How-To: Get Full Multimedia Support and Playback Capabilities in Ubuntu Desktop Linux
By Alexander Grundner |
June 12th, 2006
Comments (3)
The purpose of this how-to is to give Ubuntu desktop users (especially new ones coming from the Windows world) the guidance to enable full multimedia support and playback of popular media codecs and technologies in just 3 simple steps. Once completed, your Linux PC will have DVD (CSS) movie playback support, OGG / THEORA / AAC / MP3 / WMA / WMV/ DIVX / XVID / MPEG-1/2/4 / QuickTime support, Skype, Flash, RealPlayer, JAVA, and more.
Note: These instructions are based on Ubuntu’s latest release, 6.06 (Dapper), which integrates the Gnome Desktop Environment; however, the instructions provided should work with later releases.
Now, get ready to put both Totem, Gnome’s default media player, and the Firefox Web browser on steroids!
[B]Multimedia Support the EASY WAY
* All the commands that you will need to copy and paste into the Terminal (Tip: use CTRL+SHIFT+V to paste) will be shown in dark red. To launch the Terminal, go to menu APPLICATIONS > ACCESSORIES > TERMINAL.
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
This command tells the text editor, gedit, to open the sources.list file as root using sudo (aka the Administrator, Super User). Replace the contents with the following and SAVE – IMPORTANT: This list links to U.S. repositories from Ubuntu for Intel/AMD x86 systems, but the URLs can be changed to work with other countries by using your 2-letter country code (reference the original URLs).
Dapper Sources List:
## Ubuntu ‘Main’ Repository
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper main restricted
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper main restricted
## Ubuntu ‘Universe’ Repository
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper universe multiverse
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper universe multiverse
## Ubuntu ‘Backports’ Repository
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper-backports main restricted universe multiverse
## Ubuntu Bug Fix Updates
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper-updates main restricted
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper-updates main restricted
## Ubuntu Security Updates
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security main restricted
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security main restricted
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security universe multiverse
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security universe multiverse
## Canonical ‘Commercial’ Repository
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu dapper-commercial main
## Skype – VoIP Client
deb http://download.skype.com/linux/repos/debian/ stable non-free
Edgy Sources List:
## Ubuntu ‘Main’ Repository
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy main restricted
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy main restricted
## Ubuntu ‘Universe’ Repository
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy universe multiverse
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy universe multiverse
## Ubuntu ‘Backports’ Repository
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy-backports main restricted universe multiverse
## Ubuntu Bug Fix Updates
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy-updates main restricted
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ edgy-updates main restricted
## Ubuntu Security Updates
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy-security main restricted
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy-security main restricted
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy-security universe multiverse
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy-security universe multiverse
## Canonical ‘Commercial’ Repository
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu edgy-commercial main
## Skype – VoIP Client
deb http://download.skype.com/linux/repos/debian/ stable non-free
sudo apt-get update
This command updates your PC’s list of currently available packages.
sudo apt-get install totem-xine totem-xine-firefox-plugin libxine-extracodecs flashplugin-nonfree msttcorefonts sun-java5-plugin skype banshee streamtuner xmms realplay f-spot
This installs, what I call, the “multimedia power packages” – IMPORTANT: When prompted with a [Y/N] question in the Terminal window while running the command, ALWAYS select Y for yes.
For DVD & Quicktime support (among other popular codecs), you’ll need to install the w32codecs and libdvdcss2 packages. WARNING: these package may be considered illegal for use in some countries.
cd Desktop
wget -c http://www.debian-multimedia.org/po…11-0.0_i386.deb
sudo dpkg -i w32codecs_20060611-0.0_i386.deb
wget -c http://www.debian-multimedia.org/po….9-0.0_i386.deb
sudo dpkg -i libdvdcss2_1.2.9-0.0_i386.deb
Tip: Once installed via dpkg you can delete the packages from your desktop.
DONE! Now you have a Linux PC that can play just about every media file a Windows or Mac PC can (sans DRM-wrapped files) and you also get the following A-list programs FREE:
- Banshee – The premier CD Ripper/Music Player/Track Editor with iPod Support on Gnome.
- F-Spot – The premier Photo Manager/Editor/Flickr Uploader on Gnome.
- RealPlayer Gold 10 – The defacto media player alternative to Windows Media Player.
- Skype – The world’s most popular VoIP client.
- Streamtuner – A lightweight browsable Internet Radio directory for SHOUTcast, Live365, etc.
—–
Extras
Firefox – Share audio with Flash and other applications
sudo gedit /etc/firefox/firefoxrc
Change FIREFOX_DSP=”none” to FIREFOX_DSP=”aoss” and save.
Better CPU performance for Pentium x86 chips
sudo apt-get install linux-686
Better CPU performance for HyperThreading and multi-core x86 chips
sudo apt-get install linux-686-smp
NVIDIA driver Install
sudo apt-get install nvidia-glx
sudo nvidia-glx-config enable
—–
Other Ubuntu posts of interest:
Ubuntu Wiki – RestrictedFormats
eHomeUpgrade – What’s Hot on the Linux Front? Xgl + Compiz
eHomeUpgrade – How-To: Dual-Boot Ubuntu 6.06 (Dapper) Linux Desktop Along Side Windows XP
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I’m new to Ubuntu and I’d like to play my DVD’s, but I did not understand a thing of this tutorial, is it me? Maybe if you wrote out the instructions in a 1 2 3 fashion, it would make sense?
Martin,
Try this one: https://help.ubuntu.com/8.04/musicvideophotos/C/video.html
I used it today to allow gxine to run on Ubuntu 8.10 and worked. Although I have to say I am not too impressed, I expected something a bit more mature.
Here’s the guide directly from Ubuntu’s Community Docs:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats
* Follow the instructions for Ubuntu 7.10, 8.04, and 8.10 (SUPER EASY)
FYI, MPlayer does a good job of letting you navigate the DVD menu system. Totem (the default player) bypasses the menu and plays the feature movie directly.
Also, the above instructions may not be “legal” in the US, but you can remedy that with purchasing the codecs and software from Fluendo and Cyberlink here:
http://shop.canonical.com/index.php?cPath=19