Whisper CPP not working on SE 4.0.9

[vivadavid]

Hi,

Whisper CPP isn't working any more on my PC running Windows 11. I've tested it with several models (Medium.en, Medium and Small.en) and a couple of audio files. They all work in SE 4.0.8.

I'm using the portable version of SE 4.0.9. I've unzipped the file, opened the programme and alllowed SE to download ffmpeg and CPP. I'm using the same models that I've been using for the last few months, saved in a particular folder.

After I clicked on 'Generate', it seemed as if something was being processed, but a few seconds later, an empty SRT file was created.

[abc16361]

I tested it here using Whisper CPP medium.en and large-v2. Both of them work well as usual with portable 4.0.9 on Win 11.

[vivadavid]

I tested it here using Whisper CPP medium.en and large-v2. Both of them work well as usual with portable 4.0.9 on Win 11.

I wonder if the new version of Whisper CPP has a problem with a particular setup. My laptop runs AMD Ryzen 7 4800H and an Nvidia RTX 2060.

[abc16361]

... has a problem with a particular setup...

I'm not sure, but every time when I use a new version, I just copy the files and folders, those are not in the new version, from the old version into the new one, and I did the same on v.4.0.9, so I suppose version 4.0.9 should be the same as usual.

[abc16361]

The files and folders I move from old versions into new ones. There are 14 files and folders in my case.

[vivadavid]

... has a problem with a particular setup...

I'm not sure, but every time when I use a new version, I just copy the files and folders, those are not in the new version, from the old version into the new one, and I did the same on v.4.0.9, so I suppose version 4.0.9 should be the same as usual.

So, as far as I understand, you're using the same version of Whisper CPP you were using with SE 4.0.8.

SE 4.0.9 provides a new version of Whisper CPP (1.7.2), so this is where problem lies, I think.

[abc16361]

I think you are right. I did update CPP to 1.7.2 during the v.4.0.9 beta testing, so I think it is updated in my new SE v.4.0.9, but it might have some bugs inside. On the latest new package v.4.0.9, CPP downloads only 5 CPP files instead of 10 files as like in v. 4.0.8. It could have bugs on CPP downloading and updating in the latest package.

[abc16361]

I just tested Whisper CPP 1.7.2 on a 5-minutes mp3 file with SE v4.0.9. It did give result but took 28+ minutes to complete the process, much longer than the usual 6~7 minutes time on v. 4.0.8. This Whisper CPP 1.7.2 is a brand new download from the latest v. 4.0.9 package, not from a folder copy.

[niksedk]

@vivadavid: You should check your whisper_log.txt file in the SE data folder (or right-click in the Whisper window).

[vivadavid]

@niksedk , I did check it, but I didn't find anything strange. I could e-mail it to you if you want.

[vivadavid]

OK, I think I found the problem. All my Whisper models have been located in the same folder for months, a folder whose name contains extended characters (to be more precise, [ and ]). I've simply removed the extended characteres and Whisper CPP seems to work again as expected.

Could this be fixed in a future SE release or is it related to Whisper?

[vivadavid]

I just tested Whisper CPP 1.7.2 on a 5-minutes mp3 file with SE v4.0.9. It did give result but took 28+ minutes to complete the process, much longer than the usual 6~7 minutes time on v. 4.0.8. This Whisper CPP 1.7.2 is a brand new download from the latest v. 4.0.9 package, not from a folder copy.

I was curious if I could notice the same trend and I've done a little test. I've used an mp3 audio that is 2 minutes 30 seconds long. On SE 4.0.9 (with Whisper CPP 1.7.2), the small model took 8 minutes, whereas it took 1 minute on SE 4.0.8.

[abc16361]

I was curious if I could notice the same trend and I've done a little test. I've used an mp3 audio that is 2 minutes 30 seconds long. On SE 4.0.9 (with Whisper CPP 1.7.2), the small model took 8 minutes, whereas it took 1 minute on SE 4.0.8.

I think the situation is the same. I usually run the Whisper CPP 1.7.2 large v2 model and that takes about 7 minutes to finish on a 5 minutes mp3. When I tested on SE 4.0.9, I used the medium-en model and that completed the tested in about 27 minutes. I got a feeling that a smaller model completes the job within less time, and 8 minutes on a small model could show a similar problem.

[vivadavid]

On SE 4.0.10, the name of the Whisper folder still can't have extended characters, and it's still quite slow, but faster than it was in SE 4.0.9.

My results for the small model on my mp3 audio that is 2 minutes 30 seconds long:

- SE 4.0.10: 5m 15s. [Whisper CPP (1.7.3)]
- SE 4.0.9:   7m 55s. [Whisper CPP (1.7.2)]
- SE 4.0.8:   1m 00s. [Whisper CPP (1.7.1?)]

[abc16361]

SE 4.0.10 - CPP 1.7.3 is still too slow. In SE 4.0.9 and SE 4.0.10, openblas.dll file is used instead of ' libopenblas.dll ' in SE 4.0.8 and SE 4.0.9 beta, so I just replaced the original ' openblas.dll ' in CPP 1.7.3 download with the 'libopenblas.dll ' from SE 4.0.9 beta - CPP 1.7.2 updated and renamed it and the process instantly went back to a fast speed. For a 5 minutes mp3, SE 4.0.10 - CPP 1.7.3 took 26 minutes, but after replaced with 'libopenblas.dll ', it took only 2.5 minutes, and medium.en model was used.
whisper_log.txt


also attach the libopenblas.dll file here:
libopenblas.zip

[vivadavid]

Thank you for the useful information, @abc16361 !

[niksedk]

@abc16361 - perhaps you should post at https://github.com/ggerganov/whisper.cpp/issues
SE just uses the binaries from the CI builds, e.g. https://github.com/ggerganov/whisper.cpp/actions/runs/12396931781

[abc16361]

@abc16361 - perhaps you should post at https://github.com/ggerganov/whisper.cpp/issues SE just uses the binaries from the CI builds, e.g. https://github.com/ggerganov/whisper.cpp/actions/runs/12396931781

As your suggests, an issue has been reported to ggerganov/whisper.cpp#2666. Thank you!

[vivadavid]

@abc16361 - perhaps you should post at https://github.com/ggerganov/whisper.cpp/issues SE just uses the binaries from the CI builds, e.g. https://github.com/ggerganov/whisper.cpp/actions/runs/12396931781

As your suggests, an issue has been reported to ggerganov/whisper.cpp#2666. Thank you!

Thank you, @abc16361 !

[vivadavid]

@niksedk , I've already left a comment in the Whisper thread regarding speed. Should I also mention my problem with extended characters in the name of the folder containing the models or is it related to Subtitle Edit?