Feisty/Gutsy/Hardy Quick Guide (including multimedia playback)

ubuntu_demon · 06:31 AM

I'm posting this as a forum user and not as a staff member. This is all on your own risk.

Legal Notice : Patent and copyright laws operate differently depending on which country you are in. Please obtain legal advice if you are unsure whether a particular patent or restriction applies to a media format you wish to use in your country.

This HOWTO focuses on the most common customizations (including multimedia playback) suitable for average users.

There is a good reason why Ubuntu doesn't include better multimedia support on default.

Some file formats are proprietary, which means that they are owned by a company or other organisation. Sometimes, the owners of such formats charge licensing fees or impose legal restrictions on the use of their formats. This means that people may be unable to use or distribute these formats without first paying a fee or applying for a license.

A Free or open format is one which can be used by anyone, free of legal restrictions on how they use the format. Free formats are very popular - the World Wide Web is based on the open HTML standard. Ubuntu supports many free formats and the open-source community as a whole encorages their wider use.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FreeFormats

First you might want to install the following packages to make most multimedia work by entering the following command. Explanation about the packages : ubuntu-restricted-extras contains most non-free formats you will ever need. vlc is a videoplayer you can try if some video won't play with the default video player (totem). gstreamer0.10-pitfdll is another codec (which gets installed by ubuntu-restricted-extras in Hardy). Kubuntu users should use kubuntu-restricted-extras instead. Xubuntu users should use xubuntu-restricted-extras instead.

Code:

sudo aptitude install vlc ubuntu-restricted-extras gstreamer0.10-pitfdll

If you have problems with flash and sound (for example sound problems with youtube) try restarting your browser. If that doesn't work you might want to try to remove or install the package libflash-mozplugin and restart your browser once again.

If watching streaming (non-flash) video's on a website doesn't work you could try the MediaPlayerConnectivity plugin to watch the video with an external application (vlc) :
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/446
(you might need to remove the package totem-mozilla)

If you want newer versions of certain software you can optionally enable backports in system->administration->software sources or by editting your /etc/apt/sources.list :

Code:

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Uncomment the line which looks somewhat like this :

Code:

#deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-backports main restricted universe multiverse

For more information about backports :
http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=47

If you are not satisfied with totem and vlc then you might want to use mplayer (sudo aptitude install mplayer) with w32codecs ( or ppccodecs or w64codecs if you use one of those architectures) but these packages come from Medibuntu which is an unofficial repository which is less safe so only do this if you understand what you are doing and if you really really need it. More information : https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu

If you need dvd playback you need libdvdcss2 from Medibuntu which is an unofficial repository which is less safe so only do this if you understand what you are doing and if you really really need it. More information : https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu

Here's more information about using multimedia :
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FreeFormats

Here's a guide which is a little bit similar to this one. I didn't try it.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=301499

Here's more Ubuntu documentation :
https://help.ubuntu.com/
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowToGetHelp
https://help.ubuntu.com/community

Some more links for beginners in here (information is a bit old) :
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=232059

I'm posting this as a forum user and not as a staff member. This is all on your own risk.

anonymous_x

Thnx Demon. . . .
The Links were helpful. . .I really appreciate!

ubuntu_demon

Quote:

Originally Posted by anonymous_x

Thnx Demon. . . .
The Links were helpful. . .I really appreciate!

You are welcome

Berean

Thanks very much for you informative post. I installed today (Gutsy Gibbon) and am much better armed now I've your suggestions. Once again, Thank you.

Frak

Thanks for the post demon. It's nice to know that new users can easily have their system work with a few clicks, and seasoned users can still choose what goes into it (with a little help in this case)

Kopachris

Okay, so just to be safe, I shouldn't include the restricted extras in a distro, right? Could I have a check box in the installer to download and install the restricted extras after installation? Maybe I should simply have the main help page (with a link to the "common addons" page) pop up when you start up for the first time after install, just to be safe? I'm in the USA, but I want to be wary of other countries at the same time.

