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OK, there may not be a player for Linux

mplayer plays QT movies just fine, thanks.

What a shame that I'm running Linux and my portable MP3 player doesn't support WMA.

Don't be a baby. You can play WMA files with MPlayer.

I was about to update my mplayer installation, when I ran into this message:

This site has been closed by the European Patent Agency (EPA), for numerous patent violations.

Seemed to be a good protest page... But now it will stay default I guess :-(.

I guess the point is mainly to draw attention to the issue.

One nice example is MPlayer's website which looks like a 404 error. When I first saw it I audibly exclaimed "WTF?" (I don't pronounce the letters, but the words that they stand for, in case you were wondering...) Then I saw that it was a patent protest page, clicked through, got my MPlayer, and promptly forgot about European software patents.

Oh, wait... what was your point again?

The file's has a .mov extension, but neither file nor xine seems able to recognize it. Does anyone know what format it is, and how to play it?

MPlayer with the Quicktime support compiled in plays it fine. It's using the SVQ3 decoder module, if that helps.

You can go straight to IBM's site and download Real Media (high | low), QuickTime (high | low), or MPEG (high | low) versions of it.

And of course, if you use MPlayer, you can watch the movie from the Windows Media stream simply with:

mplayer mms://windowsmedia.dvlabs.com/adcritic/ibm-linux-p rodigy.asf

Enjoy.

Side note: does anyone else get the impression of Nazi era propaganda in this? It's an awesome ad, but come on: a blond-haired, blue-eyed kid? Why would such a child be the pinnacle of humanity? Just a thought, please don't moderate me for it.

MPlayer is the answer, it works fine on Windows. Get the command line version or a version with installer that takes over file associations.

Go check it out! Surf here and see for yourself! Unbelievable! All you get is:

404 Page Not Found

This site has been closed by the European Patent Agency (EPA), for numerous patent violations.

THIS IS NOT A TROLL!!! Go check it out yourself before modding this post!

Buddy, MPlayer "rules them all" because it plays Quicktime, WMV, WMA, MPEG1/2/3/4, Ogg Vorbis, AVI, Real, DVD, VCD, and a bunch of other formats. Wi-diots like you wouldn't know however, since it hasn't run on Windows until this release.

You'd think, wouldn't you? And yet I'm still going to get shredded by foaming lunix zealots who can't tell the difference between criticism of an article and criticism of the software it references. Also on the long term plan, comprehension of the phrase "UNUSABLE FOR WINDOWS!"

Sorry for the interruption. Normal service may now be resumed.

anyone that wants to see the greatness of mplayer on windows, check out http://www.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/win32-bet a/ and grab the mingw32-dev-CVS-... package. you can even add the realplayer and quicktime codecs from the download page and have real/quicktime working without having to install the horrible realplayer/quicktime players.

win32 has been here for months now in various states of workingness. It's unstable, but less so than the newest version of wmp. If your copy doesnt work, wait a few days and download a new one. The one I'm using has been working nicely for 3 or 4 months now.

The best part is its just like the non-windows version -- it can still play quicktime/realplayer without loading their bloated apps. It also plays xvid/divx in high res cleanly which is needed for some game moveie, something WMP and Winamp both skip for 2 seconds every 10 just to resync.(note - I'm on an amd 1800+, 256mb ram, and a gf2mx400. not entirely the highest end system ever, but enough to decode simple video.)

Download MPlayer

Unfortunately I only saw the Linux player there and source. I believe the OSX binary is still the July version. So there may be a delay before it is available.

OSX MPlayer

here

mplayer isn't actually closed, but has a "what if" 404 page.

http://www.mplayerhq.hu and http://www.ffmpeg.org are both 'shut down'. but they still link to thier old homepage.

Try mplayer.

Actually, we do have an open source DVD player for Linux. At least three of them in fact:
xine
mplayer
VideoLAN client

The only thing that's illegal is the CSS decryption libraries needed to play most (but not all) CSS "protected" DVDs.

