[SOLVED] Source List Confusion

jv2112 · 02-03-2011, 07:01 PM

I am looking to make the transition to Debian on all of my syetems and I was looking for some direction. I have just installed Debian 6 / Sqeeze this week on my Asus netbook and I am trying to shake out some issues prior to install to my main desktop.

Being somewhat new to Debian I was hoping to get some direction on the best source list direction to take. With the varying stages (Testing, Stable, et cettera) I was unsure if the default would get me access to all the media codecs and a wide variety of software. On Ubuntu I would go with the default and ad in Medibuntu and a ppa to get Handbrake going.

Any and all input welcome.

Below is my current sources.list for reference.

Quote:

# deb cdrom:[Debian GNU/Linux 6.0.0 _Squeeze_ - Official Snapshot amd64 LIVE/IN$

deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian/ squeeze non-free contrib main
deb-src http://http.us.debian.org/debian/ squeeze main

deb http://security.debian.org/ squeeze/updates main
deb-src http://http.us.debian.org/debian/ squeeze/updates main

added below based on a post to get flash player going ->

deb http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/ squeeze main contrib non-free
deb-src http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/ squeeze main contrib non-free

jlinkels · 02-03-2011, 07:28 PM

Usually you should only have to include just one official mirror to get access to all the files. The 4 top lines in your sources.list are sufficient. One for the packages, one for the updates, and the sources for each of the two. Altough if you don't compile yourself you don't need the deb-src lines.

I am surprised that including the last repo made your flash working. It could be a matter of some delay in mirroring.

There is another site debian-multimedia.org which sometimes has codecs available which are not included in the Debian packages. This is not an official Debian site, despite of the name. Sometimes the MM packages do not mix well with Debian and you lose functionality. The Debian maintainers are not prepared to help you in such a case and recommend to stick to Debian-only packages. Nowadays most codecs are included in Debian itself.

jlinkels

jv2112 · 02-03-2011, 07:38 PM

Thanks for the feedback.

TobiSGD · 02-03-2011, 07:39 PM

I took the time to correct your sources.list:

Code:

# These to repositories are the two you need to get your main system working,
# including Flash
deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian/ squeeze non-free contrib main
deb http://security.debian.org/ squeeze/updates main

# This repository is where you get Handbrake
# You need to install the GPG-key for this repository to approve that the packages
# from this repo are not compromised. To install the key run apt-get install debian-multimedia-keyring
# This is the only package you have to install with confirmation that it can not be verified.
deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org squeeze main non-free

# These repositories are only needed if you are developing software or want
# to build software from source. Otherwise they are not needed, so they are
# commented. If you want to use them, just remove the comment sign and run apt-get update
#deb-src http://http.us.debian.org/debian/ squeeze main
#deb-src http://http.us.debian.org/debian/ squeeze/updates main

jv2112 · 02-04-2011, 08:44 AM

Awesome !!!!!!!!!!

TobiSGD I really appreciate your detailed response !!!!

In the past I a have clogged up the works with repositories and would rather go with a more careful approach this time.

Thanks again for your time !

m_yates · 02-04-2011, 08:55 AM

I believe that libdvdcss2 (allows playing encrypted DVD movies) and w32codecs (allows playing many proprietary video and audio formats) cannot be included in Debian due to legal issues. You can find those in the debian-multimedia.org repository, though.

jv2112 · 02-04-2011, 10:13 AM

Makes sense. Thanks.