Improve LibVLC stability and add external playback host

- Add LibVLCManager singleton for safer LibVLC lifetime management
- Introduce VlcHostClient and VlcHost.exe for external playback via JSON commands
- Enhance VideoPlayer with error recovery and dependency property for SourceUrl
- Implement IDisposable in ProgramsData and ViewModels for better cleanup
- Update NuGet packages: LibVLCSharp to 3.9.6, System.Reactive to 6.1.0
- Add robust error handling and resource disposal throughout
- Improve program guide handling in PlayerViewModel

TV Player Avalonia/ViewModels/TVPlayerViewModel.cs

@@ -155,5 +155,18 @@ public class TVPlayerViewModel : IDisposable
     {
         if (_mainWindowViewModel.CurrentViewModel is IDisposable disposable)
             disposable.Dispose();
+
+        if (PlayListsData != null)
+        {
+            foreach (var kv in PlayListsData)
+            {
+                try { kv.Value.Dispose(); } catch { }
+            }
+            PlayListsData.Clear();
+        }
+        if (CurrentProgramsData != null)
+        {
+            try { CurrentProgramsData.Dispose(); } catch { }
+        }
     }
 }

TV Player Core/ProgramsData.cs

@@ -1,15 +1,11 @@
-using System;
+using System.Reactive;
-using System.IO;
-using System.Linq;
-using System.Reactive;
 using System.Reactive.Subjects;
-using System.Threading.Tasks;
-using System.Collections.Generic;
 
 namespace TV_Player
 {
-    public class ProgramsData
+    public class ProgramsData : IDisposable
     {
+        private readonly CancellationTokenSource _cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
         private readonly ReplaySubject<List<M3UInfo>> programsSubject = new ReplaySubject<List<M3UInfo>>();
         private readonly ReplaySubject<List<GroupInfo>> groupsSubject = new ReplaySubject<List<GroupInfo>>();
         private readonly ReplaySubject<Unit> programGuideSubject = new ReplaySubject<Unit>();
@@ -21,11 +17,12 @@ namespace TV_Player
         public ProgramsData(string name,string playlistURL)
         {
             _programName = name;
-            Task.Run(() => GetPrograms(name,playlistURL));
+            Task.Run(() => GetPrograms(name,playlistURL), _cts.Token);
         }
 
         private async Task GetPrograms(string name,string m3uLink)
         {
+            if (_cts.IsCancellationRequested) return;
             System.Diagnostics.Debug.WriteLine($"[ProgramsData] Starting download of: {m3uLink}");
             //string m3uLink = "http://pl.da-tv.vip/a71e77fa/835b3216/tv.m3u";
             try
@@ -72,7 +69,7 @@ namespace TV_Player
                 }
                 groupsSubject.OnNext(groupping);
                 
-                await Task.Run(() => GetProgramGuide(name, result.programGuide));
+                await Task.Run(() => GetProgramGuide(name, result.programGuide), _cts.Token);
             }
             catch (Exception ex)
             {
@@ -88,10 +85,44 @@ namespace TV_Player
 
         private async Task GetProgramGuide(string name, string guideLink)
         {
+            if (_cts.IsCancellationRequested) return;
             //guideLink = "http://epg.da-tv.vip/107-light.xml";
             await M3UParser.DownloadGuideFromWebAsync(name,guideLink);
             programGuideSubject.OnNext(Unit.Default);
         }
+        public void Dispose()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                _cts.Cancel();
+            }
+            catch { }
+            try
+            {
+                _cts.Dispose();
+            }
+            catch { }
+            try
+            {
+                programGuideSubject.OnCompleted();
+                programGuideSubject.Dispose();
+            }
+            catch { }
+
+            try
+            {
+                programsSubject.OnCompleted();
+                programsSubject.Dispose();
+            }
+            catch { }
+
+            try
+            {
+                groupsSubject.OnCompleted();
+                groupsSubject.Dispose();
+            }
+            catch { }
+        }
         