They aren't making a huge deal about it but this is big, big news. A free and Free player for every type of video, on Windows, that doesn't suck? It just might be the end of WMP/Real/Quicktime if they don't get their collective acts together and produce some quality software. (Quicktime is actually a pretty good player, but it still sucks compared to MPlayer because it only plays quicktime files, and it has windows integration problems). They've even got open-source codecs for almost all of the things that used to require binary dll hacks of questionable legality (Sorenson). I think MPlayer is ready to take the Windows world by storm. All they need is a little improvement on the interface and an easy installer (browser plugin would be nice too). Real, in particular, should be shaking in their boots.

Yeah, this irks the heck out of me. The FAQ also solicits outside developers to "hack away" and help get it ready...but with Xiph's continuing silence on the project and a lack of documentation, nobody but Xiph can really contribute anything...

All is not lost, though - Dan Miller has actually been actively working on specifications for the Theora codec and such, and there has been a LITTLE work that's shown up in CVS since the Alpha 2 release. Just nothing real recent.

It sounds as though all that's REALLY left to reach Beta (at which point the API should be standardized and 'outsiders' will be able to effectively use Ogg Theora) is agreement on a couple of aspects of the container format, if Xiph ever gets around to finishing that. You can see the details of what's left HERE. That page is guessing "August" for the beta. Hey, they've still got 10 days, they MIGHT make it...

A couple of other points:

• MPlayer, in traditional 'play everything' fashion, now has current working support for the current Theora CVS version in its own CVS - files encoded with the example_encoder program included in the Theora CVS sources play back fine on the code in MPlayer's CVS
• In my experience, Ogg Theora looks really promising - the quality (to my eye, anyway) looks at least as good as mpeg4. It seems to become 'blurry' rather than 'blocky' at lower bitrates, which in my opinion doesn't look as bad. The example encoder is completely unoptimized, so it's very slow, but it does work.
• There is now also apparently a windows-compatible example playback program included in Theora CVS called 'splayer'. You'll need a package called 'portaudio' to run it.

Who actually cares shit about DivX? We've had ffmpeg for some time! If you are honestly watching videos using windows system.. You need ffdshow directshow filter (yes, it's based on ffmpeg).

WHY are there headlines like this on the front page? For those who are looking for encoder, mplayer comes with the famous mencoder. If my memory serves me right, latest stable (pre-)release supports latest xvid and DivX encoding options.

-rzei

Mplayer

Options for what OS? I encoded movies using MEncoder and played them back using MPlayer and WMP just fine.

Why not just use mplayer?

Guess you are stuck with Windows for as long as you want to listen to those.

See the mplayer features. Note: needs libdvdread and libdvdcss. Figure it out. =) Mostly, frustrations can be fixed by awareness.

DVD support is the only reason I keep a Windows partition.

ogle, xine, and mplayer.

There are already MPlayer, the ffmpeg library, mjpegtools, bbmpeg, Ogg Vorbis and Theora, Cinelerra... I for one don't feel that I need a bone thrown to me by Real, much less a proprietary, binary-only, NDA-encumbered (no, more like encrusted) one.

Others' mileage, of course, may vary. I admit, I may be just preaching to the choir here-- but I hope that what I just named off the top of my head can show potential moviemakers some of the options that are available.

At the moment, only if you use (closed source) codecs imported from the commercial versions of those programs, which are closed source (AFAIK). The status page for the various formats is here. I don't know if this closed source component will therefore still prevent you from getting around the restrictive DRM measures in place.

Blockquoth the poster:

I'm not sure what you mean by "full", but I'm told it will plan encrypted wma files.

Windows Media Player for Mac OS X is slow, buggy, and incompatible with the latest WM formats. Both VideoLAN and MPlayer do a better job of playing Windows Media files on OS X.

And yes, I speak from experience.

If you're looking for a linux IPv6-capable player, try MPlayer. It's working great for me on their mirror of WolfFM. IPv6 support should be automatic.
--Quentin

You might want to try NuppelVideo. It produces rather big files but works like a charm. I use cheap bttv-based cards too and with NuppelVideo i have no frame-drops and video and audio are in perfect sync.

