What does HRESULT 0x80040252 (VFW_E_NO_TIME_FORMAT_SET) mean?

Status / error code:

Category:

Constant name:

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Facility:

Operating System:

Description:

No media time format has been selected. Diagnosis, evidence and recovery.

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VFW_E_MEDIA_TIME_NOT_SET	VFW_E_MONO_AUDIO_HW

VFW_E_NO_TIME_FORMAT_SET

Exact result and bit fields

VFW_E_NO_TIME_FORMAT_SET has the unsigned HRESULT value 2147746386 (0x80040252) and the signed 32-bit representation -2147220910. AllStat describes it as “No media time format has been selected”. In the operation that produces this result, a seeking operation requires a selected media time format, but the object has not yet established one.

The high bit is set, so this value is a failure HRESULT. Its facility field is 4 (FACILITY_ITF) and its low code is 594 (0x0252). These fields classify this result, but they do not identify which filter, thread, device, file or graph generation returned it.

Contract boundary

This result occurs in the data-delivery and timing contract between DirectShow filters. Reference time, media time, sample flags, buffering and seeking formats are separate metadata channels and must not be substituted for one another without an explicit conversion.

The practical owner to locate for this HRESULT is the first producer of the sample or seeking state and the immediate consumer. When handling this result, capture the native result before a wrapper replaces it with a generic exception, and keep the graph generation or object identity with the record.

Conditions that can produce it

Cause 1 for this HRESULT: SetTimeFormat was never called and the object has no default.
Cause 2 for this HRESULT: initialization reset the selected format.
Cause 3 for this HRESULT: the application queries or seeks before graph connection completes.

Evidence worth preserving

Log the interface and method, filter CLSID and friendly name, process and thread, graph state, connected pin names, media-type summary, renderer or device identity where relevant, and the first preceding HRESULT. Record lengths and hashes instead of raw content when the incident includes timestamps, media positions, source identifiers and sample payload details.

Evidence 1 for this HRESULT: supported time formats returned by the object.
Evidence 2 for this HRESULT: selected format before and after graph changes.
Evidence 3 for this HRESULT: call order for connection, SetTimeFormat and seeking.

Step-by-step diagnosis

Capture it at the first native return, not only at the top-level playback failure.
identify the exact graph stage described here: a seeking operation requires a selected media time format, but the object has not yet established one.
compare the live object state, topology and input with the documented interface preconditions.
Before changing filters, drivers, registry data or media for this HRESULT, collect the code-specific evidence below.
Test one evidence-backed the correction on the smallest reproducible graph.
Verify that the corrected run no longer returns it and does not merely replace it with a nearby HRESULT.

Correction strategy

Action 1 for this HRESULT: query supported formats and select one explicitly.
Action 2 for this HRESULT: reapply the format after topology changes that reset seeking state.
Action 3 for this HRESULT: defer time-dependent calls until the object is initialized.

Retry and recovery

Retry rule for this HRESULT: Retry after a supported format is selected; do not loop while the time-format state remains unset. A safe it retry must use a changed capability, state, object generation or input. While recovering from it, preserve cancellation and avoid replaying side effects when the original operation may have partially completed.

Example incident

A custom parser supports byte and media-time positions but exposes no default before connection; selecting TIME_FORMAT_MEDIA_TIME after graph construction resolves it. This example keeps the diagnosis at the specific the boundary instead of treating every DirectShow failure as a codec reinstall problem.

How it differs from nearby results

VFW_E_NO_TIME_FORMAT is returned when the active format is TIME_FORMAT_NONE, while it indicates that no format has been selected yet. Keep those cases separate in telemetry, UI messages and retry policy because their next actions are different.

Implementation notes

Code that handles it should preserve the original HRESULT, the failed stage and an opaque correlation identifier. After it, do not infer success from partial graph construction, and do not continue using interfaces retained from a graph or device generation that has already changed.

Operational remediation for this HRESULT should favor supported component installation, device configuration and documented DirectShow calls. Manual registry or driver changes are appropriate only when the collected evidence for this HRESULT points to that layer and a rollback is available.

Official Microsoft references

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