remotion-dev/remotion · error · Error

Error parsing vorbis codec private

Error message

Error parsing vorbis codec private

What it means

After reading the Xiph-laced identification-header and comment-header lengths, getAudioDescription expects the first laced packet to begin with byte 0x01 — the Vorbis identification-header packet type. A different byte means the lacing offsets are wrong or the payload is not a Vorbis identification header, so parsing aborts.

Source

Thrown at packages/media-parser/src/containers/webm/description.ts:43

	let vorbisInfoLength = 0;
	let vorbisSkipLength = 0;

	while ((privateData[offset] & 0xff) === 0xff) {
		vorbisInfoLength += 0xff;
		offset++;
	}

	vorbisInfoLength += privateData[offset++] & 0xff;

	while ((privateData[offset] & 0xff) === 0xff) {
		vorbisSkipLength += 0xff;
		offset++;
	}

	vorbisSkipLength += privateData[offset++] & 0xff;

	if (privateData[offset] !== 0x01) {
		throw new Error('Error parsing vorbis codec private');
	}

	const vorbisInfo = privateData.slice(offset, offset + vorbisInfoLength);
	offset += vorbisInfoLength;

	if (privateData[offset] !== 0x03) {
		throw new Error('Error parsing vorbis codec private');
	}

	const vorbisComments = privateData.slice(offset, offset + vorbisSkipLength);
	offset += vorbisSkipLength;

	if (privateData[offset] !== 0x05) {
		throw new Error('Error parsing vorbis codec private');
	}

	const vorbisBooks = privateData.slice(offset);

View on GitHub (pinned to 78fe4bb3fd)

Solutions

1. Re-encode the audio with ffmpeg libvorbis.
2. Validate the stream with ffprobe.
3. Use Mediabunny; try/catch parseMedia().

Example fix

# rebuild Vorbis headers
ffmpeg -i in.webm -c:v copy -c:a libvorbis out.webm

await parseMedia({ src: 'out.webm' });

// ffprobe validates Vorbis header structure
// ffprobe -v error in.webm

try {
  await parseMedia({ src: 'in.webm' });
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof Error && /parsing vorbis codec private/i.test(err.message)) {
    // corrupted Vorbis CodecPrivate — re-encode
  } else throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: CodecPrivate whose first laced packet does not start with 0x01: corrupted length fields that shift the offset, a missing identification header, or a non-Vorbis payload tagged A_VORBIS.

Common situations: Corrupted CodecPrivate; wrong lacing lengths from a buggy muxer; partially-overwritten file.

Related errors

• Expected vorbis private data version 2
• Expected av1 private data to be version 1
• Expected av1 private data to be version 1, got ${version}
• Unexpected sampling frequency index ${samplingFrequencyIndex
• Could not find number of channels

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@78fe4bb3fd (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/aa9cc0821508962f. Report an issue: GitHub.