Greetings all
This probably needs to be integrated into the Multimedia-HOWTO, but I'll post it separately so it can be viewed and edited without reading the other 8 pages of posts on that sticky thread.
Mozilla and Totem Streaming Solution HOWTO
While MPlayer provides a streaming solution with the Mozilla mplayer-plugin, it is possible to receive and play Windows Media Player streams on Ubuntu without MPlayer. By simply installing the mozplugger and w32codecs packages, and making use of the standard totem-xine package, these streams can be played on Ubuntu Warty 4.1.
Step 0: Install w32codecs.
To play proprietary media formats such as those used by Windows Media Player, Apple's Quicktime, and Real Player it is necessary to
install codecs, to de-code the compressed file into a playable format. Due to the legally dubious nature of these codecs they are stored in the Marillat repository, separate from the primary Ubuntu repositories. If you want to use these formats on Ubuntu, these are your best option, but they also raise difficult legal questions. It is your choice whether or not to install them, but they are required to achieve the goal of this HOWTO. Add the Marillat repository to your
/etc/apt/sources.list file and update your apt cache with apt-get update. Once completed, install the w32codecs package with apt-get install w32codecs.
Step 1: Install totem-xine.
While totem-gstreamer is a part of the totem-desktop package, you will need to enable the universe repository in order to download the totem-xine package. Uncomment the universal package repository in your
/etc/apt/sources.list file, and update your apt-get cache with apt-get update. Once completed, install the totem-xine package with apt-get install totem-xine, which will replace the existing totem-gstreamer package.
Step 2: Install mozplugger.
In order to link Mozilla Firefox and Totem together, we need a plugin that will associate particular mime types with particular applications. Mozplugger is a plugin for Mozilla (Firefox) that will 'glue' Mozilla to almost any application. Mozplugger is available from the standard Ubuntu depository, and should be installed with apt-get install mozplugger.
Step 3: Configure mozplugger.
While mozplugger is distributed with mplayer in mind, it is quite simple to re-configure it to make use of totem-xine instead. Use sudo and your favourite editor to alter the /etc/mozpluggerrc file to reflect our choice of multimedia player. Where you see:
Code:
application/x-mplayer2: wmv,asf,mov: Windows Media
video/x-ms-asf: asf,asx,wma,wax,wmv,wvx: Windows Media
video/x-ms-wmv: wmv: Windows Media
Add the following line:
Code:
stream noisy ignore_errors: totem "$file" </dev/null
Repeat this line for any other file formats for which totem-xine has codecs, and you wish to access with Mozilla. Once all the changes you wish to make have been made, save the file and exit the editor.
Step 4: Update Mozilla Firefox's Plug-in Registry.
Mozilla keeps a miniature registry of each plugin it is configured to use, which is read each time the browser loads to save time. However, changes to mozilla's plug-ins are not incorporated into the registry unless it is re-generated. The easiest way to regenerate the registry is to delete the current file, and restart Mozilla. The registry file is stored in ~/.mozilla//pluginreg.dat, which you should delete before restarting Mozilla Firefox.
Step 5: Checking Mozilla Firefox is up to date.
To ensure Firefox has picked up the changes to its plug-in configuration, point your newly opened browser window to "about
lugins" and check that mozplugger is there, and includes references to the mime types you associated with totem-xine. If there is no evidence of those mime types, re-check Step 4, and re-check the syntax used in Step 3.
Step 6: Testing Time !
Assuming all went well, your mozilla firefox knows to start totem-xine whenever it encounters specific mime types, including Windows Media Player. Point your browser to your favourite stream and start listening
Optional 1: Capturing streams.
It is easy to capture media streams, however I have no idea about the legallity of this course of action. If in doubt, give it a miss. By installing the mimms package from the unviersal repository you can capture .asf streams and store them on your hard disk until you're ready to listen to them. I have a relatively slow internet connection, and several people sharing it, so I make lists of streams I would like to record and download them overnight. If you encouter a .asx file it is in fact a link to an .asf file. Use wget to download the .asx file, and inside you will find the URL to the .asf file. Use mimms to download the .asf file.
I hope that helps !
mercurus@gmail.com
Cheers
mercurus
