Pressing Spacebar pauses video, pressing again closes video instead of resuming playback?

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Level 1

36 points

Pressing Spacebar pauses video, pressing again closes video instead of resuming playback?

Hi all, been running into this issue for a long time across multiple computers and just want to make sure I'm not doing something wrong. If I'm watching a video in full screen mode in the TV App on my MacBook Pro, I can press the spacebar to pause the video. It used to be that pressing it again would resume playback, but now it just closes the full screen minimizes the full screen view or closes the video altogether.

The only way I can resume playback is to click on the pause button with my trackpad or mouse. Is this normal? Using Monterey now, but this has been happening all the way back to Mojave I feel like.

MacBook Pro (2020 and later)

Posted on Nov 17, 2021 9:31 AM

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Answer 1

Tarekith Author

Level 1

36 points

Nov 18, 2021 1:04 PM in response to destiny241

Holy cow, I think I finally figured it out. It only happens when "Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls" is selected in the Keyboard page of the System Preferences. Still a bug since it has nothing to do with Tab or Shift+Tab, but at least I know what's causing it now. Screenshot of what I'm talking about:

https://tarekith.com/downloads/Keyboard.png

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Answer 2

destiny241

Community Specialist

Nov 18, 2021 8:54 AM in response to Tarekith

Hello Tarekith,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. Based on your post, you're unable to resume playback with the space bar on your MacBook Pro in the Apple TV app. We'll certainly do our best to assist with this.

Does this only seem to occur within the Apple TV app on your Mac or other apps, as well? We ask because we test this out and couldn't seem to reproduce the issue. Playback worked when we press the space bar again.

Are you using the built-in trackpad or an external?

How does it work when using safe mode: How to use safe mode on your Mac

This tell us if there are any extensions that might be causing the issue.

You can also test this in another user on your Mac: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac

Which will help to isolate the issue to your user or multiple users on the Mac.

Hoping to hear back, take care.

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Answer 3

destiny241

Community Specialist

Nov 18, 2021 12:27 PM in response to Tarekith

Hey Tarekith,

Thanks for the reply back and the video was really helpful!

It does sound like we're on the same page, we even tested this with our home videos within the Apple TV app and it resumes playback when we press on the space bar again.

With that said, you've mentioned this happens across multiple computers. Did you restore this new Mac with a backup of your older Mac? That might be why you're experiencing this now on the new Mac.

What happens if you quit the Apple TV app, then hold down the Shift key on your keyboard as you launch it again? Release Shift once the app opens completely. This should remove the app's saved state.

If that doesn't help out, were you able to also test another user on your Mac? That will tell us if it's specific to your user or system wide. Also, have you noticed this happening within other apps like QuickTime Player?

Have a good one, cheers.

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Answer 4

destiny241

Community Specialist

Nov 19, 2021 9:24 AM in response to Tarekith

Hey Tarekith,

Wow, really nice sleuthing! If this preference is causing the issue, then we'd recommend to contact Apple directly for a solution: Get Support

There may be some settings or preferences they'll be able to remove in order to resolve it for good.

Wishing you well, take care.

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Answer 5

Tarekith Author

Level 1

36 points

Nov 18, 2021 9:41 AM in response to destiny241

Hi, and thanks for getting back to me. I tried in Safe Mode and the issue is still there, so I made a quick video demonstrating what I am talking about:

https://tarekith.com/downloads/Spacebar.MOV

Let me know if that helps explain the problem better. Thanks!

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Answer 6

Tarekith Author

Level 1

36 points

Nov 18, 2021 12:48 PM in response to destiny241

Hi again. I did not restore from a previous back up when setting up this new MBP, I wanted a fresh install of everything with the change to the new chip. I tried your idea of holding Shift when launching the TV App but that didn't fix the issue. However in Quicktime Player or VLC it works as expected, Spacebar causes the video to resume playing.

I can also reproduce this same issue on my previous 2019 16" MacBook Pro which is running Monterey, but it was there in Big Sur and High Sierra too.

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Pressing Spacebar pauses video, pressing again closes video instead of resuming playback?

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