I want a Distro that easily runs .wmv videos

[irlandes]

There are two things that I would like to do, but have spent a lot of time unsuccessfully trying.


To avoid a major fork, I am going to mention only one here. Whenever I run into video stuff with a .wmv (I hope I have it right) the several distros I have installed on two machines, tend to bring up weird things like mplayer and it stops when it tries to run.

At one point, I had a major thread on this problem on this URL and spent days fighting with it.

I have downloaded and installed plug-ins.

I have downloaded and installed codecs.

I have played with associations until I am sick of it.

I have messed around with about : plugins and it seems to be okay, but no work.

I have installed applications, and in the end, I am lucky if I even get sound with no video, or was it video with no sound?

Let me see, 2007 Mandriva. also Ubuntu 6.10 (?). And Mandriva LE 2005.

So, I thought, I am tired of fighting and fighting something that should be easy.

Is there a distro that runs .wmv natively? (e.g. - www.cbs.com videos, etc.) I don't mind paying if it will run okay. I don't even mind paying those who are in bed with MS (Blush!) if I can run videos, the more the better. When I get a distro working, I do not lightly change it, so the cost of a distro that really works doesn't bother me.

I am generally shifting to multi-boot, so I could even have a distro just for videos.

However, my bet is, since I have been able to get various forms of audio streaming to work on free distros, if I get one that runs .wmv, I can almost certainly make streaming work on it (if there is anything left to stream after RIAA gets done messing with our nether regions.)

Xandros? Linspire? I am at this moment running Freepire 1.? live since today I wanted to see youtube and LE 2005 has even resisted that. But, Freespire 1.? can't run .wmv. I was able to see the video on Drudgereport of the steam escaping in NYC. Sharp and clear, and channel 4 live coverage of the incident was also perfect. I note Freepire 2.0 has a RC available...

I simply don't want to fight any more with this, if there is a distro based solution.

Let me point out I am not in the States.

I just asked my nephew here in DF, and his Mac Cube plays .wmv perfectly. Sigh. I am getting interested in Mac, a year or two he paid $500 for a Cube with flat screen monitor, and it has that Unix based system, with all the advantages of LInux, yet everything runs on it. Wireless drivers exist and work. Video works. Modem works. Audio works.

[Davno]

Have you tried Mandy 2007 with some packages from the plf repository? Runs pretty much everytings. YouTube runs on one of my browser and not on the others (never tried to fix that since i dont need those browsers for that purpose). I don't know about all the video files types though.

[blackbelt_jones]

to run .wmv files in debian, I add the following line to my /etc/apt/sources.list file:

deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org stable main

then (as root) I type:

apt-get update

and then:

apt-get install w32codecs

Here's more info

http://www.debianadmin.com/install-libdvdcss-and-w32-video-codecs-in-debian-and-ubuntu.html

If it wasn't 2 AM, I'd tell you how I do it for SUSE. Short answer is that any distro can be made to play the tricky proprietary formats that bedevil Linux users; you need to know where to look.

[mrrangerman43]

Something I've noticed on my system, if I'm using Gnome and have the sound theme enabled and try to play any video clip .wmv it will not play. Just like you I may get video but no sound or nothing at all. But if I disable the system sound I can play anything I want.
I know there is a script I can edit that will cause Gnome to release the sound so other apts can use it, but I haven't taken the time to do a search to find it or any howto on how to fix it.

So if you are using Gnome and have the system sound enabled turn it off and see if that helps.


EDIT: I should add, that includes the sound on games, I installed NeverBall and if I try to play it while the system sound is enabled I get no game sound, but only if I'm using Gnome. I don't have the issue if I'm using Fluxbox.

[cybertron]

If you don't like MPlayer, which can definitely be complex at times, you might try VLC. I'm pretty sure it can play WMV's out of the box (although MPlayer can handle most of them by itself too).

[hiwa]

Streaming videos on www.cbs.com are resources that have URLs with rtsp scheme. On Linux, they can be played by the realplayer latest version. Set it as a content handler for your browser.

And indeed, streaming video issue in general is the single most serious Achilles heel for current Linux as an OS which claims to want to dominate the world. Average/common people won't buy Linux PC unless this issue be resolved.

[leonpmu]

I use xine/gxine with win32codecs, works fine for me on Suse 9.3 /10.2

[WhiteKnight]

In gentoo,
USE="win32codecs" emerge mplayer

so far wmv works nicely for me.

[irlandes]

>>At one point, I had a major thread on this problem on this URL and spent days fighting with it.

>>I have downloaded and installed plug-ins.

>>I have downloaded and installed codecs.

>>I have played with associations until I am sick of it.

>>I have messed around with about : plugins and it seems to be okay, but no work.

>>I have installed applications, and in the end, I am lucky if I even get sound with no video, or was it video with no sound?

>>Let me see, 2007 Mandriva. also Ubuntu 6.10 (?). And Mandriva LE 2005.

>>So, I thought, I am tired of fighting and fighting something that should be easy.


I always appreciate when someone takes time to type in information. Thus, I feel like a jerk, but some months ago, I spent days on this problem on several distros on 2 machines. Those guys on justlinux.com really tore their brains out. They wanted to see it work. But, after a few days, I said of trying everything anyone suggested, enough already.

So, I don't see any sense in doing more of the same.

I think I will wait for freespire 2.0, and also find a xandros forum and ask if it provides native support.

Thanks for trying.

[enshum]

I would suggest that you try Sabayon linux 3.3 or wait until next week and go for 3.4 . WMV files should work from the get go no plugins required.

ed

[irlandes]

I would suggest that you try Sabayon linux 3.3 or wait until next week and go for 3.4 . WMV files should work from the get go no plugins required.

ed

I will give it a try. The title says it all. Cool!!!