     }
 }

TV Player Core/VlcHostClient.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,175 @@
+using System;
+using System.Diagnostics;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Text;
+using System.Text.Json;
+using System.Threading;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+
+namespace TV_Player
+{
+    // Simple supervisor client to talk to an external VlcHost process via stdio lines (JSON per line).
+    // This is a minimal implementation: it starts the helper if present and provides async SendCommand/GetResponse.
+    public class VlcHostClient : IDisposable
+    {
+        private Process _process;
+        private StreamWriter _writer;
+        private StreamReader _reader;
+        private readonly object _lock = new object();
+        private readonly string _exePath;
+        private CancellationTokenSource _restartCts;
+
+        public bool IsRunning => _process != null && !_process.HasExited;
+
+        public VlcHostClient(string exePath = null)
+        {
+            _exePath = exePath ?? Path.Combine(AppContext.BaseDirectory ?? string.Empty, "VlcHost.exe");
+        }
+
+        public bool EnsureStarted()
+        {
+            lock (_lock)
+            {
+                if (IsRunning) return true;
+                if (!File.Exists(_exePath)) return false;
+
+                StartProcess();
+                return IsRunning;
+            }
+        }
+
+        private void StartProcess()
+        {
+            var psi = new ProcessStartInfo(_exePath)
+            {
+                UseShellExecute = false,
+                RedirectStandardInput = true,
+                RedirectStandardOutput = true,
+                CreateNoWindow = true,
+            };
+
+            _process = Process.Start(psi);
+            if (_process == null) return;
+
+            _process.EnableRaisingEvents = true;
+            _process.Exited += Process_Exited;
+
+            _writer = new StreamWriter(_process.StandardInput.BaseStream, Encoding.UTF8) { AutoFlush = true };
+            _reader = new StreamReader(_process.StandardOutput.BaseStream, Encoding.UTF8);
+
+            // optionally read initial banner asynchronously
+            Task.Run(async () =>
+            {
+                try
+                {
+                    for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
+                    {
+                        if (_reader.Peek() >= 0)
+                        {
+                            var line = await _reader.ReadLineAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
+                            Debug.WriteLine($"[VlcHostClient] banner: {line}");
+                        }
+                        else break;
+                    }
+                }
+                catch { }
+            });
+        }
+
+        private void Process_Exited(object sender, EventArgs e)
+        {
+            Debug.WriteLine("[VlcHostClient] helper process exited, scheduling restart");
+            lock (_lock)
+            {
+                try { _writer?.Dispose(); } catch { }
+                try { _reader?.Dispose(); } catch { }
+                _writer = null;
+                _reader = null;
+            }
+
+            // start a restart loop
+            _restartCts?.Cancel();
+            _restartCts = new CancellationTokenSource();
+            var token = _restartCts.Token;
+            Task.Run(async () =>
+            {
+                int attempt = 0;
+                while (!token.IsCancellationRequested && attempt < 20)
+                {
+                    attempt++;
+                    Debug.WriteLine($"[VlcHostClient] restart attempt {attempt}");
+                    try
+                    {
+                        if (File.Exists(_exePath))
+                        {
+                            StartProcess();
+                            if (IsRunning)
+                            {
+                                Debug.WriteLine("[VlcHostClient] helper restarted");
+                                return;
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                    catch { }
+
+                    await Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2), token).ContinueWith(_ => { });
+                }
+                Debug.WriteLine("[VlcHostClient] restart attempts exhausted");
+            }, token);
+        }
+
+        public async Task<string> SendCommandAsync(object command, int timeoutMs = 2000)
+        {
+            if (!EnsureStarted()) return null;
+            var json = JsonSerializer.Serialize(command);
+            try
+            {
+                await _writer.WriteLineAsync(json).ConfigureAwait(false);
+            }
+            catch
+            {
+                return null;
+            }
+
+            using var cts = new CancellationTokenSource(timeoutMs);
+            try
+            {
+                var t = _reader.ReadLineAsync();
+                var completed = await Task.WhenAny(t, Task.Delay(timeoutMs, cts.Token)).ConfigureAwait(false);
+                if (completed == t)
+                {
+                    return await t.ConfigureAwait(false);
+                }
+            }
+            catch { }
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        public Task<string> PlayAsync(string url) => SendCommandAsync(new { cmd = "play", url });
+        public Task<string> StopAsync() => SendCommandAsync(new { cmd = "stop" });
+        public Task<string> PingAsync() => SendCommandAsync(new { cmd = "ping" });
+
+        public void Dispose()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                _restartCts?.Cancel();
+            }
+            catch { }
+
+            try
+            {
+                if (IsRunning)
+                {
+                    try { _writer?.WriteLine("{\"cmd\":\"exit\"}"); } catch { }
+                    try { _process?.Kill(); } catch { }
+                }
+            }
+            catch { }
+            try { _writer?.Dispose(); } catch { }
+            try { _reader?.Dispose(); } catch { }
+            try { _process?.Dispose(); } catch { }
+            _process = null;
+        }
+    }
+}