October 4th, 2007	#1
ubuntu_demon Ubuntu Master Roaster Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Netherlands Beans: 2,968 Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron	Feisty/Gutsy/Hardy Quick Guide (including multimedia playback) I'm posting this as a forum user and not as a staff member. This is all on your own risk. Legal Notice : Patent and copyright laws operate differently depending on which country you are in. Please obtain legal advice if you are unsure whether a particular patent or restriction applies to a media format you wish to use in your country. This HOWTO focuses on the most common customizations (including multimedia playback) suitable for average users. There is a good reason why Ubuntu doesn't include better multimedia support on default. Some file formats are proprietary, which means that they are owned by a company or other organisation. Sometimes, the owners of such formats charge licensing fees or impose legal restrictions on the use of their formats. This means that people may be unable to use or distribute these formats without first paying a fee or applying for a license. A Free or open format is one which can be used by anyone, free of legal restrictions on how they use the format. Free formats are very popular - the World Wide Web is based on the open HTML standard. Ubuntu supports many free formats and the open-source community as a whole encorages their wider use. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FreeFormats First you might want to install the following packages to make most multimedia work by entering the following command. Explanation about the packages : ubuntu-restricted-extras contains most non-free formats you will ever need. vlc is a videoplayer you can try if some video won't play with the default video player (totem). gstreamer0.10-pitfdll is another codec (which gets installed by ubuntu-restricted-extras in Hardy). Kubuntu users should use kubuntu-restricted-extras instead. Xubuntu users should use xubuntu-restricted-extras instead. Code: sudo aptitude install vlc ubuntu-restricted-extras gstreamer0.10-pitfdll If you have problems with flash and sound (for example sound problems with youtube) try restarting your browser. If that doesn't work you might want to try to remove or install the package libflash-mozplugin and restart your browser once again. If watching streaming (non-flash) video's on a website doesn't work you could try the MediaPlayerConnectivity plugin to watch the video with an external application (vlc) : https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/446 (you might need to remove the package totem-mozilla) If you want newer versions of certain software you can optionally enable backports in system->administration->software sources or by editting your /etc/apt/sources.list : Code: sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list Uncomment the line which looks somewhat like this : Code: #deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-backports main restricted universe multiverse For more information about backports : http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=47 If you are not satisfied with totem and vlc then you might want to use mplayer (sudo aptitude install mplayer) with w32codecs ( or ppccodecs or w64codecs if you use one of those architectures) but these packages come from Medibuntu which is an unofficial repository which is less safe so only do this if you understand what you are doing and if you really really need it. More information : https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu If you need dvd playback you need libdvdcss2 from Medibuntu which is an unofficial repository which is less safe so only do this if you understand what you are doing and if you really really need it. More information : https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu Here's more information about using multimedia : https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FreeFormats Here's a guide which is a little bit similar to this one. I didn't try it. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=301499 Here's more Ubuntu documentation : https://help.ubuntu.com/ https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowToGetHelp https://help.ubuntu.com/community Some more links for beginners in here (information is a bit old) : http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=232059 I'm posting this as a forum user and not as a staff member. This is all on your own risk. __________________ my blog : http://ubuntudemon.wordpress.com Feisty/Gutsy/Hardy Quick Guide (including multimedia playback) http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=567507 Ubuntu Customization Guide http://www.ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=159 Last edited by ubuntu_demon; June 30th, 2008 at 06:31 AM..

November 12th, 2007	#2
anonymous_x First Cup of Ubuntu Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: ? My beans are hidden! Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon	Re: Feisty/Gutsy Quick Guide Thnx Demon. . . . The Links were helpful. . .I really appreciate!

January 23rd, 2008	#4
Berean Way Too Much Ubuntu Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Berea Beans: 246 Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala	Re: Feisty/Gutsy Quick Guide Thanks very much for you informative post. I installed today (Gutsy Gibbon) and am much better armed now I've your suggestions. Once again, Thank you. __________________ I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am (John Newton: 1725-1807)

March 19th, 2008	#5
Frak Tin Foil Hat: Armed Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Oklahoma My beans are hidden!	Re: Feisty/Gutsy Quick Guide Thanks for the post demon. It's nice to know that new users can easily have their system work with a few clicks, and seasoned users can still choose what goes into it (with a little help in this case) __________________ http://is.gd/50Mmb

December 11th, 2008	#6
Kopachris A Carafe of Ubuntu Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Location: Location: Beans: 84 Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex	Re: Feisty/Gutsy/Hardy Quick Guide (including multimedia playback) Okay, so just to be safe, I shouldn't include the restricted extras in a distro, right? Could I have a check box in the installer to download and install the restricted extras after installation? Maybe I should simply have the main help page (with a link to the "common addons" page) pop up when you start up for the first time after install, just to be safe? I'm in the USA, but I want to be wary of other countries at the same time. __________________ Yay! I'm finally moving completely over to Linux! Migration thread\|Blog