You should dl Mplayer, from
http://www.mplayerhq.hu
Grab the source, codecs package, and the Blue skin.
To install the codecs:
tar jxvf essential-whatever.tar.bz2
cd ess*
sudo mkdir /usr/local/lib/codecs
cp * /usr/local/lib/codecs/
These codecs will only work with MPlayer.
To install MPlayer:
cd ..
tar jxvf MP*.bz2
cd MP*
./configure --enable-gui
*** lots of cryptic text ***
make
*** Gobs of even more cryptic text ***
sudo make install
To install the skin:
cd ..
tar zxvf Blue*.bz2
cd Blue*
sudo mkdir /usr/local/share/mplayer/skins/default
cp -r * /usr/local/share/mplayer/skins/default/
Now you have a player that will play nearly every media file in existence. One tip, for .m4v files, rename to .mp4, like so:
mv file.m4v file.mp4
And then try playing it with MPlayer.
To launch MPlayer:
as a normal user, not root:
/usr/local/bin/./gmplayer
It won't break, so mess around with it. Just don't forget what you did. You can do a lot with MPlayer. It's a great program.