[NTLUG:Discuss] mpeg 4 on linux

[Ralph Green]

Howdy,
  VLC is what I use most often.  I like the simple control interface,
and it usually works fine.  Sometimes, the audio will be out of sync
with the video.  I try mplayer and then totem next.  Usually, one of
them will do a good job.  But, none of them are perfect.  If mplayer or
totem did fine on all videos, I'd just use them.  But, sometimes mplayer
or totem won't work perfectly and vlc does a great job.  I suggest you
install them all and try them out.  Use what works well for you.  The
differences I see seem to be related to how the videos are encoded.  If
all yours come from one source(like a dvr), then one player may do well
for all the videos you have.
 VLC usually has all the codecs installed, and totem and mplayer may
have many codecs or just a few, depending on the Linux distro you
choose.  These codecs are often proprietary code that cannot be freely
distributed.  Commercial enterprises like RedHat, SuSE and Ubuntu have
to follow the rules there or they will get sued.  If you don't mind
spending a little money, what RedHat does may work well for you.  They
detect the codec you need and take you to a store where you can buy
legal versions.  Most, if not all of them were from Fluendo, when I
tried it last.  Fluendo has worked out licenses for many codecs and has
natively coded codecs to install.  The full set of codecs is 28 euros.
Chris Cox has bought them, I believe and maybe he will comment on how
them perform.
Good luck,
Ralph

On Wed, 2009-08-12 at 23:13 -0500, david wrote:
> I have to suggest VLC also. It plays everything.
>