How to enable full multimedia capabilities on Suse 10.2 using the xine engine
 

My last article appears to have been quite popular, so I have decided to do another one for Suse 10.2.

NOTE: The package manager in Suse 10.2 appears to be working a lot better than the one in 10.1, so this time we will be using YAST and not SMART to install the required packages.

The first step in resolving the multimedia issue is to setup additional YAST software sources. The software repositories used in this howto, are Packman and Guru. If possible, please use a mirror instead of the main download site to prevent overloading one download location. The mirrors for Packman are listed here and the ones for Guru are on the section titled "Mirrors" on this page.

Adding the Packman Repository

1. Start YAST -> Software -> Installation Source and click on "add"
2. Select HTTP or FTP as the protocol and click on "next"
3. In the box that is labeled "Server Name" enter the address of the ftp or http server of your mirror e.g. mirror.geht-schon.de or ftp.uni-erlangen.de. Please do not enter the preceding http:// or ftp://.
4. In the box labeled "Directory on Server", enter the path to the packman directory for Suse 10.2 e.g. /packman.links2linux.de/suse/10.2 or /pub/mirrors/packman/suse/10.2
5. Once thats done, click on the finish button and depending on your net connection YAST may take a few seconds or a few minutes to setup the repo.

NOTE: If you are asked about a "KEY" please choose the option to import the key.

Adding the Guru Repository

*The process is similar to adding the packman repo, the only difference being the mirros, so I won't delve into that. Follow the instructions above and just substitute server names and directory paths.


Installing the required packages

Once the mirrors have been setup do the following,

1. YAST -> Software -> Software Management
2. Search for xine and when the search results show up:
   • Select libxine1 for installation
   • Select xine-lib for deinstallation
   • If you want amarok to use the xine engine, select "amarok-xine" for installation if it is not already installed
   • If you use totem and prefer to use xine instead of gstreamer as the backend, select libxine1-gnome-vfs for installation
3. Search for w32codec and select it for installation

Once thats done, click accept and YAST should install the packages for you and hopefully you can play mp3, mp4, wmv etc.

NOTE: We did not use any packages from the Guru repository, but it has some apps e.g. Kmplayer, amarok-xmms, and others as well as not multimedia packages that you may find useful.

Playing encrypted DVD discs

Xine cannot play encrypted dvd discs without some help. If you want to do this, then go to videolan and download the libdvdcss rpm. Install the rpm by doing
NOTE: Using libdvdcss maybe illegal in your country, so please check with the authorities before downloading and using it. We will not be held responsible or accountable if you use this software where you are not supposed to.

A note on package management

If you have problems with your package manager, it maybe a good idea to drop back to the old Suse package manager instead of the Zenworks related tools. To do this do

1. YAST -> Software -> Software Management
2. On the "Filter" box, select "Patterns"
3. Navigate to the "Enterprise Software Management" pattern and deselect it and all the packages listed on the right
4. Click accept and once YAST has completed the changes, close it and reboot.

When the system starts, you will notice that you have different tools for updating the system although YAST will work as usual but using the old backend.

NOTE: As usual, any comments, addition and correction are welcome.

Have fun. ;)

when i search for xine, i got plenty of them(libxine 1,libxine 1 aa,etc...),but not just libxine. which one to install?

The right package is libxine1. Thanks for noticing that error, I have fixed it.

Look at the descriptions. The "libxine-<version>.rpm is the one refered to in the post. The libxine-aa library is for display video as ascii art. Something that you might not want or use. Consider the others to be optional. With the packman site added as your repository, they will be picked up if they are required for installing the packman's version of the "xine-ui" package.

Here is a tip. You can use the "filter by Repository" in YaST. Then boom, you have a secondary filter appear underneath so you are able to apply a search or secondary filter and look at only the packman packages.

then i m getting dependency error: there are no providers of libcaca for libxine 1-1.1.2cvs-20061015.pmr...
shall i try other mirror?

It should be in the packman repo. Do you find anything if you search for "caca" in YAST?. If you do, select "libcaca" for installation and hopefully that will resolve your problem. If you don't, you could change your mirror or add another packman mirror to your installation sources and try again. Alternatively you can download it from here and install it using rpm.

i just googled for libcaca and installed it.now every thing is working ok.
thanks a million!!!:p

Great... it's working all good... thanks a lot...

//moderator.note: thread preserved.