Set up Ubuntu to play Video and Audio Files

Ubuntu Tutorial for New Users:
Written by LinuxTrance for Warez-BB users

If you would like to download Ubuntu please use the following, official, link
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

Lesson One:

Set up Ubuntu to play Video and Audio Files

*Make sure you are using the latest Ubuntu release which is the Hardy Heron 8.04 release*

Playing movies and audio files in Ubuntu is easy and only requires a small amount of tweaking of your OS. The reason that they are not supported out of the box is that they are classified as "restricted" codecs and files, so they will NOT be officially supported anytime soon.

The easiest way to install the "restricted extras" package is to use the sudo apt-get command in terminal. To open terminal click Applications > Accessories > Terminal

Then type the following command into the terminal window.

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras

*it will ask you for your password* This password will be your login password for the system.

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- You can also install the restricted Ubuntu package by accessing the Add/Remove section OR the Synaptic Package Manager -

Synaptic Package Manager Method

System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager
Once in the SPM search the word "restricted" and then find the Ubuntu Restricted Package

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*you will see that I have the Kubuntu package installed, even tho I am running Ubuntu....I run on both, I can choose upon login, I'll show you how to do that in later lessons*

or

Add/Remove Method:

Applications > Add/Remove
*Make sure the -all available applications- button is checked*

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Once you have the package installed *includes Java and other goodies* you are pretty much set to go! Keep in mind that some players will work better than others. I will recommend my favorites to you so that you can decide what you would like to do.

Movie Players:

All of these programs can be found in the Add/Remove section! Any problems just send me a pm and I'll help you ASAP

Mplayer- My favorite movie player! Very light weight, has the best subtitle pickup, and is easy to use.

VLC - A good player, seems a bit out of place in the Ubuntu environment, but many people will like this as it is popular in the Windows environment as well.

Music Players

Exaile - Nice interface, lyric feature, visualizations, playlist editor, etc. Takes a moderate amount of processor usage, may slow down older machines.

Amarok - Sleek design, great lyric feature, many addons, and community support. One of the most popular music players in the Gnome Environment. Runs heavy on system resources however.
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Next Tutorial will be - Optimizing and Tweaking Ubuntu