 By default, Ubuntu doesn't have full multimedia support. Because of patents and copyrights that apply in some countries. However, it's easy to plug in the missing codecs and players yourself. This simple how-to will provide you quickly with 100 % audio and video support. You'll need several players, because sometimes you'll need to switch players for certain file types. Don't worry: none of the players is bloatware.... This is how you do it: First step: install nearly everything with Ubuntu Software Center1. The "software store" Ubuntu Software Center, where nearly all software is for free, is very easy to use.a. Establish internet connection. b. Click on the icon of Ubuntu Software Center (the shopping bag) in the side panel Query: restricted ubuntu (don't press Enter, just wait) c. Click on Ubuntu restricted extras and install them. Installing may take some time; at times the installation seems to be halted, but it hasn't really. Just wait patiently.... "Ubuntu restricted extras" contains a lot of various software, among which Adobe Flash Player and mp3 playback support. Also it contains a series of gstreamer plugins, which are supporting files for mediaplayer Totem. In Ubuntu 12.04, you've probably already installed most multimedia support earlier on. Namely, when you've ticked that option when preparing to install Ubuntu (click on the picture below to enlarge it):  With that, you've installed ubuntu-restricted-addons. But even so, it's still necessary to install ubuntu-restricted-extras as well in Ubuntu 12.04. Because that contains some extra software that you need, too. Note: the installation of ubuntu-restricted-extras will necessitate the removal of two previously installed codecs. Simply agree to that proposal. Note: don't install any more gstreamer plugins! Now you've got all the gstreamer plugins you need (you already installed a bunch of them as part of the package "Ubuntu restricted extras"). When you install even more gstreamer plugins, they may cause malfunctions. d. When it's finished, use the query VLC (don't press Enter, just wait). Click on VLC media player and install it. e. Repeat these steps for the following applications: * SMPlayer * Audacious2 Note: do not install the Mozilla plugins (Firefox plugins) for VLC or Mplayer! The default Totem plugins perform much better in rendering video's on websites. f. When it's finished, close Ubuntu Software Center. Second step: check for wrong Flash players and remove them2. Perform a check on the possible presence of wrong Flash players and remove them:Install Synaptic Package Manager, by means of Ubuntu Software Center. Click on the grey Ubuntu logo (Dash home). Query: synaptic. Click on Synaptic Package Manager. Search first for swfdec and then for gnash (don't use the buggy Quick search, but use the Search button next to it). When found, mark them for "complete removal", and then press Apply. Third step: install Java3. Java is still an important part of the web. An easy how-to for the installation of Java can be found here.That takes care of 99 % of multimedia support. Fourth step: don't install Moonlight4. More of a caution than a step, but here goes:Novell has developed Moonlight, as a means to enable Linux users to view web content that has been created for Microsoft Silverlight. It's more or less dead and abandoned, and doesn't deliver. Expect frequent malfunctions.... Advice: do not install Moonlight at all. | This website is being sponsored by Google Ads. Do you use an ad blocker? Then you are blocking my income from advertisements, as well.... If you wish to support this website, you can (temporarily?) switch off your ad blocker. Thanks in advance.... Fifth step: enable playing protected DVD'sAdding the missing last 1 % of multimedia support in Ubuntu, requires use of the terminal (shock!). You want libdvdcss2 (for playback of encrypted DVD's).This is available in the third-party software source of Medibuntu, which isn't enabled by default. Because you can use an installation script for libdvdcss2, you won't have to enable Medibuntu permanently. Which is an advantage, because the slow servers of Medibuntu have been known to slow down the update function of Ubuntu at times. For this, you need internet connection. Open a terminal window: Click on the grey Ubuntu logo (Dash home). Query: terminal. Click on Terminal. Avoid errors: use your mouse to "copy and paste" this blue text into the terminal: sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh Press Enter. When asked, type your password and press Enter again. Your password will remain entirely invisible, not even dots, this is normal. When the installation is finished, you can close the terminal window. Option: non-free-codecs, w32codecs or w64codecsNowadays, you probably won't need non-free-codecs and w32codecs (if you have 64-bit Ubuntu: w64codecs) anymore. However, if you do want them, you can still install them from the Medibuntu repository:a. Click on the grey Ubuntu logo (Dash home). Query: terminal. Click on Terminal. Avoid errors: use your mouse to "copy and paste" this entire blue text block into the terminal: sudo wget --output-document=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/$(lsb_release -cs).list && sudo apt-get --quiet update && sudo apt-get --yes --quiet --allow-unauthenticated install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get --quiet update and press Enter. Your password remains invisible, not even dots, this is normal. b. Then in the terminal (use copy/paste in order to avoid errors): sudo apt-get install w32codecs non-free-codecs libdvdcss2 Press Enter. Note: in 64-bit Ubuntu, replace the word w32codecs by w64codecs. c. It's possible that you'll be notified of available updates. If so, process them as well. And now...You're done. Have fun with Ubuntu! |
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Multimedia |