The .nuv-Files as output can then be converted to whatever you want using Mplayer .

MPlayer does realvideo fine.

How the hell is this insightful!? It's FUD!

Windows XP has USB 2.0

Wow, what an innovation... they have drivers for USB 2.0 devices. Wow... So do we.

it has low-latency audio

Let's see, does Linux...? Yep, we got that too.

it can play DVDs

Wow, do you think other platforms could do that? Yes, I think so.

it has translucent windows

Well actually, it doesn't. However, these guys have had it for a while and these guys are pretty close.

built-in NAT

Linux has had this since version 2.0. It worked great even back in 1999.

drag-and-drop CD recording

OKay, I'll conceed on this point, but I'll definitely mention you could find this here before Microsoft ever had a clue. As for XP drag and drop CD recording... it still doesn't work right.

an MPEG-4 media player

Once again, I reference these guys again. What's so impressive about that? Microsoft aren't even the people who introduced it.

it has an encrypted, compressed file system

Well, let's see here... yes, we definite have that too. As a matter of fact, I've been using encrypted file systems in Linux for years. As far as I recall, I was doing that before Windows was. No wait, Windows still doesn't offer encryption beneath the file system. Weak.

they have fine-grained access controls

Only very recently. Linux has enjoyed ACL from here and here as well.

they have a common language runtime

Funny thing is it was implemented by the open source community faster than Microsoft did.

They are pushing and developing modern programming languages so that we aren't all stuck programming in C.

A language is a tool Some languages are good for some tasks, some are better for others. For example, you couldn't quite write an operating system in Lisp like you could with C. To make this point shows how much of a fool you are. By the way, GCC compiles langauges other than C too.

Some of this technology sucks, and most of it they didn't invent, but they are pushing new technology.

Yes, most of it does suck but none of it is new. Microsoft only pushes regurgitations of what the rest of the industry has had (often for years).

(I also know that most of this stuff is available on linux, but it's also kind of a pain in the ass.)

I don't see any problems. None of what you mentioned was hard to find nor is any of it any harder to use than in Windows. For example, I play a DVD by loading my DVD player and press the button with the little triangle on it (play).

Your "points" fall down to absolutely nothing. Microsoft offers no advantages, just disadvantages over open source technologies.

You sir are a major corporate whore, completely deceived, clueless, not too bright, and giving free marketing hype to a multibillion dollar company. How does that make you feel?

How the hell is this insightful!? It's FUD!

Windows XP has USB 2.0

Wow, what an innovation... they have drivers for USB 2.0 devices. Wow... So do we.

it has low-latency audio

Let's see, does Linux...? Yep, we got that too.

it can play DVDs

Wow, do you think other platforms could do that? Yes, I think so.

it has translucent windows

Well actually, it doesn't. However, these guys have had it for a while and these guys are pretty close.

built-in NAT

Linux has had this since version 2.0. It worked great even back in 1999.

drag-and-drop CD recording

OKay, I'll conceed on this point, but I'll definitely mention you could find this here before Microsoft ever had a clue. As for XP drag and drop CD recording... it still doesn't work right.

an MPEG-4 media player

Once again, I reference these guys again. What's so impressive about that? Microsoft aren't even the people who introduced it.

it has an encrypted, compressed file system

Well, let's see here... yes, we definite have that too. As a matter of fact, I've been using encrypted file systems in Linux for years. As far as I recall, I was doing that before Windows was. No wait, Windows still doesn't offer encryption beneath the file system. Weak.

they have fine-grained access controls

Only very recently. Linux has enjoyed ACL from here and here as well.

they have a common language runtime

Funny thing is it was implemented by the open source community faster than Microsoft did.

They are pushing and developing modern programming languages so that we aren't all stuck programming in C.

A language is a tool Some languages are good for some tasks, some are better for others. For example, you couldn't quite write an operating system in Lisp like you could with C. To make this point shows how much of a fool you are. By the way, GCC compiles langauges other than C too.