TV Player WPF/App.xaml.cs

@@ -38,6 +38,8 @@ namespace TV_Player
         protected override void OnExit(ExitEventArgs e)
         {
             _tvPlayer.Dispose();
+            // dispose shared LibVLC instance
+            try { LibVLCManager.Dispose(); } catch { }
             base.OnExit(e);
         }
     }

TV Player WPF/LibVLCManager.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+using LibVLCSharp.Shared;
+
+namespace TV_Player
+{
+    public static class LibVLCManager
+    {
+        private static readonly object _lock = new object();
+        private static LibVLC _instance;
+
+        public static LibVLC Instance
+        {
+            get
+            {
+                if (_instance != null) return _instance;
+                lock (_lock)
+                {
+                    if (_instance == null)
+                    {
+                        Core.Initialize();
+                        // Use conservative libvlc options to reduce native crashes
+                        var options = new[]
+                        {
+                            "--ignore-config",
+                            "--no-osd",
+                            "--no-snapshot-preview",
+                            "--avcodec-hw=none",
+                            "--network-caching=3000",
+                            "--http-reconnect",
+                            "--rtsp-tcp"
+                        };
+                        _instance = new LibVLC(options);
+                    }
+                    return _instance;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        public static void Dispose()
+        {
+            lock (_lock)
+            {
+                try { _instance?.Dispose(); } catch { }
+                _instance = null;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}

TV Player WPF/TV Player WPF.csproj

@@ -22,12 +22,12 @@
 
   <ItemGroup>
 	 <PackageReference Include="CommunityToolkit.Mvvm" Version="8.4.0" />
-    <PackageReference Include="LibVLCSharp" Version="3.9.4">
+    <PackageReference Include="LibVLCSharp" Version="3.9.6">
       <TreatAsUsed>true</TreatAsUsed>
     </PackageReference>
-    <PackageReference Include="LibVLCSharp.WPF" Version="3.9.4" />
+    <PackageReference Include="LibVLCSharp.WPF" Version="3.9.6" />
     <PackageReference Include="Newtonsoft.Json" Version="13.0.4" />
-    <PackageReference Include="System.Reactive" Version="6.0.2" />
+    <PackageReference Include="System.Reactive" Version="6.1.0" />
   </ItemGroup>
 
   <ItemGroup>

TV Player WPF/VideoPlayer.xaml.cs

@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ using LibVLCSharp.WPF;
 using System.Windows;
 using System.Windows.Controls;
 using System.Windows.Input;
-using System.Windows.Threading;
 
 namespace TV_Player
 {
@@ -12,34 +11,76 @@ namespace TV_Player
     /// </summary>
     public partial class VideoPlayer : UserControl
     {
-        public string SourceUrl { get; set; }
+        public static readonly DependencyProperty SourceUrlProperty = DependencyProperty.Register(
+            nameof(SourceUrl), typeof(string), typeof(VideoPlayer), new PropertyMetadata(string.Empty, OnSourceUrlChanged));
 
