A strange issue has been identified in Ubuntu where video takes on a blue colored tint. Other descriptions of the problem include inverted colors, blue skin tones, or distorted video hues. The problems have been reproduced with Totem (Gstreamer), Totem (Xine), Mplayer, as well as VLC and other players.
The common theme with this bug seems to be the use of the Nvidia closed source drivers.
Update 3/11/2011: The problem has been isolated to the interaction between the proprietary NVIDIA driver and the X video extension. The fix should now restore correct video color to all players.
Here is an example showing the blue tint problem.
There are 3 fixes you can try. I have listed them from best to worst.
Fix 1: Install the recomended NVIDIA drivers
Change to the recommended drivers.
System -> Administration -> Additional Drivers
You should have 2 proprietary drivers available. Choose the recommended driver which should be your second option. Restart your system and you should be good to go!
Fix 2: Create a custom setting in gstreamer-properties
Make a change to gstreamer-properties.
Open gstreamer-properties from within a terminal.
$ gstreamer-properties
Now click on the Video tab. From the Plugin dropdown box select Custom. Finally add the following line to the Pipeline box.
videobalance hue=-1 ! autovideosink
The window should look like this.
Fix 3: Turn off Xv optimizations
This is basically your last resort. This will fix your issues for all video players but will result in higher CPU utilization.
Make a change to gstreamer-properties.
Open gstreamer-properties from within a terminal.
$ gstreamer-properties
Now click on the Video tab. From the Plugin dropdown box select X Window System (No Xv).
Comments (37)
on March 24, 2009 at 9:53 am
does anybody know the specific steps for other players?
thanks
on April 23, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Well mantvydas, that is pretty simple. Most of the gstreamer settings are general, so with changing this settings will also have effect on VLC.
on May 31, 2009 at 6:56 am
unfortunately, doesn’t work on VLC… any other suggestions?
on November 4, 2009 at 8:36 am
Thanks, works great for Totem. Hopefully there will be enough of us linux users soon that companies will have to stop making second rate products for us.
on November 14, 2009 at 6:29 am
Hello,
thnx for tips.
It works for totem player perfectly.
In case of MPlayer you need to play around with
mplayer’s video preferences (I’ve switched driver xv —> gl) and everything looks great.
Cheers,
Jan
on November 19, 2009 at 12:07 am
Great hint. Thank you and the google.
on December 10, 2009 at 2:50 pm
worked great! thank you very much
!
on January 4, 2010 at 3:49 pm
Thanks a bunch. Very helpful.
on January 12, 2010 at 3:38 pm
Thanks. Worked great.
Worth mentioning that if you -like me – automatically sudo’ed the gstreamer-properties command, this will not work. I guess that sets the properties for the root user, not your current user.
… Now if I can only get rid of the video-tearing, I can free up my Windows partition for good
on February 2, 2010 at 11:10 pm
See workaround in this bug:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/totem/+bug/395476 , assuming you’re using the closed-source nvidia drivers:
# open totem via Applications > Sound & Video > Movie Player
# open the preferences window via Edit > Preferences
# select the Display tab
# click the Reset to Defaults button
… that fixed the blue tint problem for me in mplayer, VLC, and totem.
on September 5, 2010 at 2:01 am
Reset to defaults in Movie Player’s preferences didnt work for me but setting gstreamer-properties worked great. Thanks.
on April 22, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Worked like a charm, cheers
on May 13, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Thank you, it solved my issues with weird colors video playback on all players on Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx. But I use ATI closed-source drivers, so it seems to be not only NVidia problem.
on May 30, 2010 at 7:21 pm
Thank you!!!!I was really start to think that I am doomed with the new drivers of nvidia…
on June 10, 2010 at 4:16 am
Thanks Nick J what a hero
on June 15, 2010 at 3:25 pm
THANK YOU!
on June 17, 2010 at 7:25 am
For me the problem was in the “NVIDIA X-Server Settings” and the tab called “X Server XVideo Settings”. The HUE was at the wrong setting ( all the way down ). Use “Reset hardware defaults” to bring it back to its nominal value. Voilà!
on September 19, 2011 at 12:54 pm
this was the only helpful solution i found.
on June 17, 2010 at 7:32 am
Thanks Nick J, your solution works
on July 10, 2010 at 2:12 pm
Thank you for your help. It works.
on July 20, 2010 at 11:03 pm
I tried the gstreamer-properties solution which fixed the issue for the Totem player but that left all other video players with the same problem. Tonight I decided to try changing my NVIDIA driver to the one not yet active. I also removed the Totem property setting for testing purposes.
After rebooting I popped a DVD in and Totem appeared to display the color correctly and so does VLC which previously displayed the color incorrectly. So then I changed the video driver back and….still no problems. I think one of the Ubuntu system updates that I have applied after the fix described in this post must have fixed the problem in general.
Can anyone else confirm that this problem has gone away (after updates) system wide?
on August 13, 2010 at 1:24 am
open: system->Administration->NVIDIA X Server Setting
Click the tab “X server XVideo Setting”, then you will see “Hue” tab,While open your video player,DIY the Variable until the color is adpated.
on October 30, 2010 at 6:00 am
You you could edit the webpage name Fix blue tinted video in Ubuntu | WiredRevolution.com to more better for your subject you make. I loved the the writing however.
on December 13, 2010 at 12:47 pm
guys simple change your NVIDIA 731 driver to recommended………
on January 8, 2011 at 1:55 pm
its wonderful !!
thank youu
on January 26, 2011 at 9:49 am
Go to NVIDIA X server sittings >> X server display configuration >> and choose reset
this fixed my problem hope it help anyone goes here
on January 27, 2011 at 9:22 am
My fav tip of the day!on February 14, 2011 at 5:04 pm
Thx, about two yaers laters, it always work, I could fix that pb with ur help, thanks again.
on February 15, 2011 at 9:57 am
I’m glad that this helped you out!
on April 10, 2011 at 5:31 pm
worked like charm…thanks !!!
on May 26, 2011 at 8:56 pm
Unfortunately, none of these solution work for me on Ubuntu 10.04 for Xine on a Macbook.
on August 21, 2011 at 3:07 am
Thanks so much. Fix number 2 solved this very annoying problem!
Appreciated
on September 23, 2011 at 1:54 am
THANK YOU! fix 2 worked perfectly.
since i wanted the driver because it ran the ubuntu effects more smoothly, I didn’t want to remove it.
on September 27, 2011 at 2:05 am
THX fix 1 works perfectly.
I am using ubuntu 11.04 and nvedia8400GS.
on September 29, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Fix 1 is not a feasible solution because the “recomended” NVidia driver is completely broken; it may fix the blueshifted colors, but it screws up almost everything else (I wonder why it has been released, it’s still beta crap)
I’ll try fix 2
on September 29, 2011 at 7:14 pm
Fix 2 works great!!
on January 31, 2012 at 12:23 pm
Any news about the real fix? If the bug has been isolated already 3 months ago I can’t believe the fix hasn’t been released yet.
Note that the “recommended” NVidia drivers (which now can be used on ubuntu 11.10) does NOT fix the issue at all.
Trackbacks (3)
on November 21, 2009 at 10:38 pm
on May 13, 2010 at 6:55 am
on October 20, 2011 at 6:47 pm