Ubuntu avi video play back

[TheMixtureMedia]

Hi there I am running Ubuntu 10.04 with all updates. Here is my problem and it was happening in 9.10 as well. I can not watch avi videos I get the sound but no picture. I have tried mplayer, vlc and dragon. If I reset the computer it comes back untill I change the file to another avi file. Can someone help with this please.

Thanks

[Leppie]

try installing the windows codecs:

sudo apt-get install w32codecs

or if you have a x64 system, like me:

sudo apt-get install w64codecs

[TheMixtureMedia]

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Package w64codecs is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source
E: Package w64codecs has no installation candidate

thats what it tells me anythoughts

[Leppie]

did you add the medibuntu repo?

sudo wget --output-document=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/$(lsb_release -cs).list && sudo apt-get --quiet update && sudo apt-get --yes --quiet --allow-unauthenticated install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get --quiet update

[TheMixtureMedia]

I did what you said to do and that installed but when I tried watching a movie it would not show the picture but you could hear the sound.

[doas777]

ok, the answer if it is a codec problem, is to add the medibuntu repos and install the ubuntu-restricted-extras package.
I suspect however that your issue may be a vid card driver problem, rather than codec, as usually a file won't play without the appropriate codecs.

what kind of vidcard do you have and hvae you installed a 3d capable driver for it?

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu

[Leppie]

I did what you said to do and that installed but when I tried watching a movie it would not show the picture but you could hear the sound.
so you also installed the w64codecs?

[TheMixtureMedia]

I have a nvidia 8500gt with the latest drivers that are downloaded and I have install the win 64 drivers and I am doing a big update right now so I will let you know oh and I have the ubuntu rest files installed.

[doas777]

if it still fails after adding mediubuntu and the w64codecs, try running this line


sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras smplayer vlc

that will install a wide range of codecs, sun java, adobe flash, and a couple more robust media players.

Totem is the most well rounded media player, but has some trouble with some codecs and resolutions.

VLC will play most any kind of file, but has issues with quality on some files(poor dithering, jumpiness, poor audio).

mplayer is the best backend media player, but the user interface sucks. smplayer is a better frontend on top of mplayer, but is still a bit clunky and can do weird things when used with a older version of mplayer.

[TheMixtureMedia]

Well I did what you told me to to do and tried smplayer after the install and still same issue sound but no picture.

[doas777]

try a differant file. the one you are using may be damaged. also try it in vlc once just to make sure.
is it a 1080i file? if so what kind of cpu do you have?

[HiImTye]

post the output of

aptitude search restricted-extras

[Cabs21]

did you install a cairo dock or any kind. I had this same problem with VLC when I installed cairo dock. I recently did a reinstall and did not install cairo dock and still have a fully functioning VLC. When i did have cairo dock installed I went into VLC and opened the options or preferences menu. Then opened the video tap on the left and under output there is a list of output types. Change it to openGL or GNOME or something that you think will work then restart VLC and try another avi file. IF it does not work try a different format. If your desperate you can watch it in ASCII format which is funny to watch. Good luck.

[Cabs21]

Click here (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1391888) for similar thread

[andrew.46]

Hi TheMixtureMedia,


I can not watch avi videos I get the sound but no picture. I have tried mplayer, vlc and dragon.

Can you try playing the problem file from the commandline with the following syntax:


mplayer -v problem_file.avi

and of course replace 'problem_file.avi' with the actual name of your file. Post the actual command and full terminal output here and there should be enough hints in this output to diagnose the problem.

All the best,

Andrew