I am trying to install the Mplayer on my Redhat os. I used the info on the sticky thread in this forum to install stuff from source but this is the error I get when I try to unpack the tarball. What do I need to do?

[root@cpe00 mplayer]# tar -xvf MPlayer-0.90.tar.bz2
tar: This does not look like a tar archive
tar: Skipping to next header
tar: Archive contains obsolescent base-64 headers
tar: Error exit delayed from previous errors
[root@cpe00 mplayer]#

tar -xvjf MPlayer-0.90.tar.bz2

Let me clarify what the j does in tar -xvjf. It filters the archive thru bzip2 which mplayer is packaged thru. The bz2 indicates this at the end of the package name.

Also, you shouldn't make it a habit to install programs like these as root as well.. Just a thought.

Thanks for clearing that up kid. I wasnt quite sure what it did but it worked none the less. I have a slight problem with the install however. That is that I have no gui when I play a file. If I double click on a mepg a window pops up and plays the selected file just fine. But the gui is not there. When I did the ./configure the first time around I did not add the --enable-gui option when compiling so there was no support added. I recompiled it with the --enable-gui option and after installing it I had a second bin labled gmplayer which I assume its supposed to start up the gui mplayer. I have obviously over looked something during the install and im in the process of pin-pointing what exactly I did or didnt do. If anyone has a suggestion as to what I might need to do please let me know.

In future, you can see options available at configure time by doing:

./configure --help

Of course compile time options are inherantly evil for many reasons, one of which you just discovered. Best to use binary packages where available. See apt for Red Hat (apt.freshrpms.net)

Below is the output in the terminal when I try to run gmplayer. Do I have to make all of the config files its looking for?

-------------------------
Using GNU internationalization
Original domain: messages
Original dirname: /usr/share/locale
Current domain: mplayer
Current dirname: /usr/local/share/locale


MPlayer 0.90rc5-3.2.2 (C) 2000-2003 Arpad Gereoffy (see DOCS)

CPU: Advanced Micro Devices Athlon 4 PM Palomino/Athlon MP Multiprocessor/Athlon
XP eXtreme Performance (Family: 6, Stepping: 2)
Detected cache-line size is 64 bytes
CPUflags: MMX: 1 MMX2: 1 3DNow: 1 3DNow2: 1 SSE: 1 SSE2: 0
Compiled for x86 CPU with extensions: MMX MMX2 3DNow 3DNowEx SSE

Reading config file /usr/local/etc/mplayer/mplayer.conf: No such file or directo
ry
Reading config file /home/eixem/.mplayer/config
[cfg] read config file: /home/eixem/.mplayer/gui.conf
Reading config file /home/eixem/.mplayer/gui.conf: No such file or directory
vo: X11 running at 1280x1024 with depth 24 and 32 bpp (":0.0" => local display)
Reading /home/eixem/.mplayer/codecs.conf: can't open '/home/eixem/.mplayer/codec
s.conf': No such file or directory
Reading /usr/local/etc/mplayer/codecs.conf: 50 audio & 136 video codecs
font: can't open file: /home/eixem/.mplayer/font/font.desc
font: can't open file: /usr/local/share/mplayer/font/font.desc
Linux RTC init error in ioctl (rtc_irqp_set 1024): Permission denied
Try adding "echo 1024 > /proc/sys/dev/rtc/max-user-freq" to your system startup
scripts.
Using usleep() timing
Can't open input config file /home/eixem/.mplayer/input.conf : No such file or d
irectory
Can't open input config file /usr/local/etc/mplayer/input.conf : No such file or
directory
Falling back on default (hardcoded) input config
SKIN dir 1: '/home/eixem/.mplayer/Skin'
SKIN dir 2: '/usr/local/share/mplayer/Skin'
[skin] file ( /usr/local/share/mplayer/Skin/default/skin ) not found.
Skin not found ( default ).

-------------------------------------------

you'll need to install some skins like it says. you don't need any config files though, that's just an information message, ignore them. grab some skins from the mplayer site.

i'd encourage you to try using mplayer itself, not gmplayer, if you're just watching films or such, it is so so so much faster and easier to not use a UI at all. you can soon grow to insist on command lines when you see how much time and effort they can save you.

" i'd encourage you to try using mplayer itself, not gmplayer, if you're just watching films or such, it is so so so much faster and easier to not use a UI at all. you can soon grow to insist on command lines when you see how much time and effort they can save you. "

noted.

Being that I am still new to the Linux scene and having never entered commands routinely into my windows Os's I have changed by leaps and bounds so far and I have grown to like using the terminal. But a thing like a video player I think id prefer a skin over a cmd line. But who knows.. I could change my tune in the future.

BTW.. gmplayer is functioning properly now.. thanx once again for all the help you members have provided me. I hope I can repay the favor some day.

edited

Hey Eixem,
Im getting the same output on terminal when i run gmplayer, its looking for some input.conf file. Plzz help what do i need to do. Waiting for ur reply,
Urs in Health,
Prady.

again this is to promote my rpm ... you can dowload my version of rpmed mplayer thats include everything here. I compiled it in RH9 thus it's best to be install in RH9



http://arfa.komnas.com/~jeffry_johar....90-1.i386.rpm

Hey linuxlah,
ur work is very nice but MPlayer crashed once & since then its just showing me videos without sound. With a nice soft reply, "COULDN'T OPEN/INITIALIZE AUDIO DEVICE -> NO SOUND." Plzz help.

Assuming your setup your soundcard correctly....

OK I also have that error once in a while... That is not mplayer problem but your RH8 or RH9 problem. check /dev/dsp ...... sometimes RH put the permission like this
crw------- <last log in user> root ....
if you are not the "last log in user"...... you won't have sound for your system...

please go to this thred for how to solve this problem....

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...light=RH+sound