Ubuntu
yelp package

playing .mkv files

Asked by pete smout

hi,
Please help! I've been trying for two days now to play a ',mkv' file on ubuntu karmic, I have tried vlc, mplayer, totem, xine, smplayer, real player as well as installing all the codecs i can find in synaptic I just cannot get them to play!

Mplayer, vlc, and totem all try and sometime the sound works and sometime it does not but the video is consistently jumpy and the quality it significantly reduced.

I have tried google as well as some previous answers on this site all with no luck my machine specs are:
Processor: AMD Sempron 2300+
Graphics card: NVIDIA Geoforce FX5200 (restricted drivers enabled)
Sound Card: Soundblaster Audiolgy 2300 (I think)
Memory: 1.5gb

It worked fine on 8.10 but after clean install of 9.10 mkv does not play (avi mp4 etc all work fine)

I'm sure I've forgotten something simple, please advise

thanks in advance

Pete

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pete smout
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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-resttricted-extras

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pete smout (petersmout03) said : 		#2

hi,
tried that, got the following error:

pete@pete-desktop:~$ sudo apt-get install ubuntu-resttricted-extras
[sudo] password for pete:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
E: Couldn't find package ubuntu-resttricted-extras
pete@pete-desktop:~$

I'm sure it is something as simple as that and on checking my '/etc/apt/sources.list.d' I have only found 'medibuntu.list'. checking software sources and synaptic now!
will post back any results

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pete smout (petersmout03) said : 		#3

hi, again

no luck i'm afraid have enabled all software sources through <system>,<adiminstration>,<software sources> except cd (as i know I dont have a cd with it on!) and still get the cant fid package errorubuntu-resttricted-extras

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pete smout (petersmout03) said : 		#4

Hi,
after further investigation, I already have the ubuntu-restricted-extras installed (shows in synaptic) so this is not the answer!!

any further ideas gratefully received.

thanks

Pete

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#5

Sorry for my typo, must be cold ;)

http://ubuntu.igameilive.com/2009/02/play-rmvb-mkv-files-with-ubuntu-810.html

Its a simple codec install so the guide is not isolated to Intrepid.

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pete smout (petersmout03) said : 		#6

hi,

Already done this came across that web page during my own google search!!

many thanks for your suggestiion

Revision history for this message
pete smout (petersmout03) said : 		#7

Hi,
After 3 days trying to resolve this problem I went back to basics, removed (completely) vlc, mplayer, smplayer, xine and totem as well as all codecs (basically everything video) from my system and started again,.

then I put it all back again paying particular attention to the codec in the above link from actionparsnip, when complete I restarted my system (not sure if necessary but cant hurt!), and all was well, I am back to being able to play anything including the .mkv files.

Although I am no ubuntu expert, I think i had too many codecs installed, some had bad or ugly etc at the end of their title, and i think this may have been the issue, I have not installed every codec this time and have now tried all file formats that I currently have and they work! lesson learned i suppose!