list of Distros that do have out-of-the-box codecs to play movies and MP3's

[RAV TUX]

please add to the list:

1. dyne:bolic
2. Linspire
3. Dreamlinux
4. Blag
5. PCLinuxOS
6. Madriva
7. Kororaa
8. Knoppix
9. aLinux


we need other users to confirm this 411

[RAV TUX]

please add to the list:

1. dyne:bolic
2. ?

from aysiu:

Unless something has changed, I think Linspire, DreamLinux, Blag, and PCLinuxOS do.

1. dyne:bolic
2. Linspire
3. Dreamlinux
4. Blag
5. PCLinuxOS

If other users can confirm and add to this list it would be great.

[Jucato]

Grr.. you guys post so fast! :D

Mandriva, KNOPPIX, Kororaa (Last time I checked) from me.

(Btw, Mandriva now also has a Live CD+Installer-in-one called Mandriva One.)

[RAV TUX]

from Fenyx:



@Jozef: I think a new thread for that would be good. You can add KNOPPIX, Kororaa (last time I checked), Mandriva, and PCLinuxOS to that list. Those are the only ones I have tried.

1. dyne:bolic
2. Linspire
3. Dreamlinux
4. Blag
5. PCLinuxOS
6. Madriva
7. Kororaa
8. Knoppix

Again we need other users to confirm this 411

[Jucato]

@Jozef: I suggest you put the list on the first post, so that it won't be scattered throughout the thread. :D

Just wondering, doesn't Fedora Core and openSUSE also have out of the box proprietary multimedia formats support?

[richbarna]

EDITED: Thought a mepis has them, but apparently not.

[RAV TUX]

Mepis comes with all codecs, doesn't it?

not anymore, see this post by Fenyx

Just wanted to bring this little tidbit to those wanting to try SimplyMEPIS 6. It seems that it no longer has out of the box support for MP3s, at least without an update. Here's the relevant entry from mepislovers.com

http://www.mepislovers.com/forums/index.php?topic=487.msg3703#msg3703


So in some ways, one of MEPIS' strengths is gone. But then again, upgrading libmad0 isn't that hard. You won't have to modify your repositories.

The only unfortunate thing here is that this little inconvenience is not known to the general public, at least not on the main MEPIS website. None of the reviews mention this fact either. The only way to find that out would be to browse through mepislovers.org, and hope you hit the right thread (luckily the thread was a sticky). That's right, I said browse, not search. Why? Because it seems that the phrase "play mp3 crash amarok" is not accepted because " Your query was not specific enough. Try using larger words, or less common phrases." :confused:

Just thought you guys might be interested to know about that. I'm testing MEPIS right now. So far, I haven't run into other problems. So far... :D

[Jucato]

This was left out a bit in the quote:



http://www.mepislovers.com/forums/index.php?topic=487.msg3703#msg3703

New users may note that Kaffeine or Amarok crash when you try to play MP3's on a vanilla Mepis installation. This is NOT a bug!! Due to licensing issues Mepis cannot directly distribute all necessary components to play MP3's out of the box. However, it has been set up in such a way that you can easily fix this.

1. Find Synaptic (package manager) in the system menu, launch it and enter root password
2. Click on the button RELOAD and wait until the updated list is downloaded (this should not last long)
3. Now click SEARCH and find the package libmad0 (libmad and then a zero)
4. On the package name, right click and 'mark for upgrade'
5. Now, hit the APPLY button and wait for the package to be upgraded
6. Close synaptic and you're done.

Again, please understand this is necessary to prevent Mepis from getting into licensing trouble. But hey, what is two minutes of your time to save Mepis some hassle and be able to listen to those MP3's by just taking some simple steps.....

[richbarna]

The thing is, if you can get codecs via the repos, that's kind of like "out of the box". They are there, you just need to install them.

When I wanted to use extra codecs with Windows, I had to install them with the "K-lite Codec Pack". So they aren't "out of the box either".