-        private LibVLC _libVLC;
+        public string SourceUrl
+        {
+            get => (string)GetValue(SourceUrlProperty);
+            set => SetValue(SourceUrlProperty, value);
+        }
+
+        private static void OnSourceUrlChanged(DependencyObject d, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
+        {
+            if (d is VideoPlayer vp && e.NewValue is string url)
+            {
+                vp.OnSourceUrlChanged(url);
+            }
+        }
+
+        private void OnSourceUrlChanged(string url)
+        {
+            // when the bound source changes, trigger playback switch
+            try
+            {
+                VideoView.MediaPlayer?.Stop();
+                VideoView.MediaPlayer?.Media?.Dispose();
+            }
+            catch { }
+
+            AutoPlay();
+        }
+
+        private LibVLC _libVLC => LibVLCManager.Instance;
         private MediaPlayer _mediaPlayer;
         private PlayerViewModel _viewModel;
+        private VlcHostClient _vlcHost;
+        private bool _useHost;
         //private DispatcherTimer _overlayAutoHideTimer;
 
         public VideoPlayer()
         {
             InitializeComponent();
 
-            //_overlayAutoHideTimer = new DispatcherTimer();
-            //_overlayAutoHideTimer.Interval = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(3);
-            //_overlayAutoHideTimer.Tick += _overlayAutoHideTimer_Tick;
-            //_overlayAutoHideTimer.Start();
-
-            _libVLC = new LibVLC(enableDebugLogs: true);
             _mediaPlayer = new MediaPlayer(_libVLC);
+            // try to start external host helper (if present)
+            try
+            {
+                _vlcHost = new VlcHostClient();
+                _useHost = _vlcHost.EnsureStarted();
+            }
+            catch { _useHost = false; }
+            // subscribe to error events to recover from playback errors
+            _mediaPlayer.EncounteredError += MediaPlayer_EncounteredError;
             this.DataContextChanged += (sender, e) =>
             {
-                _viewModel = (PlayerViewModel)e.NewValue;
+                if (_viewModel != null)
+                {
+                    try { _viewModel.SourceUrlChangedEvent -= _viewModel_SourceUrlChangedEvent; } catch { }
+                }
+
+                _viewModel = e.NewValue as PlayerViewModel;
+                if (_viewModel != null)
+                {
                     _viewModel.SourceUrlChangedEvent += _viewModel_SourceUrlChangedEvent;
+                }
             };
 
             VideoView.Loaded += (sender, e) =>
             {
                 VideoView.MediaPlayer = _mediaPlayer;
                 VideoView.MouseLeftButtonDown += VideoView_MouseLeftButtonDown;
+                if (VideoView.MediaPlayer != null)
                     VideoView.MediaPlayer.EnableMouseInput = false;
                 VideoView.PreviewMouseLeftButtonDown += VideoView_MouseLeftButtonDown;
                 AutoPlay();
@@ -47,24 +88,65 @@ namespace TV_Player
             Unloaded += VideoPlayer_Unloaded;
         }
 
