Member Avatar for Cudmore

Sooo..
I'm having media problems.
This has been an ongoing problem, and no matter what I try, I can't seem to fix it.

I can't get AmaroK or Kaffeine to play anything. They're using the Xine engine, because it has oh-so-many great reviews and I thought it'd be a good one to work with. But Xine hasn't got support for --anything--. And it frustrates me because I can't seem to find the plugins I need. I installed Realplayer to play mp3, and that's the best I've got so far. I also tried other engines but none work, and I want to use Xine, I just need it to function.

What I want -- codecs/plugins for playing basic DVD, Mpg, Mp3, and that's it.
They should be included by default, and maybe they are, but I can't get anything to work.

Someone please help :cry:

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Dani AI

Generated

— quick, practical diagnosis and fix that applies to SUSE-style installs (and builds on 's pointer about using distro helpers on Ubuntu).

Most distributions omit patent-encumbered decoders from the main repositories. The usual solution on SUSE is to enable a trusted third‑party multimedia repository (Packman) and install the Packman-supplied xine/xine-plugin and codec packages. That supplies MP3/MPEG decoders and DVD helpers (libdvdcss/libdvdread or their equivalents) that the default repos leave out.

Typical workflow

  • Add the Packman multimedia repository via YaST (Software Repositories) or the CLI package tool, refresh metadata.
  • In Software Management, search for and install the xine packages plus MP3/MPEG/DVD codec packages provided by Packman. Accept replacements if the tool asks to swap distro packages for Packman versions.
  • Run ldconfig after installation.

Quick troubleshooting commands to run (adjust paths if using 64-bit):

ls -la /usr/lib/xine/plugins /usr/lib64/xine/plugins

ldd /usr/lib/xine/plugins/*.so | grep "not found"

rpm -qa | grep -E "xine|dvd|mp3|ffmpeg|libmad"

These reveal missing dependencies, show which plugin files are present, and list installed packages so it’s easy to spot which ones came from the main repo vs. Packman.

Notes and cautions

  • DVD decryption helpers (libdvdcss) and some codecs may be legally restricted in some countries; distributions avoid shipping them for that reason.
  • If playback still fails after installing Packman packages, check for conflicting packages from the main repo and remove or replace them with Packman versions; use ldd output to find missing shared libraries.

This approach covers the common causes for “xine plays nothing” and is the standard, supported way to restore MP3/MPG/DVD support on SUSE-family systems.

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Member Avatar for pty

Sooo..
I'm having media problems.
This has been an ongoing problem, and no matter what I try, I can't seem to fix it.

I can't get AmaroK or Kaffeine to play anything. They're using the Xine engine, because it has oh-so-many great reviews and I thought it'd be a good one to work with. But Xine hasn't got support for --anything--. And it frustrates me because I can't seem to find the plugins I need. I installed Realplayer to play mp3, and that's the best I've got so far. I also tried other engines but none work, and I want to use Xine, I just need it to function.

What I want -- codecs/plugins for playing basic DVD, Mpg, Mp3, and that's it.
They should be included by default, and maybe they are, but I can't get anything to work.

Someone please help :cry:

what distro are you using? and on what architecture (x86 / ppc etc)

if you're using ubuntu you should check out the automatix

Member Avatar for Cudmore

what distro are you using? and on what architecture (x86 / ppc etc)

if you're using ubuntu you should check out the automatix

[Open]SuSE 10.1; i586

I was just wondering what the point was of having something like Xine if "Legal Matters" makes it completly useless.

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