Quicktime Under Linux With MPlayer

Sark writes: "The latest version of the controversial MPlayer program for Linux supports Quicktime .mov files with the latest codecs. Apart from the closed source program Crossover, this is the first open source program that seems to work. Check out the Mplayer homepage for more info." According to formats page, Sorenson Quicktime is still not gonna happen any time soon.

Comments

Xanim Supports Quicktime

[Greyfox]

Xanim's supported Quicktime .mov files forever, just not the Sorensen codec. Of course, many of Xanim's modules don't have source code available either, due to IP issues. Also, its mpeg capabilities are questionable at best. Since I got the DSL line in, I usually just look for mpegs anyway and play them with gtv or plaympeg.

MPlayer + Quicktime = schweeetttt

[CDWert]

I have to say MPlayer and the folks working on it have done a great job, It is really nice stuff, although I think the project would benifift from a refined build process, building it with all the dependencies can be a bit of fun the first time around, divx, dvd, blah blah blah. I dont know if there is a simpole method of doing this with all the complie options.

I really love the GCC 2.96 RedHat warning, if you havent built it yet, HEED that warning.

Is there no chance the RIAA et al can shut this down being out of hungary? I hope not its becoming a wonderful piece of software.

Congrats to the guys making MPlayer happen !!

Controversial?

[KingKire64]

Why r these guys controversal? I read up on their site, they are trying to do the best they can to make a good movie app for linux... should they not include features b/c they are not fully opensource?? Dont let you politics about open/closed source keep linux out of the video world.

Re:Controversial?

[selmer]

One of the things that's controversial about the mplayer people is their approach to support. Read this linuxworld article if you want to know all about it.

The short version:"They're a bunch of arrogant elitist bastards". (The article's opinion, I've never tried to install mplayer).

Re:Controversial?

[LarsWestergren]

This review should give you a few hints.

"The MPlayer gang seems to relish nothing more than belittling their users and reminding them of just how little they know about Linux and computing in general. I don't know about the rest of you, but I suffer enough of that on my own. I do not need any outside assistance to reinforce that point of view.

Naturally, I was drawn to the project like a moth to a flame. Bring it on, I thought. Whatever it takes, I'll get it installed. I won't be asking that infantile band of RTFM-spewing bozos who maintain it for help, either. My own hardheadedness is probably the only reason I sit here today with MPlayer installed, with a custom GUI skin enabled no less, barely more than a full day after I started."

http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=620307

Xanim has done this for a while...

[null_session]

'Taco's real up on things, can't you tell? I've been playing .mov files (not the sorenson codec) for quite a while now using xanim. Try http://xanim.va.pubnix.com/home.html

This is news?

[Junta]

It would be news if it supported Sorenson at all. We already have a number of applications to chose from that will play non-Sorenson quicktime back, xanim being the first that I ever knew of. Quicktime for Linux project has all sorts of stuff that is non-Sorenson. Sorenson playback has always been the gotcha that matters.

The only thing I can see is if they can use the Windows binary code to decode the Sorenson without the huge performance hit of running the entire player within a Wine context, and having the added benefit of XVideo availability for Sorenson playback. But it doesn't look like this will be the case.

More noteworthy is the VIVO support and xanim support, the VIVO support is a first (AFAIK) under linux natively, and the xanim support really helps bridge the gap between new and old-school media playback, xanim gets a lot of those files that have been overlooked in the "new wave" of media players for linux...

Also, another nit-pick, the crossover plugin, as such is not so much a player, but a nicely done wine modification within which the Windows Quicktime player runs... You can use the latest Wine CVS repository in much the same way (outside a browser at least).

Re:Where are the Debian packages?

[ankit]

There are a few reasons behind that. Firstly, MPlayer has many options with regard to what kind of output it should use. These are bese selected during compilation.
Secondly, to be really useful, MPlayer requires several dlls, and codecs. These codecs either come from the windows dlls, or from closed source projects like the DivX(tm) MPEG-4 Codec.
Distribution of these is prevented by their license. There are just links to them on the mplayer page. It is best if you compile mplayer yourself.

Also, as a christmas gift, teach your mother the "./configure; make; make install" trick ;)

Re:Don't Bitch at MPlayer; Blame Apple!

[gabebear]

Apple has released the specs for almost every aspect of the Quicktime (.mov) standard. They rarely write their own codecs though.

The Sorenson codec is owned by Sorenson and Apple pays for it. If you want to get a legal player for a non-Win/Mac platform someone will either have to
1. reverse engineer the codec(legally questionable and hard)
2. write a wrapper that uses another OSs Code (crossover does this)
3. legally licence the code and release a player (anyone?)
4. actually get sorsen to let people have their source(or detailed specs) somehow.

the best thing to do is just start using a codec that already lets people have their source and is on par with the best VP3

Okay...

[Hiro Antagonist]

I can think of several programs that run under Linux/Unix which will play QuickTime .mov files -- xanim and xmms (plus the QuickTime-xmms plugin) will both play non-sorenson QuickTime files. The problem is, almost nothing worth watching (in the world of things QuickTime) is available in anything other than a Sorenson-encoded version.

Sorenson, of course, is owned by Apple, and they are as likely to make it open-source as Microsoft is to release the next Office under the GPL.

Now, mplayer will play .asf, .wmv, and .mpeg files with a variety of options (such as double-size and full-screen), and it will play VideoCDs quite nicely -- I have several movies that were dragged back from China on VCD that look great when run through mplayer. It's a great little video player, but it having the ability to play non-sorenson QuickTime is hardly news.

If you want QuickTime under Linux, with the Sorenson codec, your only option is Crossover (which works quite nicely, and has given me many minutes of movie-trailer viewing bliss).

Console-mode playback

[Steffan]

One of the very useful (to me) aspects of MPlayer is that it can run console-only. This is very useful on a slow machine with a hardware decoder: I have a P5-133 with a Hollywood+ MPEG2 decoder which can actually playback video, including DVDs. Not bad for a machine that was 'slow' about four or five years ago.