codecs help

[sportman15]

Hello All,

I am new to Linux and am trying to set it up as a replacement to
Windows. I know something about alternate OS's but am New to Linux and
need some info on replacing some of the often used windows programs. I am
starting out slowly and will build up to more complex replacements.

To that end I am looking for codecs for the media players. I need something
like the klite codec pack they have for windows that will install all needed codecs
for my Linux media players. I do have the players pre installed but am lacking the
proper codecs and the methodology by which to install them. Any help on this matter
would be gratefully appreciated.

[ph34r]

Check the mplayer site for their codec pack, to use with mplayer.

[shadebug]

yeah, mplayer is just about the most fully featured media player there is, though if you tell us which distro you're on there might be some even better solutions for you

[sportman15]

using. Suse 10.1

[m3rlin]

use mplayer... very good you have codecs on the mplayer website.

If you are learning linux has your windows replacement, im not sure that suse would be the best choise. Its a good distro and easy to use, but personaly i don't like the RPM system, to many dependencies, and you may get bored with it.

[frimann]

that link might help you: http://www.thejemreport.com/mambo/content/view/254/42/

[loopback48]

I used the Jempreport recommend to get my SUSE up and running. Gives you everything you need. Take advantage of it.

[shadebug]

http://en.opensuse.org/Additional_YaST_Package_Repositories

go into yast and update your repositories with ones from that page. If memory serves packman has vlc and guru has mplayer

also, add more than just the 10.1 repository for packman since some of the libs you need are stashed in older versions, should still work fine though

[GliderMike]

Not going to start a discussion on which distro is better, but since you are experimenting, if you decide to try Ubuntu (or Kubuntu) you can use Automatix or Easyubuntu to automagically install mplayer, all the codecs, and other players like flash, realplayer, etc., etc.

Makes it pretty painless to be at about 99% Winblows bye bye replacement.

[OldNewBe]

Ok, well, I'll play it safe too. There are thousands of distributions out there, but if you're looking to go the easy route (which I am right now), Ubuntu and its family of distros is a great way to go. The package manager is easier to use than a google for software, and you don't have to learn extensive commands to install anything either. Also, with the latest release, version 6, you have a LiveCD that allows you to install from within the live boot! I mean, if you want easy, this is one choice. You can also check out PCLinux which does most things right out of the box without installing much of anything. There are lots of others - check out distrowatch.com and just view the top downloads to see what others are choosing. If anyone out there has any good websites on which users are exposed to the deeper Linux, step by step, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks.

[paj12]

By far, the easiest way to get multimedia support under SuSE is to download the smart package manager from Guru's RPM site:
http://linux01.gwdg.de/~pbleser/rpm-navigation.php?cat=System/smart/

This comes preconfigured with all the repositories you need for a normal desktop system. Simply install the RPM for smart, then run (as root):
smart updateand:
smart upgrade

This will give you an updated version of xine, the default media player that comes with SuSE. This should give you all the multimedia support you need, but if you also want mplayer, you can get it by running (as root, again):
smart install mplayer

Both xine and mplayer are excellent media players, but some people prefer one over the other. You can decide which one you like and simply remove the other one with smart. If you decide to keep both programs, which is what I did, then I'd recommend kmplayer. It's an excellent front-end that can use both the xine and mplayer engines, and switch between the two by simply clicking an option in the menu. You can also install this with smart.