Hi,

I know Gnome uses TOTEM as standard to play video files, but I couldn't play a single one...

It asks me if I want to look for codecs, I answer Yes, then it redirects me to a page which provides two links for one website that when I saw some things charging money for, I immediately closed it.

So, should I just not use Totem and go for Xine or something like that?

Does anyone got Totem to work well on gnome?

Now, in regards to Amarok, after following some tutorials to install it, it can't play mp3 files.

Could anyone do that?

When I had my 64bit OpenSuse 10.3 it was fine since I was using KDE based.

Now, I'm wondering if I have made the right decision switching to GNOME 32bit, since I was having issues with the previous version.

Thanks

You can still install Amarok on a GNOME based environment. You just need the KDE library files, I believe. I know as I have done this with Ubuntu, and I use GNOME in Ubuntu. Maybe if you try installing amarok with Yast, it will resolve all the dependencies for you.

For my OpenSuSE 10.3 with GNOME, I use VLC. Plays all my media files perfectly, including MP3's

You need to enable Restricted Repositories and install "codecs" that can decode mp3.

Try this link as I am unfamiliar with Ubuntu.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=413624

I've personally had much better luck getting Totem to work than I have with Xine or Mplayer, and have been using it as my primary player for a while now.

You can see the info on which codecs you may need here: http://www.gnome.org/projects/totem/ , and as I recall they should all be available to install through YaST.

I got amarok up and running, but somehow it doesn't play mp3... I use banshee, but I believe amarok has better features.

I've installed win32-codecs-all or something to be able to play wmv, asf as I was with Suse 10.2.

But that didn't work.

I like using XMMS for MP3 (totem sucks...I always end up removing it)

The xine version of Totem as packaged by Packman, and his associated totem-plugin make everything play as long as w32codecs-all, libxine1, and libdvdcss2 is installed.

I don't use Gnome much but have it installed along with KDE. You just need to read up a bit on what to install and how to work with YaST to do it.

You don't need to purchase the Fluendo packages as they duplicate what comes with w32codecs-all, lame, mad, libquicktime, and what's in libxine1 and the assorted good, bad, ugly, ffmpeg gstreamer packages and the libdvdcss2 package. But if you live in a country that recognizes patents legally, then Fluendo is actually the legal way to go.

Their mp3 plugin is free, by the way. I believe it comes loaded by default but if not is easily installed. Or go the other way, like me, and take your chances!

It is a bit of a hassle as if you upgrade to the latest Gnome for example, the Packman versions of the gstreamer packages are all older than what the upgrade installs. So it's best to upgrade first, then just "upgrade" to the older Packman versions. He'll likely upgrade his own packages to be newer to avoid this type of thing but sometimes there's a time delay for that to happen. You just need to be careful to protect those packages from upgrading by choosing the little protect icon when upgrading the rest of the system in Software Management.

Once you learn your way around YaST and know what's needed it isn't too hard. Check out some articles and how-to's as well as reading up on that opensuse-community.org site and the "Hacking OpenSUSE 10.2" and "Hacking OpenSUSE 10.3" articles to get clues on how to proceed. I don't use those one-click codec installers but it might be easier for a beginner to use that, clicking advanced, and choosing some more of the stuff they offer in it. They're trying to make this sort of thing easier, but at the same time legal in all countries.

Note that the libdvdcss they offer is the legal one that only works for encrypted DVD's when using libxine1 enabled players. Mplayer and vlc will play anything though, and there is xineui. But I use the normal Kaffeine, Amarok, Banshee, Totem-xine (not the default totem-gstreamer that deactivates DVD) stuff and just install the questionable codecs. Sort of the old way they are hoping to break us out of as those who do this are breaking the patent laws in the US.

And please, before posting read the question? The fellow is wondering about codec installation on OpenSUSE, not Ubuntu. There are no Restricted Codec Managers on OpenSUSE, but there is a one-click installer available on that community site that will install a lot of what's needed. I just find it easier to have YaST open and to manage the process myself.