Some of this technology sucks, and most of it they didn't invent, but they are pushing new technology.

Yes, most of it does suck but none of it is new. Microsoft only pushes regurgitations of what the rest of the industry has had (often for years).

(I also know that most of this stuff is available on linux, but it's also kind of a pain in the ass.)

I don't see any problems. None of what you mentioned was hard to find nor is any of it any harder to use than in Windows. For example, I play a DVD by loading my DVD player and press the button with the little triangle on it (play).

Your "points" fall down to absolutely nothing. Microsoft offers no advantages, just disadvantages over open source technologies.

You sir are a major corporate whore, completely deceived, clueless, not too bright, and giving free marketing hype to a multibillion dollar company. How does that make you feel?

> Windows XP has USB 2.0
linux-usb.org
Linux seems to have had this since June 2001

>it has low-latency audio
this depends on the kernel, but there are already distributions focused on this

Linux Journal

> it can play DVDs, MPEG-4 media player
MPlayer is faster than the WMP and plays video better, IMHO

> it has translucent windows
I guess everyone misses this...

> built-in NAT
What is built in? automatic you mean?

> drag-and-drop CD recording
have you ever tried the _Built-in_ Nautilus cd burner? gnome.ftp

> it has an encrypted
Last I checked this is also built in, take a look at the Linux Kernel
> compressed file system
same as before, but it is not automatic and takes more setup, but CramFS, cloop, etc have been in use for a while

> they have fine-grained access controls
I guess the Journaled, enterprise file-systems don't count?
XFS
JSF

> they have a common language runtime
They are pushing and developing modern programming languages so that we aren't all stuck programming in C.
Take a look at Pel 6, Jython

> (I also know that most of this stuff is available on linux, but it's also kind of a pain in the ass.)
Most of it is pretty simple, mplayer or Xine are genrally default in Distributions, there are distributions _just_ for sound, and anyone look at the alcs and encryption can gereally configure them
On the other hand, I install new things really easily with Gentoo
`emerge new_cool_app`

because it is so hard to use mplayer for windows media files, quicktime, Divx, AVI, MPEG and so on

You obviously didn't look that hard, it's also available in quicktime. Both formats, thanks to nice hackers, are very playable under linux. Although maybe not 100% legally... :(

For the original radeon and close derivatives (radeon mobility M6, M7, mobility 7500, and IGP 320M/340M but not regular radeon 7500 or anything above), the way to get TV output is to boot the computer up with the TV plugged in, and run atitvout. This program clones the normal display onto the TV. All acceleration features that are normally supported on the display are also supported on the TV.

For radeon 7500 and above, a different technique is required: there you simply boot up the computer with the TV attached, and TV output is automatic. But, if you want to run X on the TV output you must use the VESA driver and not the radeon driver. Consequently the card's acceleration features are not available in X on the TV output. However, as a special case, video playback overlay acceleration is available on the TV out using the xvidix driver in mplayer.

Basically, the situation is not ideal, but it is a long way from being hopeless.

1. mplayer -v [path/url to mov-file]

1. mplayer -vid [video track nr] -aid [audio track nr] [path/url to .mov file]

I think MPlayer can do it. I don't have a VIA mobo but some people have reported it does work. On my P3-450, DVD resolution MPEG2 files play fine without hardware acceleration, and I expect the VIA procs to be at least as powerful.

Mostly depends on your distro... I'll relate you to RH 9.

Microsoft has Program Files. Linux has ... /usr/local/src?

If you're using GNOME or KDE, you've got a similar construct to "Program Files" available.

Microsoft has Documents and Settings. Linux has ... /home?

What's wrong with "home," also known as "~"? /home/username is a lot simpler than C:\Documents and Settings\User.MACHINE\My Documents\

Microsoft has Computer Management. Linux has ... nada.

A distro dependant thing... in RH9:

redhat-config-date
redhat-config-keyboard redhat-config-services
redhat-config-language redhat-config-time
redhat-config-mouse redhat-config-users
redhat-config-printer redhat-config-xfree86

There are even fancy little icon-based "Control Panels" that let you access these nifty tools.