[richbarna]

aLinux has them! Ha! Found one :)
Using aLinux
aLinux's desktop environment is easy to navigate. Many icons for important programs are placed directly on the desktop with names that suggest their Windows counterparts. Kopete, for instance, is labeled "MSN" to signify that it is like MSN Messenger.
One thing that piqued my interest was the fact that the Web browser had a huge number of proprietary video codecs installed for the MPlayer plugin. I didn't see any license agreements, so I suspect that these proprietary codecs were installed in defiance of software patents and restrictive licensing practices -- and, of course, to provide seamless video playback on the Web.

http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=alinux
ScreenShots (http://shots.osdir.com/slideshows/slideshow.php?release=649&slide=6&title=alinux+12.7+screenshots)

[RAV TUX]

The thing is, if you can get codecs via the repos, that's kind of like "out of the box". They are there, you just need to install them.

When I wanted to use extra codecs with Windows, I had to install them with the "K-lite Codec Pack". So they aren't "out of the box either".

primarily looking to list distros where this step is not needed at all, much like dyne:boilc.

[Jucato]

I always thought that "out of the box" meant something like "installed by default", no need for extra installations. Besides, Ubuntu also have the codecs (with the exception of w32codecs) in the repositories, so would you consider Ubuntu to have out of the box support for MP3s?

[RAV TUX]

aLinux has them! Ha! Found one :)

http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=alinux

cool! thanks.

[RAV TUX]

please add to the list:

1. dyne:bolic
2. Linspire
3. Dreamlinux
4. Blag
5. PCLinuxOS
6. Madriva
7. Kororaa
8. Knoppix
9. aLinux


we need other users to confirm this 411

I have to test Knoppix out, I want the list to include distros that have the codecs down to play movies.

simply meaning when I put a movie in the DVD player it just plays seamlessly, I have only found this true with dyne:bolic

movie simply starts with Xine.

I guess this list is for lazy linux users...

[richbarna]

primarily looking to list distros where this step is not needed at all, much like dyne:boilc.

It's a good idea, It would be nice to have various distos listed that have different things "out of the box". (Could be blog material :))

1. Codecs "o.o.t.b"
2. Xgl/Compiz "o.o.t.b"
3. USB hardware "o.o.t.b"
ETC

[RAV TUX]

It's a good idea, It would be nice to have various distos listed that have different things "out of the box". (Could be blog material :))

1. Codecs "o.o.t.b"
2. Xgl/Compiz "o.o.t.b"
3. USB hardware "o.o.t.b"
ETC


Now your talking!

Rich I know we both test a lot of distros out I would like to establish a grading scale to "grade" distros. Much like grading coins in numismatology.

[Jucato]

I think you could also specify that "play movies" also includes "DVDs". I think that there might be some distros that have OOTB video support, but not DVD. I'm just not sure. (I have no DVD drive to test it out :( )

[richbarna]

I think you could also specify that "play movies" also includes "DVDs". I think that there might be some distros that have OOTB video support, but not DVD. I'm just not sure. (I have no DVD drive to test it out :( )

You have a good point.
Also, a distro may have ootb dvd video support but bad driver support. If the dvd player doesn't work ootb, what's the point of the codecs ?

[richbarna]

Now your talking!

Rich I know we both test a lot of distros out I would like to establish a grading scale to "grade" distros. Much like grading coins in numismatology.

Ok, how about this :-

|I-0| Install 0 - 10
|H-0| Hardware support 0-10
|C-0| Codecs "
|U-0| USB "
|G-0| Graphics "
|S-0| Speed "

Obviously there would have to be "set rules" ie (speed)
0=unusable, 10=Super Fast etc

Ok, guys, off out for the day, will post back later, this looks like an interesting project.

@Yozef, I've got a copy of Knoppix, I'll let you know about that later.