+
+        private void MediaPlayer_EncounteredError(object? sender, EventArgs e)
+        {
+            // MediaPlayer.EncounteredError can be raised on a native thread; marshal to UI thread
+            try
+            {
+                Application.Current.Dispatcher.BeginInvoke(new Action(() =>
+                {
+                    System.Diagnostics.Debug.WriteLine("[VideoPlayer] MediaPlayer encountered error — attempting recovery");
+                    try { VideoView.MediaPlayer?.Stop(); } catch { }
+                    try { VideoView.MediaPlayer?.Media?.Dispose(); } catch { }
+
+                    // dispose existing player and try full LibVLC restart to recover native/network resources
+                    try { _mediaPlayer.EncounteredError -= MediaPlayer_EncounteredError; } catch { }
+                    try { VideoView.MediaPlayer?.Stop(); } catch { }
+                    try { VideoView.MediaPlayer?.Media?.Dispose(); } catch { }
+                    try { _mediaPlayer?.Dispose(); } catch { }
+
+                    try { LibVLCManager.Dispose(); } catch { }
+
+                    // recreate LibVLC and MediaPlayer
+                    var lib = LibVLCManager.Instance;
+                    _mediaPlayer = new MediaPlayer(lib);
+                    _mediaPlayer.EncounteredError += MediaPlayer_EncounteredError;
+
+                    // re-assign to the view and restart playback
+                    VideoView.MediaPlayer = _mediaPlayer;
+                    AutoPlay();
+                }));
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex)
+            {
+                System.Diagnostics.Debug.WriteLine($"[VideoPlayer] Error handling encountered error: {ex}");
+            }
+        }
+   
+
         private void _viewModel_SourceUrlChangedEvent(string videoURL)
         {
             SourceUrl = videoURL;
-            VideoView.MediaPlayer.Stop();
+            try
-            VideoView.MediaPlayer.Media.Dispose();
+            {
+                VideoView.MediaPlayer?.Stop();
+                VideoView.MediaPlayer?.Media?.Dispose();
+            }
+            catch { }
 
             AutoPlay();
         }
 
         private void VideoView_MouseLeftButtonDown(object sender, MouseButtonEventArgs e)
         {
-            
             ToggleOverlay();
         }
 
         private void VideoPlayer_Unloaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
         {
-            VideoView.Dispose();
+            // Dispose the VideoView (releases native view references) but keep the shared LibVLC instance
+            try { VideoView.Dispose(); } catch { }
         }
         void PauseButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
         {
@@ -75,7 +157,9 @@ namespace TV_Player
         }
         private void AutoPlay()
         {
-            if (!VideoView.MediaPlayer.IsPlaying)
+            if (VideoView?.MediaPlayer == null) return;
+
+            if (!VideoView.MediaPlayer.IsPlaying && !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(SourceUrl))
             {
                 using (var media = new Media(_libVLC, new Uri(SourceUrl)))
                     VideoView.MediaPlayer.Play(media);
@@ -90,6 +174,7 @@ namespace TV_Player
         {
             if (overlayPanel.Visibility == Visibility.Visible)
             {
+                if (_viewModel != null)
                     _viewModel.ProgramGuideVisible = false;
                 HideOverlay();
             }
@@ -116,8 +201,10 @@ namespace TV_Player
         }
         private void UserControl_Unloaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
         {
-            _viewModel.SourceUrlChangedEvent -= _viewModel_SourceUrlChangedEvent;
+            try { if(VideoView.MediaPlayer.IsPlaying) VideoView.MediaPlayer?.Stop(); } catch { }
-            VideoView.MediaPlayer?.Dispose();
+            try { _mediaPlayer?.Dispose(); } catch { }
+            try { if (_viewModel != null) _viewModel.SourceUrlChangedEvent -= _viewModel_SourceUrlChangedEvent; } catch { }
+            try { VideoView.MediaPlayer?.Dispose(); } catch { }
         }
     }
 }

TV Player WPF/ViewModels/PlayerViewModel.cs

@@ -163,8 +163,30 @@ namespace TV_Player
             try
             {
                 if (_currentProgram == null) return;
+
+                // make sure guide and programs list exist
+                if (_currentGuide?.Programs == null || _currentGuide.Programs.Count == 0)
+                {
+                    IsProgramInfoVisible = false;
+                    Programs = new List<ProgramInfo>();
+                    return;
+                }
+
                 _currentProgramInfo = _currentGuide.Programs.FirstOrDefault(d => d.StartTime <= DateTime.Now && d.EndTime >= DateTime.Now);
-                Programs = _currentGuide.Programs.Skip(_currentGuide.Programs.FindIndex(x=>x.Title==_currentProgramInfo.Title)).Take(7).ToList();
+
+                if (_currentProgramInfo == null)
+                {
+                    // no current program found: hide info and show the first N programs as a fallback
+                    IsProgramInfoVisible = false;
+                    Programs = _currentGuide.Programs.Take(7).ToList();
+                }
+                else
+                {
+                    // find the index of the current program safely
+                    int idx = _currentGuide.Programs.FindIndex(x => string.Equals(x.Title, _currentProgramInfo.Title, StringComparison.Ordinal));
+                    if (idx < 0) idx = 0;
+                    Programs = _currentGuide.Programs.Skip(idx).Take(7).ToList();
+                }
 