Microsoft has Internet Explorer. Linux has Netscape, Mozilla, and Konquerer.

And a whole host of other browsers, specifically you forgot Lynx, Opera, and several 'light' browsers.

Microsoft has Windows Update with 3 clicks. Linux has ... manual update with a whole lot of clicks and typing.

Again, distro dependent, but there are tools (RH network, etc.) that make it *that* easy to update.

Microsoft has Windows Media Player. Linux has ... zip. (Can anything in Linux play all the formats that WMP can?)

Obviously, you have never looked at MPlayer. It plays *more* formats than WMP can.

Microsoft has (*gasp*) setup.exe as a standard install. Linux has configure, make, and make install.

Again, distro dependent, but if I wanted to, I could use the GUI rpm tools and install that way, or I could just type "rpm -ivh package.rpm" Not all software is delivered in package format, but it also wouldn't be hard to make a GUI tool that could handle packages that implement configure, make, and make install. You could even glean all the configure options and get checkboxes for them, include an optional help file, etc.

Microsoft has Office. Linux has OpenOffice, KDE Office, and StarOffice.

You forgot one choice for Linux: Crossover Office. But, the mere fact that none of the Linux-native choices comes with a dancing, winking paperclip that always looks like it's trying to flirt with me... well, that speaks for itself.

mencoder movie.asf -o movie.mpg -oac mp3lame -lameopts cbr:br=96:vol=6 -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=1300:vhq:v4mv

You'll have to tweak the options to get desirable results.

this great news - wonder if mplayer has support for this already, or if there is a debian version available?

Doesn't MPlayer ???

Mplayer - the movie player for linux.

Where's the apps that justify the time into mucking with it?

Apps are here

I can't think of a cheaper way to get a device that will play DivX/mov/whatever movies on my TV in the living room, with network connectivity, all in a case that looks like it belongs in the living room.

Great call.

But you know, I'd be very surprised if the disc didn't play in Ogle, mplayer or Xine.

Perhpas we should start 'returning' crap DVD software too.

And what's wrong with the audio files on their website?
http://cartalk.cars.com/Radio/Show/online
Sure, they're RealAudio, but that's not a problem *cough*mencoder*cough*Audio Hijack*cough*.

Ffdshow is an easy replacement, as it's based on a Linux project, ffmpeg.

The extent of my encoding comes from recording TV or VHS tapes and throwing a few filters at them for cleanup and encoding. So I've never had a chance to become familiar with what features avisynth has. Some people over at Doom9's Linux forum have mentioned getting Avisynth running in wine.

Tmpgenc should be a pretty easy replacement. Transcode seems to be a favorite for mpeg2 encoding. There was a problem when I first started using Linux, which slowed mpeg encoding to a snails pace for a while, and I've never found a chance to get back to see how it works when fully functional. A lot of peoplel swear by it though, and it's feature list is pretty impressive. Avidemux, as well as quite a few other programs also provide mpeg1 encoding, I think through ffmpeg.

Everything in VirtualDub/VirtualDubMod except video capture should work fine under wine and that's what I used for quite a while before Avidemux appeared. The design and functionality are very similar to virtualdub, and it also includes encoding to mpeg1.

One of the two best media players for Linux, Mplayer, should be noted to have better support for matroska, in cvs, than is available for the format under windows. And these tools can be used for creation and editing of matroska files.

For capture from a tv card, I use nuppelvideo, and then use avidemux to edit and convert to a smaller format.

Mplayer. http://www.mplayerhq.hu
Plays everything you throw at it. Just install all the codes. Has packages for *nix and W32...

For WinZealots, try googling for "nimo codec pack", it'll plug all sorts of good codecs in for you to play just about everything and play it BETTER than M$ wants you to be able to play it.

Just don't download and install the latest M$ media player. It's DRM spyware and you'll wish you hadn't installed it. BAD...
Windows media player 6 plays EVERYTHING you need if you install the nimo package..