[RAV TUX]

Ok, how about this :-

|I-0| Install 0 - 10
|H-0| Hardware support 0-10
|C-0| Codecs "
|U-0| USB "
|G-0| Graphics "
|S-0| Speed "

Obviously there would have to be "set rules" ie (speed)
0=unusable, 10=Super Fast etc

Ok, guys, off out for the day, will post back later, this looks like an interesting project.

@Yozef, I've got a copy of Knoppix, I'll let you know about that later.

Great work Rich,

I would also like to include forum support:

|F-0| Forum Support 0-10

[richbarna]

Ok I-m posting from Knoppix and it didn-t recognize my sound card, which is on an Asus motherboars with via chipset. This is an older Knoppix 3.8 so maybe they have improved support. I-ll try the 5.0 version later.

[RAV TUX]

Ok I-m posting from Knoppix and it didn-t recognize my sound card, which is on an Asus motherboars with via chipset. This is an older Knoppix 3.8 so maybe they have improved support. I-ll try the 5.0 version later.

I'm trying 5.0 now.

[RAV TUX]

Also Rich as you are testing lets start collecting a gallery of screenshots:

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=225374

[richbarna]

I'm trying 5.0 now.

Cool, looking forward to the review. I've got aLinux coming down. I quite like the look of them both.

[RAV TUX]

Ok I-m posting from Knoppix and it didn-t recognize my sound card, which is on an Asus motherboars with via chipset. This is an older Knoppix 3.8 so maybe they have improved support. I-ll try the 5.0 version later.

no problem with my sound card here I put a CD in and it detected and played it flawlessly. I tried a movie and unlike dune:bolic and like most distros I have to load codecs.

over all it is great I may actually install or attempt to install Knoppix 5.0.

[RAV TUX]

ok printer configuration needs some TLC,...I'll attempt an install(maybe)

[richbarna]

Ok, I have had a re-think on the grading.

|It-0| Install Test 0-5
|Lt-0| Live Test "
|H-0| Hardware support "
|C-0| Codecs "
|U-0| USB "
|G-0| Graphics "
|S-0| Speed "
|F-0| Forum Support "

0. Didn't Work
1. Unsatisfactory
2. Satisfactory
3. Good
4. Very Good
5. Excellent

[RAV TUX]

Ok, I have had a re-think on the grading.

|It-0| Install Test 0-5
|Lt-0| Live Test "
|H-0| Hardware support "
|C-0| Codecs "
|U-0| USB "
|G-0| Graphics "
|S-0| Speed "
|F-0| Forum Support "

0. Didn't Work
1. Unsatisfactory
2. Satisfactory
3. Good
4. Very Good
5. Excellent

Using your new guide Sabayon Linux(RR64 mini-edition):

It-n/a ( I haven't installed yet)
lt-5
H-4 (didn't recognize my sound card)
C-0 (none)
U- (not sure what to put here, I didn't test but I do have a USB mouse)
G-5
S-5
F-5

this on a Dell XPS gen. 5, Intel EM64T, ATI Radeon, I believe Creative sound audigy, will confirm my hardware later.

[richbarna]

Using your new guide Sabayon Linux(RR64 mini-edition):

It-n/a ( I haven't installed yet)
lt-5
H-4 (didn't recognize my sound card)
C-0 (none)
U- (not sure what to put here, I didn't test but I do have a USB mouse)
G-5
S-5
F-5

this on a Dell XPS gen. 5, Intel EM64T, ATI Radeon, I believe Creative sound audigy, will confirm my hardware later.

Ok, so that looks ok then. Maybe for non-tested we can just put N/A, (like your USB). I've got it downloading now with aLinux.
Do you think it's worth starting another thread called "Distro Test Results" stating this Grading Guide ?
Maybe saying that it is test results only, no chit-chat.
What do you think?

