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CHAPTER 19 MOVIES AND MULTIMEDIA Sadly, there isn t a Linux version of the Shockwave Director browser plug-in. If you really need to be able to have access to Shockwave sites under Linux, considering using CrossOver Office (www.codeweavers.com) to install the Windows version. But be aware that CrossOver Office is commercial product, and you ll need to pay for it. Some sites use Java to present interaction, animation, and even movies. You can install the Java Runtime program by searching for j2re within the Synaptic Package Manager. In the list of results, click to mark for installation both the main j2re package and the mozilla-plugin package for j2re. When both are installed, log out and then back in again. MOVIE EDITING The field of Linux movie-editing software is still young, and only a handful of programs are available for the nonprofessional user. One of the best is Kino (www.kinodv.org), which is available in the Ubuntu software archives. Although far from being a professional-level program, Kino allows competent users to import and edit videos, apply effects, and then output in either MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 format. If you re looking for something more powerful, but also more complicated, then Cinelerra is well worth a look (http://heroinewarrior.com/cinelerra.php3). To quote the web site, Cinelerra is the same kind of compositing and editing suite that the big boys use, except it s made for Linux! Sadly, Cinelerra isn t in the Ubuntu repository and, at the time of writing, there wasn t a Ubuntu-compatible package at the web site. However, a sister project that is based on Cinelerra Cinelerra-CV contains a Debian package that should work fine on Ubuntu. See http://cvs.cinelerra.org for details. MainActor (www.mainconcept.com) is the Linux version of a commercial Windows project. Although it s not free, most people agree that it s one of the most comprehensive video editors available for Linux at the moment, and possibly the easiest to use, too. Incidentally, professional moviemakers use Linux all the time, particularly when it comes to adding special effects to movies. Movies like Shrek 2, Stuart Little, and the Harry Potter series all benefited from the CinePaint software running under Linux! For more details, see http://cinepaint.movieeditor.com. Watching TV If you have a TV card, you may be able to use it to watch TV under Ubuntu. Ubuntu doesn t come with a TV tuner application by default, but you can download the tvtime program from the software repositories using the Synaptic Package Manager. Checking for Video Input Ubuntu includes the Video for Linux project, an extension to the Linux kernel to allow many popular TV and video-capture cards to work. You can find out if yours is compatible by clicking System . Preferences . Multimedia Systems Selector. In the dialog box that appears, click the Video tab, and then click the Test button in the Default Source part of the window. If you see a video window without an error message, then your TV card is compatible. If you receive an error message, try a different input setting from the drop-down list and click Test again.

298 CHAPTER 19 MOVIES AND MULTIMEDIA Figure 19-4. You can install Flash Player on Ubuntu to enjoy online animation, games, and interaction. To install the Flash Player, open Synaptic Package Manager (System . Administration) and search for flashplayer-mozilla. Then mark it for installation and click Apply. Once installation has finished, log out and then back in again. Configuration is automatic, and you should now be able to visit any Flash site with Firefox. Tip If you have problems with sound playback when watching Flash animations, try the following: open a GNOME Terminal window (Applications . Accessories . Terminal), and then type sudo ln -s /usr/lib/ libesd.so.0 /usr/lib/libesd.so.1. Then log out of Ubuntu and back in again.

CHAPTER 19 MOVIES AND MULTIMEDIA Figure 19-3. Click the Go menu to access the DVDs menus and to skip forward or backward. Playing Flash Animations The Flash Player is a standard fixture on most modern browsers. It allows access to not only animations, but also to interactive web sites and games, as shown in Figure 19-4. Macromedia makes a player especially for Linux, and you can download it from the Ubuntu software repositories.

296 CHAPTER 19 MOVIES AND MULTIMEDIA Watching DVDs DVD movie discs are protected by a form of Digital Rights Management (DRM) called Content Scrambling System (CSS). This forces anyone who would like to create DVD playback software or hardware to pay a fee to the DVD Copy Control Association, an industry organization set up to protect DVD movie technology. Nearly all Linux advocates are scornful of any kind of DRM system. It isn t possible to buy licensed DVD playback software for Linux but, even if it were, few would be willing to support what they see as prohibitive software technology. Some open-source advocates reverse-engineered DVD and came up with the DeCSS software. This bypasses the CSS system and allows the playback of DVD movies under practically any operating system. Sadly, DeCSS is caught in a legal quagmire. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has attempted to stop its distribution within the United States but has failed. Some experts suggest that distributing DeCSS breaks copyright laws, but there has yet to be a case anywhere in the world that categorically proves this. Nor has there been a case proving or even suggesting that using DeCSS is in any way illegal. Ubuntu doesn t come with DeCSS installed by default, but you can download and install the software by issuing a simple command. Here is the procedure: 1. Select System . Administration . Synaptic Package Manager. 2. Click Search and search for libdvdread. If the package isn t already installed, click its check box and mark it for installation. Then click Apply. Close Synaptic Package Manager. 3. Open a GNOME Terminal window (Applications . Accessories . Terminal). Type the following in the terminal window to download and install the DeCSS component: sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread3/examples/install-css.sh After you ve installed DeCSS, just insert a DVD, and Totem will automatically start playing it. Alternatively, if Totem is already open, you can play the DVD by clicking its entry on the File menu. Playing a DVD is not dissimilar to watching movie files on your hard disk. The only difference is that you can now navigate from chapter to chapter on the DVD by clicking the relevant entry under the Go menu, as shown in Figure 19-3. You can also return to the DVD s main menu this way. You can use your mouse to click entries in DVD menus.