On the other hand, with my luck...:D

[hiwa]

Hey all the gentlemen, please beeee aware that playing wmv is one thing that has relatively no problem, and streaming is quiiiiiite another issue that currently prevents Linux from becoming common people's PC base.

[irlandes]

I am in a Third World part of Mexico most of the time. I like to see news. So, I am talking for example upi or cbs or similar news videos.

I don't think that is streaming. But, anyway, that is what I want to do.

I was told on Xandros that all the usual dinking was necessary on Xandros, so I see no reason to pay for the same problems I have on free distros.

I will probaby try Sabayon, and see.

I may also try Kubuntu since they seem to have a lot of info on their forums.

Thanks.

[acid45]

what's easier than downloading totem or is it gxine and the wmv "dll"
of course you have to copy the library of functions to decode wmv files into the directory of libraries to decode video formats

[irlandes]

what's easier than downloading totem or is it gxine and the wmv "dll"
of course you have to copy the library of functions to decode wmv files into the directory of libraries to decode video formats

Really easy. I did it and every other thing people suggested, and IT DIDN'T WORK.

Let me repeat what I did, from above:

>>At one point, I had a major thread on this problem on this URL and spent days fighting with it.

>>I have downloaded and installed plug-ins.

>>I have downloaded and installed codecs.

>>I have played with associations until I am sick of it.

>>I have messed around with about : plugins and it seems to be okay, but no work.

>>I have installed applications, and in the end, I am lucky if I even get sound with no video, or was it video with no sound?

>>Let me see, 2007 Mandriva. also Ubuntu 6.10 (?). And Mandriva LE 2005.

>>So, I thought, I am tired of fighting and fighting something that should be easy.

I spent some days and a number of people threw ideas at me. None of them worked.

It isn't just me.

At that time, there were others who had the same problem.

I am glad for you that it worked that easily.

[hiwa]

>>I have installed applications, and in the end, I am lucky if I even get sound with no video, or was it video with no sound?

For rtsp URLs like www.cbs.com videos, the realplayer that is NOT the latest version is <video with no sound>, and, VLC media player 0.8.6b which may be its latest version is <sound with no video>. Use the latest version of the real player for rtsp URLs.

[irlandes]

...I think I got it. :)

I (we) got a program with a bug and no one at the time knew it. :(

Okay, that is good info, I will try again as soon as I get a chance, and thanks.

[acid45]

I see. I never seem to have much difficulty with linux, although I am interested in learning how linux works so this distro isn't for everyone. If all else fails, upgrade :P

[edit] by 'difficulty with linux' I mean 'difficulty with slackware'

[irlandes]

Hee, hee. That was a good one. Yes, there are people who think Slackware and Linux are the same thing. :p

And, of course, there are people who think Redhat and LInux are the same thing.

And, the thing I like best about Linux is that you have that choice.

I won't say without condition that I am a Libertarian or anything, but the thought that my exact operating system is being used by two billion people, and all of them are using the same exact swear words albeit in different languages has never been appealing to me. I would probably feel the same if everyone used Slackware or Redhat...

[phila]

Irlandes, did you find a solution, either using Sabayon or in your existing distro?

If not I strongly recommend that you try SimplyMEPIS 6.5 as this has played every wmv link I have clicked on in Firefox that I have thrown at it. Just done it, out of the box:- it's the distro that allowed me to migrate off of M$ to Linux.

Good luck and I really hope that you try SimplyMEPIS 6.5.

phila

[irlandes]

I am delayed because I am away from home. My son is moving on the East Coast, in his med school program, so I am back in the States. I have made notes for when I get home.

Part of the problem is, I have two machines, an old laptop which I truck with me, and a nearly new emachine.

For the laptop, I need something on CD.

Did you have a CD with MEPIS or a DVD?

Still, I am willing to put a DVD on the emachine. It is set up for multiboots and if I must, I can put a .wmv distro and have something else for other needs...

Thanks for tip! As soon as I answer this, I will look for MEPIS to see what it is all about.

[blackbelt_jones]

Hey all the gentlemen, please beeee aware that playing wmv is one thing that has relatively no problem, and streaming is quiiiiiite another issue that currently prevents Linux from becoming common people's PC base.

Streaming was a problem for me back in the early days. For a long time I used the unix version of realplayer, which easily solved most of my problems, but not all of them. The best solution is firefox (or iceweasel) + mplayer + w32codecs + mplayerplug-in. Now there's pretty much nothing I can't stream.

[cybertron]

It looks like MEPIS is on CD: ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/mepis/released

[irlandes]

wget is cranking away as I type. 46 minutes to go.

I have been mentally reviewing what happened.

As I said, I worked on this for days, and finally said I am not going to waste any more of my life on this nonsense.

I suspect at the time I was told win32codecs. It would seem such a codecs does exist, according to google, but one apparently needs w32codecs for wmv.

I finally hit a posting somewhere that corrected this error. Now, I suspect this error caused me to install codecs that didn't fix things.

I will try again when I get time.

Thanks.

[irlandes]

I downloaded and burned the Mepis 6.5.02_32 Cd, and sure enough, there was www.cbs.com and www.upi.com and a newspaper vido, all working fine.

I will have to see if I can make Evolution and Kstars work on this distro. If so, maybe I will have a new distro. One step at a time.

Thanks very much for help. Exactly what I was looking for.

[hiwa]

Please tell me/us.
What plugin(s) does the Mepis distro use for Firefox?

[irlandes]

Because running one newspaper video which plainly called itself .wmv, it opened mplayer.

Other than that, I don't know for sure. So, I hope that answers your question.