EDIT: For distro search reasons (If the thread is popular) maybe we could state that each post has to begin with "Distro Test distro", eg


Distro Test aLinux

it-N/A
Lt-5
H-4
C-0
U-3
G-5
S-5
F-5

[RAV TUX]

Ok, so that looks ok then. Maybe for non-tested we can just put N/A, (like your USB). I've got it downloading now with aLinux.
Do you think it's worth starting another thread called "Distro Test Results" stating this Grading Guide ?
Maybe saying that it is test results only, no chit-chat.
What do you think?

Thats fine unless you think we should tweak it a little, I guess we can always tweak it in the thread?

[richbarna]

Thats fine unless you think we should tweak it a little, I guess we can always tweak it in the thread?

If the grading guide is on the first post, it can be updated, maybe ideas could be PM'd instead of posted. I'm pretty sure that it will need tweaking, maybe a message for suggestions PM richbarna or yozef ?

I can keep an eye on the thread as well, just like the "ubuntu forum users blogs" thread, I think it will be a good way to keep a tidy list of all test results in one place. It would complement your other threads, like the post screen shots thread, or distros I am testing.

[MethodOne]

Sabayon has out-of-the-box codecs, including w32codecs.

[Jucato]

Umm... I'm quite interested in this thread and I'm guessing others will be interested as well. But the "grading" system is a bit too cryptic. Wouldn't it be possible to use actual words rather than "It-0"? Just a suggestion...

[RAV TUX]

Umm... I'm quite interested in this thread and I'm guessing others will be interested as well. But the "grading" system is a bit too cryptic. Wouldn't it be possible to use actual words rather than "It-0"? Just a suggestion...

were looking to set standards.

[deanlinkous]

How about getting a collection of different file types (or links to files) and then rating which distros can play which files
1- out of the box
2- with packages from free official repos
3- with packages from non-free repos
4- ??? etc

Debian Etch has mp3 out of the box with a gnome-desktop-environment installation. And the video support is good also with some added packages from main.

[rattlerviper]

were looking to set standards.

Much needed standards. Previously if I had written reviews on 4 different distros, you would be unable to tell which I felt was better unless I tied them together with a this one is better than that one. With this system if you find someone whose system/needs aproximate yours and they highly rank a distro you know that it might indeed be worthy of your time.

[Lord Illidan]

Zenwalk Linux can play mp3s, avis, mpgs, wmvs, very cool, out of the box.

DVD's don't work for me however.
It says : xine-lib: error: Read error from:: Error reading NAV packet.

[whynotchevron]

add one more to the list freespire (i know its part of linspire) but still worth a mention .:)

[rattlerviper]

I can personally confirm
1. dyne:bolic
2. Dreamlinux
3. ALinux

whynotchevron Freespire does NOT have codecs out of the box, you have to pay for the(at least the dvd ones) and download them. Out of the box implies that the distro is ready to play a dvd or mp3 as soon as it is installed without downloading the codec. Freespire is no better for DVD playback than Ubuntu "out of the box", the difference being you can LEGALLY pay to download them for Freespire(which costs 49.95 to download if you don't have a CNR membership or only the basic membership). The distros I have metioned above come ready to play DVDs and Mp3s without any further codec download, so there are "out of the box" distros available.

[Lord Illidan]

I can personally confirm
1. dyne:bolic
2. Dreamlinux
3. ALinux

whynotchevron Freespire does NOT have codecs out of the box, you have to pay for the(at least the dvd ones) and download them. Out of the box implies that the distro is ready to play a dvd or mp3 as soon as it is installed without downloading the codec. Freespire is no better for DVD playback than Ubuntu "out of the box", the difference being you can LEGALLY pay to download them for Freespire(which costs 49.95 to download if you don't have a CNR membership or only the basic membership). The distros I have metioned above come ready to play DVDs and Mp3s without any further codec download, so there are "out of the box" distros available.

What suckers Freespire users are then.. ;)

[bonzodog]

I would like to confirm that Zenwalk has mp3 etc support out of the box, although I cannot get wmv's to play in it. This also applies to Slackware.

