MplayerInstallHowto

TableOfContents()

Introduction

• This howto will help you install and configure mplayer.

• It is aimed at Hoary users. Warty users should go here [:InstallingMplayerFromHoaryInWarty]

Setting up your ubuntu multiverse repositories

• See AddingRepositoriesHowto

Choosing the right package and installing

• There are several different versions of mplayer that exist in ubuntu, you should choose the one that best suits your processor. The different versions available :

  • mplayer-586, this version is for Pentium Pro/Celeron/Pentium II/Pentium III/Pentium IV.

  • mplayer-k6, this version is for AMD K6/Duron/Athlon.

  • mplayer-amd64, this version is for AMD64 CPUs.

  Installing mplayer : Use your preferred package manager, be it Synaptic, apt-get, or anything else.

  Follow SynapticHowto to install mplayer using synaptic and select the package best suited for your processor as defined above. Installing mplayer using apt-get :

• sudo apt-get install mplayer-586 for the 32-bits version optimized for Intel CPUs.

• sudo apt-get install mplayer-k6 for the 32-bits version optimized for AMD CPUs.

• sudo apt-get install mplayer-amd64 for the version for 64-bit AMD compatible CPUs. You may also consider installing :

• mplayer-fonts (to handle subtitles).

• mozilla-mplayer (mplayer plugin for mozilla to allow playing embedded movies on web pages).

Configuring sound

• Mplayer packages really provide mplayer and gmplayer. Mplayer is more a command-line version of mplayer and gmplayer (the one you're using) a graphical version.

• Ubuntu uses esound as its default sound daemon, we will configure mplayer to use the appropriate audio driver, esd.

• Configuring sound in gmplayer : (the one you're using)

  • Start mplayer in "Menu" -> "Sound & Video" -> "Mplayer".

  • Right-click on the mplayer window and select "Preferences".

  • In the "Audio" tab, choose the "esd" driver.

  • Validate your change with "OK" and exit mplayer.

• Configuring sound in mplayer :

  • Mplayer reads its configuration file from ~/.mplayer/config (if it does not exist, just create it) :

######
## Audio drivers

## Ubuntu uses esd by default.
ao=esd

## These are only mentioned for the sake of completion.
#ao=oss
#ao=alsa
#ao=arts

######