Once you have upgraded all your're going to do from the newer versions of Gnome and KDE on the Build Service (or right away if you're not going to do that, it's only if you want the latest versions. Novell will keep the normal versions patched all the time so it isn't necessary), enable the Packman repo and install w32codecs-all and mplayer. You already have Flash, Real, Java, but if you want the latest Acrobat Reader you can download that direct from Adobe and right click make it an executable and then do Install With YaST. Upgrade Kaffeine, Amarok, Totem, and the totem-plugin to the Packman versions which will pull in libxine1, deleting xine-lib automatically. Use the Versions tab below the gst and gstreamer stuff when they're selected and put a check in the sometimes older Packman versions and install all the base, good, bad, ugly, lame, ffmpeg gstreamer stuff, making sure every one of them comes from Packman and not the oss repository. Install the k3b-codecs to get k3b to do mp3 stuff, which will bring in mad and lame if the others didn't. Download libdvdcss2 from the videoLAN ftp site and after making it executable do the Install With YaST thing.

Something like that, see? Not exactly probably and maybe they'll be a problem here and there but that's the basic program.

I wouldn't bother with the mplayerplug-in. It has a problem with many embedded sites that will play fine with the totem-plugin as long as you have the libxine1 and Packman totem stuff installed.

I prefer Amarok over all the others as well. Under Fedora/KDE I installed xine and the livna repos with the w32 codecs.
I believe that the issues are resolved but a couple years ago Amarok wouldn't use the xine engine unless xine was installed previous to amarok.

My email is stose and that is at comcast.net. I can uninstall the codecs xine and amarok if that is what it takes to give you step-by-step instructions, but not tonight.

Try uninstalling xine and the codecs, then install the codecs, then xine, then amarok. Then make sure amarok is using the xine engine.

If this does not work email me and let me know.

Steve

PS Does amarok play videos? VLC is what I use.

Amarok in OpenSUSE 10.3 uses the gstreamer engine by default. You should switch to the xine engine after installing the necessary codecs. Gstreamer has never worked right for me.

Well, gstreamer works better than xine - as long as you make sure that you install all the gstreamer-plugins, including (and in particular) the third-party ones. Amarok (and any other audio player I've tried so far) will play mp3 just fine - again providing that one installs the third-party mp3 codecs.

Totem can use Xine if you install the libxine1-gnome-vfs package from the Packman repository.

I've tried installing all the gstreamer plugins... I just find the xine output plugin better for Amarok since you can configure dolby 5.1 and 7.1 for it... The gstreamer engine for amarok seems to be unconfigurable, and as such, has distortion when playing at high volumes for me. Also, I think it only plays stereo on my system, which isn't terrible since most of my music doesn't use 5.1, but still shows that the gstreamer engine is less polished than the xine one for Amarok.

There is gstreamer-properties. If that doesn't open it I may have the command wrong, but it also is somewhere in the KMenu. I haven't checked that out but there's likely a bunch of settings you can configure in there.

I too have mostly used the xine libraries, and in Amarok that is what their developers suggest to use. However, Gstreamer is getting better and better. This mp3 implementation in OpenSUSE is kind of a new thing and so has some growing pains.

I'm sticking with the same old way for now, but I'm keeping an eye on the progress as a patent law friendly setup is more desirable to me if the implementation is full featured, stable, and of good quality. I don't see it taking all too long to get there, as it is something everyone would like to work nicely.

Yes, the use of the perhaps restricted codecs for patent law recognizing countries works better at this point. But if we can get the same functionality and quality without a worry regarding patents then that is a desirable outcome. Even if those w32codecs and encrypted DVD decoding things come at a small fee to Fluendo or whomever. I won't be paying up until it is proven by most users trying it to be as trouble free and useful as the current methods of using the stuff anyway regardless of the particular Country's laws.

The only way I got to play wmv was through VLC... Kaffeine can't, Totem, Xine can't too.

have you got libxine1 (not the xine-lib) that comes as default, and w32-codecs-all?

with theose 2 pakages my xine engine can play wmv