[rattlerviper]

What suckers Freespire users are then.. ;)

No comment.:-#

[richbarna]

I would like to confirm that Zenwalk has mp3 etc support out of the box, although I cannot get wmv's to play in it. This also applies to Slackware.

wmv plays with noatune if you install the KDE libs and dev files. I just installed Amarok and K3b too, sweet :)

[Lord Illidan]

I would like to confirm that Zenwalk has mp3 etc support out of the box, although I cannot get wmv's to play in it. This also applies to Slackware.

Strange, I played one...

[richbarna]

You get some that paly and some that don't, even on Windows Lol!
I think there are different wmv codecs.

[whynotchevron]

Thanks rattler i stand Gentoo corrected #-o http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=218021
should have read your thread first , missed it i guess

[deanlinkous]

Yea, most of my .mov and .wmv files play just fine with debian etch but I have noticed newer files with those extensions often will not play anymore. So I am sure it is a moving target, at best. Also the newer libxine seems to really help with formats.

[rattlerviper]

Thanks rattler i stand Gentoo corrected #-o http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=218021
should have read your thread first , missed it i guess

Easy to miss stuff around here sometimes. Anyways I hope it didn't sound like I was trying to rant at you because I wasn't. Personnally I think Freespire may well develop into a very nice OS once it is given it's head and let run(the community actually takes over).

[nigra]

Hi,
Pardus Linux has all of them, including w32codecs and libdvdcss2

[Dragonbite]

Just wondering, doesn't Fedora Core and openSUSE also have out of the box proprietary multimedia formats support?
I'm pretty sure Fedora does not since RedHat does not due to being a US company and being free (as in cost). RHEL also does not ship with MP3 available.

openSuse I imagine does not contain them but I wonder about SLED which is the only one of the 4 that you pay for (RHEL you pay for support, Fedora and openSuse are free community-supported distros).

Even if these distros cover out-of-the-box, are they legal in the USA?

[greggh]

I downloaded and burned SimplyMepis 6.0, PCLinuxOS 93A, and FreeSpire 1.0. I had already tried DreamLinux but mplayer would not start. Mepis and PCLinuxOS had trouble playing a few different video formats. Only FreeSpire played everything I tried including avi, mpeg, flv, wmv, mov... FreeSpire did take the longest to boot, but this is the one I will keep as a live cd.

[gn2]

PCLinuxOS can be installed, customised then it will create a live disc for you with all your settings and files intact.
I have been using it and find it much easier to set up than Ubuntu.

[RAV TUX]

I downloaded and burned SimplyMepis 6.0, PCLinuxOS 93A, and FreeSpire 1.0. I had already tried DreamLinux but mplayer would not start. Mepis and PCLinuxOS had trouble playing a few different video formats. Only FreeSpire played everything I tried including avi, mpeg, flv, wmv, mov... FreeSpire did take the longest to boot, but this is the one I will keep as a live cd.

The best to try for your specific purpose would be Sabayon and Dreamlinux, IMHO.

[greggh]

The best to try for your specific purpose would be Sabayon and Dreamlinux, IMHO.

I'll give Sabayon a shot. About DreamLinux, on 2.0 mplayer would not work, and the new 2.1 just wouldn't boot for me.

[arox]

Zenwalk has java + codecs by default.

Elive has codecs, dunno about java

[RAV TUX]

merging this thread with:
list of Distros that do have out-of-the-box codecs to play movies and MP3's

thread #225095

[itchanddino]

Are there any major distros that have proprietary codecs, drivers and apps that are included like Freespire? I tried it but I'm hoping that there are better ones out there. Thanks!

[ComplexNumber]

PCLinux does. mandriva also provides some (or it used to).

[RAV TUX]

This Thread:
"Distros with proprietary codecs and such (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=225095)"

merged here.

[kazuya]

add vector linux, zenwalk 3.0, and maybe kanotix

[ibnturab]

Dont forget Puppy linux , its comes ready to play dvd's out of the box. And its only 60mb.