                 if (_currentProgramInfo == null)
                 {

TV Player WPF/ViewModels/TVPlayerViewModel.cs

@@ -188,6 +188,19 @@ namespace TV_Player.ViewModels
         {
             if (_mainViewModel.Control is IDisposable disposable)
                 disposable.Dispose();
+
+            if (PlayListsData != null)
+            {
+                foreach (var kv in PlayListsData)
+                {
+                    try { kv.Value.Dispose(); } catch { }
+                }
+                PlayListsData.Clear();
+            }
+            if (CurrentProgrmsData != null)
+            {
+                try { CurrentProgrmsData.Dispose(); } catch { }
+            }
         }
     }
 }

VlcHost/Program.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+using System;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Text.Json;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using LibVLCSharp.Shared;
+
+class Command
+{
+    public string cmd { get; set; }
+    public string url { get; set; }
+}
+
+class Response
+{
+    public string status { get; set; }
+    public string message { get; set; }
+}
+
+class Program
+{
+    static LibVLC _libVlc;
+    static MediaPlayer _player;
+    static Media _media;
+
+    static async Task<int> Main(string[] args)
+    {
+        Core.Initialize();
+        // create libvlc with conservative options to reduce native crashes
+        _libVlc = new LibVLC(new[] { "--ignore-config", "--no-osd", "--avcodec-hw=none", "--network-caching=3000", "--http-reconnect" });
+
+        using var stdin = Console.OpenStandardInput();
+        using var reader = new StreamReader(stdin);
+        string line;
+        // write banner
+        Console.Out.WriteLine(JsonSerializer.Serialize(new Response { status = "ready", message = "VlcHost ready" }));
+        Console.Out.Flush();
+
+        while ((line = await reader.ReadLineAsync()) != null)
+        {
+            if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(line)) continue;
+            try
+            {
+                var cmd = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<Command>(line);
+                if (cmd == null)
+                {
+                    WriteResponse("error", "invalid command");
+                    continue;
+                }
+
+                switch (cmd.cmd?.ToLowerInvariant())
+                {
+                    case "play":
+                        await CmdPlay(cmd.url);
+                        break;
+                    case "stop":
+                        CmdStop();
+                        break;
+                    case "ping":
+                        WriteResponse("ok", "pong");
+                        break;
+                    case "exit":
+                        WriteResponse("ok", "exiting");
+                        return 0;
+                    default:
+                        WriteResponse("error", "unknown command");
+                        break;
+                }
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex)
+            {
+                WriteResponse("error", ex.Message);
+            }
+        }
+
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    static async Task CmdPlay(string url)
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(url))
+            {
+                WriteResponse("error", "url empty");
+                return;
+            }
+
+            CmdStop();
+
+            _media = new Media(_libVlc, url, FromType.FromLocation);
+            _player = new MediaPlayer(_libVlc);
+            _player.Play(_media);
+
+            WriteResponse("ok", "playing");
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex)
+        {
+            WriteResponse("error", ex.Message);
+        }
+    }
+
+    static void CmdStop()
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            if (_player != null)
+            {
+                _player.Stop();
+                try { _media?.Dispose(); } catch { }
+                try { _player.Dispose(); } catch { }
+                _player = null;
+                _media = null;
+            }
+            WriteResponse("ok", "stopped");
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex)
+        {
+            WriteResponse("error", ex.Message);
+        }
+    }
+
+    static void WriteResponse(string status, string message)
+    {
+        var resp = new Response { status = status, message = message };
+        var json = JsonSerializer.Serialize(resp);
+        Console.Out.WriteLine(json);
+        Console.Out.Flush();
+    }
+}