Overlay changes but actual playback stuck at ~1.0x (MegaStudy Kollus player) — worked before, broke since yesterday

[iron-blip]

Environment

• Chrome: 139.0.7258.139
• OS: Windows 11
• VSC version: 0.9.4
• Site: https://www.megastudy.net/ (Kollus player)
• Console Log Level: debug/verbose
• Settings: Force last saved speed / Prevent video players that override VSC speed = enabled

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What happens

• Until yesterday, speed control worked fine on MegaStudy’s Kollus player.
• Since yesterday, the overlay shows my preferred speed correctly (e.g. 2.0x, 3.0x).
• But the actual video playback is locked near 1.0x.
• Even when step size is set to 0.1, playback only goes to ~0.9x or 1.1x max, never beyond.
• Overlay says "using speed 3" (see console log), but real playback does not change.
• The site officially supports 0.1x ~ 2.0x speed control, so playback beyond that may be restricted — but previously VSC worked fine at higher speeds.

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Console logs (debug mode)

(see attached screenshot)

INFO: Video Speed Controller initialized successfully DEBUG: Per-video mode: using speed 1 DEBUG: Per-video mode: using speed 3

→ UI reports speed change, but video keeps playing at ~1.0x.

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Steps to reproduce

1. Open lecture page in MegaStudy (Kollus player).
2. Play video.
3. Increase speed via overlay or keyboard shortcuts.
4. Observe: overlay number changes, console logs speed change, but playback stays ~1.0x (or only shifts to 0.9–1.1).

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Expected behavior

• Actual playback speed should follow the overlay (e.g. 1.2, 1.3, 2.0, 3.0).
• Even if the site restricts above 2.0x officially, VSC used to override this limitation successfully — but not anymore.

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Notes

• Issue started only since yesterday (previously worked fine on the same site).
• “Force last saved speed / Prevent video players that override VSC speed” setting is enabled.
• Occasionally, the preferred speed does get applied, but only very rarely.
  For example, if I rapidly alternate between two preferred speed buttons (e.g. 3.0x and 2.0x) many times in a row, then once in a few dozen attempts the correct speed actually sticks.
• Possibly Kollus player update is now force-resetting video.playbackRate.
• Please confirm if this site is intentionally unsupported (due to DRM) or if a patch is possible.

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Personal note

I'm currently preparing for a really important exam, and playback speed control is essential for me to study effectively.
The site itself only allows up to 2.0x, so VSC was honestly my only hope to learn faster and keep up with the lectures.
Since it suddenly stopped working, I'm feeling very frustrated and worried.
VSC used to help me a lot, and I really wish it can work again for my study routine 🥹🥹😭😭😭

Also, I'm Korean and this issue was written through a translator,
so please understand if my English is not perfect. Thank you so much for your work!

[DS2902]

Oh yes, how much a new version is broken. And it’s not clear for what?

[igrigorik]

https://www.megastudy.net/teacher_v2/mega_tcc/main.asp?tt_num=29543&tec_cd=ozscience&domCd=A&SubMainType=A&mOne=cast&pTecCd=ozscience&LeftMenuCd=8 seems to work a-ok. Can you share an example where it doesnt?

[iron-blip]

I’m sorry for the late reply — I don’t use GitHub very often, so I didn’t check back for a few days. Thank you very much for your patience.

The video you tested works fine for me as well, but that is because it is a free lecture where the DRM program (Kollus Player) does not run.
In such free, non-DRM videos, VSC also works perfectly for me.

However, in lectures where the DRM program (Kollus Player) is required, the situation is very different.
In those cases, the overlay speed changes correctly, but the actual playback speed never changes — it stays locked around 1.0x.
This is exactly the issue I have been experiencing.

At first, I was quite discouraged, because almost all DRM-enabled lectures are paid, so I thought it would be impossible to provide you with a reproducible example.
But after a lot of searching, I was fortunate to find some free lectures where the DRM program does run.

The procedure to reach these lectures is unfortunately a little complicated.
I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, but since there is no direct link and the site requires account signup, please kindly follow these steps to reproduce the issue:

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Steps:

1. Sign up for a free account
2. Go to https://www.megastudy.net/megastudy.asp → on the main page, open the ‘메가 선생님’ toggle
3. Under the pink section labeled ‘2022개정’, click the ‘김종웅’ button
4. Scroll down near the bottom of the page and open the ‘무료특강’ tab
   (examples: ‘[한국사] 한국사 인물 & 키워드 잡기’, ‘[동아시아사] 동아시아사 흐름 잡기’, ‘[세계사] 지역사 (영국의 역사)’)
5. Next to any of those lectures, click the red cart button
6. Click the red ‘무료수강’ button
7. In the popup, click ‘확인’
8. Enter the lecture room, select the lecture, and press the play button
9. A DRM program download window will appear — install it, then refresh the page and play the video again

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After step 9, the issue can be reproduced:

• The overlay speed changes, but the actual playback remains fixed at ~1.0x.
• Even with step size set to 0.1, playback only fluctuates between 0.9–1.1x and never beyond.

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I originally wanted to attach screenshots showing exactly where to click, but I couldn’t find an option to attach images here.
I am not sure if GitHub comments allow image uploads in this context.
I have saved the screenshots, so if you could kindly let me know a channel where I can send them, I would be happy to share them.

I completely understand that this process is inconvenient, and I truly apologize for the trouble.
But this is the only way I could find to provide you with a free, reproducible example of the issue.
Since I am preparing for an important exam and speed control is essential for my study routine, this issue is very serious for me.
I would be deeply grateful if you could try to reproduce it.

Thank you again for your time and support 🙏