Multimedia Fixes for Hardy and Intrepid!

Ah, multimedia...who doesn't enjoy a nice DVD movie, or a relaxing thrash metal/screamo CD...um...bad example...lol! Anyways, if you're a music/video lover like me, you'll probably be very, very disappointed when you first fire up Ubuntu.

This is because Ubuntu can't come bundled with mp3, DVD encoding/decoding/playing features by default due to copyrights and stupid laws. Anyways, this can easily be solved in a few steps...So come on, let's try it out shall we?...

First, once you have a fresh install of Ubuntu running, and you want mp3 and music playback in general you must make sure your sound and video cards are being used correctly. Once you have everything set, you should open Synaptic (System>Administration>Synaptic package manager". Then search for:

ubuntu-restricted-extras

Install it and then your music, java and flash should work. But DVDs are still missing, or at least they play choppy and gross...Don't panic! Since you already have Synaptic open search for:

libdvdcss2
libdvdread3

and install them. (A faster way to install these packages is by typing: sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras libdvdcss2 libdvdread3 in to a terminal.) Once you've installed those two, it might be a good idea to reboot the computer. Everytime you install or remove packages, programs and things that have something to do with configurations you must restart to avoid ugly messes.

Ok, now that your computer rebooted, it might be a good idea to install VLC via Synaptic. This little program can cover all your music, video, DVD needs in a neatly and smooth way.

These fixes work on both Hardy Heron and Intrepid Ibex, I've tested both versions and I can assure you these fixes work. But in case they don't just post as comment below and I'll be more than happy to help. So don't be shy!

Hope this helped someone! NOTE: I've covered all of this before, I just wanted to compile everything in a single post to help people find the answers to their questions quicker.
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Cool Programs You Might Need v2.0

Here's another list of somewhat common, but very useful programs!

gtk-recordmydesktop (Available in Synaptic) - Neat and tidy utility to record your desktop's activity. This is a great program to show off your Compiz effects to your friends!

VLC (Available in Synaptic) - Great, lightweight and almost perfect media player. I said almost perfect because somehow it reads almost any format on known to man and several known to monkeys! It's great and easy to use!

FFmpeg (Available in Synaptic) - **For best results add the Medibuntu repositories before trying to install ffmpeg. The instructions are pretty easy to follow** This is one of the most comprehensive video format converters found in Linux. This is a command-line tool!

WinFF (Found here!) - This is the Graphical User Interface for FFmpeg which make slife a whole lot easier!

Audacity (Available in Synaptic) - Great music editing program! It's a great option to make ringtones on Linux since most Windows-based ringtone-makers don't work on Wine.

That's it for today! Hope this helps someone!
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