diff --git a/src/media/playback/playback_device.cpp b/src/media/playback/playback_device.cpp
index beab1a74b4..0a63f73f38 100644
--- a/src/media/playback/playback_device.cpp
+++ b/src/media/playback/playback_device.cpp
@@ -151,7 +151,6 @@ rs2_extrinsics playback_device::calc_extrinsic(const rs2_extrinsics& from, const
 
 playback_device::~playback_device()
 {
-    (*m_read_thread)->invoke([this](dispatcher::cancellable_timer c)
     {
         std::lock_guard<std::mutex> locker(_active_sensors_mutex);
         for (auto&& sensor : m_active_sensors)
@@ -161,12 +160,6 @@ playback_device::~playback_device()
                 sensor.second->stop();
             }
         }
-    });
-
-    if((*m_read_thread)->flush() == false)
-    {
-        LOG_ERROR("Error - timeout waiting for flush, possible deadlock detected");
-        assert(0); //Detect this immediately in debug
     }
 
     (*m_read_thread)->stop();
@@ -454,8 +447,8 @@ void playback_device::start()
     catch_up();
     try_looping();
     LOG_INFO("Playback started");
-
 }
+
 void playback_device::stop()
 {
     LOG_DEBUG("playback stop called");
@@ -469,8 +462,8 @@ void playback_device::stop()
         LOG_ERROR("Error - timeout waiting for flush, possible deadlock detected");
         assert(0); //Detect this immediately in debug
     }
-    LOG_INFO("Playback stoped");
 
+    LOG_INFO("Playback stopped");
 }
 
 void playback_device::stop_internal()
@@ -482,10 +475,7 @@ void playback_device::stop_internal()
 
     m_is_started = false;
     m_is_paused = false;
-    for (auto sensor : m_sensors)
-    {
-        //sensor.second->flush_pending_frames();
-    }
+
     m_reader->reset();
     m_prev_timestamp = std::chrono::nanoseconds(0);
     catch_up();
@@ -524,7 +514,6 @@ void playback_device::do_loop(T action)
             {
                 if( psc )
                 {
-                    psc->flush_pending_frames();
                     psc->stop( false );
                 }
             }
diff --git a/unit-tests/live/rec-play/test-got-playback-frames.py b/unit-tests/live/rec-play/test-got-playback-frames.py
index 9d7892b9fa..8b442f4930 100644
--- a/unit-tests/live/rec-play/test-got-playback-frames.py
+++ b/unit-tests/live/rec-play/test-got-playback-frames.py
@@ -183,16 +183,14 @@ def stop_sensor( sensor ):
 except Exception:
     test.unexpected_exception()
 finally: # we must remove all references to the file so we can use it again in the next test
-    if recorder:
-        recorder.pause()
-        recorder = None
-    if playback:
-        playback.pause()
-        playback = None
     stop_sensor( depth_sensor )
     depth_sensor = None
     stop_sensor( color_sensor )
     color_sensor = None
+    if recorder:
+        recorder = None
+    if playback:
+        playback = None
 
 test.finish()
 
@@ -240,16 +238,14 @@ def stop_sensor( sensor ):
 except Exception:
     test.unexpected_exception()
 finally: # we must remove all references to the file so the temporary folder can be deleted
-    if recorder:
-        recorder.pause()
-        recorder = None
-    if playback:
-        playback.pause()
-        playback = None
     stop_sensor( depth_sensor )
     depth_sensor = None
     stop_sensor( color_sensor )
     color_sensor = None
+    if recorder:
+        recorder = None
+    if playback:
+        playback = None
 
 test.finish()
 
diff --git a/unit-tests/py/rspy/libci.py b/unit-tests/py/rspy/libci.py
index 760cee8567..a4c124d03f 100644
--- a/unit-tests/py/rspy/libci.py
+++ b/unit-tests/py/rspy/libci.py
@@ -359,6 +359,10 @@ def command( self ):
         #     -S     : don't imply 'import site' on initialization
         # NOTE: exit() is defined in site.py and works only if the site module is imported!
         cmd += ['-S']
+        #     -u     : force the stdout and stderr streams to be unbuffered; same as PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
+        # With buffering we may end up losing output in case of crashes! (in Python 3.7 the text layer of the
+        # streams is unbuffered, but we assume 3.6)
+        cmd += ['-u']
         if sys.flags.verbose:
             cmd += ["-v"]
         cmd += [self.path_to_script]