Movies, DVDs and Videos

You can watch movies and video clips with the Movie Player (ApplicationsMultimediaMovie Player).

Playing DVDs

In order to play DVDs you must install some additional software. Unfortunately, DVD support cannot be provided by default in Xubuntu due to legal restrictions in some countries.

[Warning]

Read about restricted formats before following the instructions below. There are some legal issues that you should be aware of.

  1. Install the libdvdnav4, libdvdread4 and gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly packages.

  2. If you would like to play encrypted DVDs, press ApplicationsAccessoriesTerminal and type the following into the Terminal screen that appears, followed by the Enter key:

    sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh

  3. Enter your password if prompted. The libdvdcss2 package will be downloaded and installed from a website.

  4. Insert a DVD into your drive. It should open automatically in the Movie Player.

Where have the menus on my DVDs gone?

DVD menus are not currently supported by Movie Player. To be able to use the menus on a disc, you must install an alternative movie player such as gxine or VLC.

To make DVDs automatically play in the alternative movie player when inserted, open ApplicationsSettingsXfce 4 Settings ManagerRemovable Drives and Media, then click the Multimedia tab. In the Video CDs/DVDs section, enter the executable name for the alternative player or select it by clicking on the blue folder icon and navigating to the appropriate executable, i.e. /usr/bin/vlc.

How can I get my videos to play?

Some video formats, such as Adobe® Flash®, QuickTime® and Windows Media® Video, are proprietary and so support for them cannot be included in Xubuntu by default. You must install some extra software to allow playback.

In order to play the most common proprietary formats in the Movie Player or Firefox Web Browser, install the xubuntu-restricted-extras package (see Restricted Software for more information).

Video Files

(e.g. QuickTime, Windows Media)

If you try to play an unsupported video file, you will be asked if you would like to search for a suitable codec. Click Search and, when the Install multimedia codecs window appears, select one of the codecs displayed in the list and click Install.

If you are asked to confirm installation of restricted software, the codec required to play your video may have some legal restrictions which you should be aware of. If you think that the restrictions do not apply to you, press Confirm to continue with the installation.

Once installation is complete, the video should begin to play. If not, try closing and then re-opening the video.

Flash Videos

(e.g. Youtube, iPlayer)

When you first try to play a Flash® video in the Firefox Web Browser, a bar will appear at the top of the window saying that additional plugins are required. Press the Install Missing Plugins button and follow the instructions on-screen to install a Flash player.

You will be offered the choice of several players. The Adobe Flash Player is the official plugin, which should offer the best support for videos. Unfortunately, it is proprietary software and so cannot be supported directly by Xubuntu. The Swfdec and Gnash players are not proprietary and so are supported. You may also find them to be more stable (cause fewer problems) than the official player.

Streaming Video

(e.g. RealVideo®)

The most reliable way of playing RealVideo-format videos is to install the official RealPlayer® software. See Installing and Configuring RealPlayer for full instructions.

Support for most other types of streaming video can be added by following the instructions for Video Files or Flash Videos. If you are having difficulties getting a video to stream in your web browser, right-click the video and select Open with "Movie Player" if that option is available.

Videos That Are Otherwise Unsupported

If none of the other instructions in this section work with a particular video, try using a different media player. VLC and MPlayer support a wide range of formats; it is recommended that you try one of these.

Installing and Configuring RealPlayer

RealPlayer® is a proprietary application, and by default is not available in the Xubuntu repositories. The following are instructions to download and install RealPlayer.

  1. Click on the following link to go to the RealPlayer website.

  2. Click on the Download the DEB Installer link.

  3. If you are using Firefox Web Browser to view the RealPlayer website, a window will open asking what to do with the RealPlayer11GOLD.deb file. Choose Open with GDebi Package Installer (default) and press OK.

  4. The GDebi Package Installer window will open, press Install Package.

  5. If prompted to enter your password, do so and press OK.

  6. GDebi Package Installer will begin to download and install any dependent packages, if necessary, and finally install the RealPlayer package.

  7. When the gdebi-gtk window indictates that the installation has finished, press Close.

  8. Press FileQuit to close the GDebi Package Installer window.

  9. Press ApplicationsMultimediaRealPlayer 11 and follow the instructions on the screen to complete set-up.

For more in-depth instructions, see the community help wiki.

Recording and Editing Video

Xubuntu offers numerous programs for recording and editing video.

  • Use Istanbul or gtk-recordMyDesktop to create screencasts (recordings of desktop sessions).

  • Use Cheese to record video using a webcam.

  • To backup DVD's, use Thoggen DVD Ripper which rips video DVD files into patent-free, royalty-free, Ogg/Theora video files, or AcidRip which provides a bit more flexibilty by encoding video DVD files into other video formats.

  • Kdenlive , Kino , and PiTiVi Video Editor are some of the programs available to edit video.

    Kdenlive is multi-track video editor that offers support for a range of camcorders and cameras. It includes guides and markers to organize timelines, support for a wide range of codecs and formats, and the capability to use different media types such as video, audio and images.

    Kino is a video editor that features excellent integration with IEEE-1394 (Firewire) for capture, VTR control, and recording back to the camera. It captures video to disk in Raw DV and AVI format, in both type-1 DV and type-2 DV (separate audio stream) encodings.

    PiTiVi Video Editor is a simple, easy to use video editor.

  • DeVeDe is a DVD authoring application capable of creating DVD discs which can be played in set-top DVD players.

  • Some other interesting recording and video editing programs include Stopmotion that creates videos using the stop-motion animation technique, and Subtitle Editor that edits subtitles for videos.

More recording and video editing program options are available in the Ubuntu Software Center or Synaptic Package Manager. See the Add Applications section for help on installing new software.