Member Avatar for khakilang

Since I install Ubuntu, I can't listent to mp3 music or watch video under .avi format. So I have to download pluggin for those file format. But there is so many files in the library and I am confuse on what to look for. Is there a way I can identify those files and download accordingly? By the way I am using Wifi area with a notebook for the download as my home do not have an internet yet.

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Brief, practical follow-up (builds on what and suggested).

First, identify what the file actually contains before downloading anything. Inspect the file container and the stream codecs so you know whether you need an MP3 decoder, a specific MPEG/DivX codec, an AAC/H.264 decoder, etc. Two quick tools for that are the file utility and MediaInfo (shows audio/video codec names and stream details). Look for the stream "Format" or "Codec ID" fields — that string is what you should search for when locating a decoder package or plugin.

If you can only download while at a WiFi hotspot, prepare the exact packages you need and fetch them for later installation. The apt-offline workflow lets an offline machine produce a signature, the online machine fetch the matching .debs and dependency files, and the offline machine install the bundle. Example workflow:

# on the offline notebook: create a request
sudo apt-offline set /tmp/req.sig --update --install-packages <comma-separated-names>

# on an online PC: fetch the bundle
apt-offline get /tmp/req.sig --bundle /tmp/apt-bundle.zip

# back on the notebook: install the bundle
sudo apt-offline install /tmp/apt-bundle.zip

Notes and troubleshooting: make sure the packages you fetch match the exact Ubuntu/Debian release (wrong versions cause dependency conflicts). Use only official repositories or trusted upstream project pages for standalone players or static builds. After installing codecs, restart the player (or reboot) so plugin caches refresh. If playback still fails, re-run the file inspection to confirm the codec name and search for a package that provides that codec library (or its plugin). For reference tools and docs, see MediaInfo and the apt-offline project pages.

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Member Avatar for necrolin

Try to play your MP3 files with Totem. It should automatically suggest installing the plugin and install it for you. If this isn't happening then do the following:

a) Under the menu: System -> Administration, find the program labeled "Software Sources" and enable "Software restricted by copyright or legal issues (multiverse)"

b) Under the same menu look up "Synaptic" and run it. Run a search on "Ubuntu-Restricted-Extras" and install it. This will enable you to play MP3's (among other things as many more codecs will be installed) and also give you some extra packages (which are sometimes useful) like Microsoft Fonts. This should be all you need.

By the way, all the codecs that are run under Ubuntu start with the name "gstreamer". If you run a search on them in Synaptic you'll have an idea of what's available. They have names like: gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg (AVI playback and another 90 formats).

Member Avatar for icyshout

if you install vlc you can pretty much watch anything but to use other medial players you have to install the restricted extras

Member Avatar for khakilang

I got no problem with Debian and Linux Mint. But will try again on Ubuntu. Thanks!

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