What does HRESULT 0x00040270 (VFW_S_NO_STOP_TIME) mean?

VFW_S_NO_STOP_TIME

DirectShow sample has no stop time

VFW_S_NO_STOP_TIME is HRESULT 262768 (0x00040270) from Video for Windows. The documented description is “The stop time for the sample was not set.” The high-order severity bit is clear, so this is a success result, but it carries more information than plain S_OK.

The sample timing query succeeded with information that no stop time was set for the media sample.

State to verify

The central question is whether the downstream filter has a documented way to infer duration or safely process a sample with only a start time.

Where the result is encountered

• This result can appear in IMediaSample timing; record the producing interface and method.
• It can appear in filters that derive duration from the next sample; record the producing interface and method.
• It can appear in live streams or formats carrying only start timestamps; record the producing interface and method.

Evidence to preserve

• Preserve sample start time.
• Preserve absence of stop time.
• Preserve media type and nominal frame duration.
• Preserve next-sample timestamp.
• Preserve filter behavior for discontinuities.

Diagnostic sequence

• Capture the raw HRESULT 0x00040270 immediately after the returning method and record whether the caller used SUCCEEDED, FAILED, equality testing, or exception translation.
• Verify the method-specific state: the downstream filter has a documented way to infer duration or safely process a sample with only a start time.

Correct handling, retry, and recovery

Do not read an uninitialized stop value. Infer duration only from the media contract, or propagate the missing-stop-time condition to the component that owns scheduling.

Practical validation scenario

A parser emits video samples with start timestamps but no explicit stop times. The renderer uses the negotiated frame duration and verifies that discontinuities reset the inference correctly.

Difference from nearby HRESULT values

VFW_S_ESTIMATED returns a value with uncertainty; it reports that the stop timestamp is absent.

Developer and administrator guidance

Code handling it should test the exact documented value before a generic SUCCEEDED(hr) branch when outputs or control flow differ. Operational remediation should target the owning COM, media, Tablet PC, or OLE DB component instead of resetting unrelated services.

References

• Microsoft: DirectShow error and success codes
• Microsoft: DirectShow overview
• Microsoft: IMediaSample::GetTime