Desktop Useless. (Reporting)

I cannot explain anything about compositors. I've always had mine off as I started that way due to an under-powered machine when I first starting using Linux and I just stuck with that. As far as I'm concerned, they're just for eye candy stuff, which matters not to me. Someone else may explain them in more depth.

It sure appears that compositing is the major source of your issue. I don't know the Mint defaults for MATE, where you seemed to have less trouble, but it may have been just Marco, or Marco with something compositor-wise that hasn't been tested with any of your Xfce versions.

IpreferXfce

Member

Registered: 2016-02-25

Posts: 67

Re: (UPDATE: 8:31 AM) VLC 3.0.11 and Renders Desktop Useless. (Reporting)

Probably the number 1 reason I've used a compositor is because it helps get rid of that pesky screen tearing problem that Xfce and other lightweight desktops are known to have. Of course it depends on your video card and monitor too.

With Linux Mint 17 - 18.3 and Linux Lite, and Xubuntu, I have always used some compositing on that old machine.  Believe it or not, compositors don't use up that much resources.  Spatry ran compiz on some old hardware.  It's the newer Linux distros that my machine is having trouble with.  I'm told that it is because of my hardware combination.