CHAPTER 19 MOVIES AND MULTIMEDIA 295 You can hide the playlist by clicking the Sidebar button. This gives nearly all of Totem s program window to the playback window, but you might need to resize the window for the video to update to the new dimensions. Tip If you find you have problems with video playback, such as Totem showing an error message about another application using the video output, try the following: click System . Preferences . Multimedia Systems Selector. Click the Video tab, and in the Default Sink/Output drop-down list, select Xwindows (No XV). Click Test. If this doesn t work, try the SDL Simple DirectMedia Layer instead. OPEN-SOURCE MOVIE FILE FORMATS A number of promising open-source movie file formats are in development. Some are more mature than others, but few see widespread use at the moment. All promise much for the future. Many consider the following three formats as the chief contenders. XviD (www.xvid.org) is a reworking of the popular DivX MPEG-4-based file format. As such, it is able to encode movies to relatively small files sizes (a 90-minute movie can fit on a CD). Despite small file sizes, it can maintain good image and sound quality. In theory, it should also be possible to play XviD movies using any MPEG-4 codec, such as DivX or QuickTime. Unfortunately, XviD uses technology covered by patents in some parts of the world, so the project exists in a legally gray area. Additionally, it s only possible to download a Windows version of the codec, although if you follow the instructions at the beginning of this chapter, you will be able to download the ported Windows version of the codec so you can play XviD files under Ubuntu. Ogg Theora (www.theora.org) is being developed by the Xiph.org Foundation, the people behind the Ogg Vorbis audio codec project that s a favorite among Linux users. As such, it promises to be a completely open-source project. Although the technology is covered by patents, Xiph.org has promised never to enforce them, meaning that anyone in the world can use Theora without charge. At the time of writing, Theora is still in the alpha development phase, but it will almost certainly become the open- source video codec of choice in the future. The British Broadcasting Corporation (www.bbc.co.uk), the UK s largest public service broadcaster, is sponsoring development of the Dirac codec (see http://dirac.sourceforge.net). Dirac is less developed than both Theora and XviD at present, and it is aimed more at the broadcast/enthusiast market. For example, it is designed to support high-definition TV. However, it s certainly one to watch.

294 CHAPTER 19 MOVIES AND MULTIMEDIA Note By default, all video files will play in Totem, including RealMedia. To change this so that RealPlayer handles them, right-click any RealPlayer movie file, select Open With, and click Add. Locate RealPlayer in the list, click the Add button, and then make sure the radio button alongside RealPlayer is selected. Figure 19-2. Properly configured, Totem can play just about every kind of movie file, such as QuickTime and Windows Media Player. Using Totem is easy. At the bottom left of the screen are the transport controls that allow you to pause, play, or move forward and backward in the video file. Alternatively, you can right- click the video window and select the controls from there. Above the controls is the Time bar. With certain types of video, you can drag-and-drop this to move through the video, but not all files support this function. At the right of the program window is a playlist. You can queue several video files to be played in sequence by simply dragging-and-dropping movies from a Nautilus file browser window. To play the video full screen, tap the F key. To return to the program window, press Escape. In full-screen mode, you can start and stop the video by pressing the spacebar.

CHAPTER 19 MOVIES AND MULTIMEDIA Installing RealPlayer If you wish to install RealPlayer, head over to www.real.com and follow the download links for the latest free Linux player, shown in action in Figure 19-1. Download it, open a GNOME Terminal window (Applications . Accessories . Terminal), and type the following (replacing filename with the name of the RealPlayer file): chmod +x filename sudo ./filename Figure 19-1. A version of RealPlayer for Linux works just like its Windows brethren. During installation, you ll be asked various questions. When asked where you would like to install RealPlayer, type /usr/bin/RealPlayer(don t agree to using the default path!). Answer yes to creating symbolic links, and agree to the default location for the links. In my tests, I found it was necessary to restart the computer after installation to avoid unreliable playback in RealPlayer. Playing Back Video To play a movie file on your hard disk, simply double-click its icon. This will automatically start Totem, as shown in Figure 19-2.

292 CHAPTER 19 MOVIES AND MULTIMEDIA Table 19-1. Popular Movie File Formats Format Typical File Extensions Web Site Notes Windows Media Player 9 .wmv, .wma, .asx, .asf www.microsoft.com/ windows/windowsmedia Default format for Windows Media Player and, therefore, for most Windows users. Although it s possible to play Windows Media Player files under Ubuntu, you won t be able to play DRM-restricted files (those that rely on the download and installation of a certificate). Real Video .rm, .ram www.real.com By downloading the Win32 codec pack, you can play back Real Video files in Totem. However, you can also download a Linux version of RealPlayer. Both approaches are described in this chapter. QuickTime .mov, .qt www.quicktime.com QuickTime is Apple s default media format and has gained ground on both Windows and Macintosh computers. As with Windows Media Player, you won t be able to play DRM-restricted files. DivX .avi, .divx www.divx.com The DivX format is one of the most popular formats for those in the Internet community who like to encode their own movies. It s renown for its ability to shrink movies to very small sizes. Installing Codecs For video playback, you need the codecs described in the previous chapter, as well as a few more. If you haven t followed the instructions in the previous chapter and downloaded the various packages mentioned there, do that first. Then follow these steps to install the additional codecs required: 1. Select System . Administration . Synaptic Package Manager. 2. Click Search and search for totem-xine. Click its check box in the results, mark it for installation, and then click Apply. 3. Select Applications . Accessories . Terminal and, in the GNOME Terminal window, enter the following in sequence, pressing Enter after each line (the . means to continue to the next line before pressing Enter): wget ftp://ftp.nerim.net/debian-marillat/pool/main/w/w32codecs/w32codecs_ . 20050412-0.0_i386.deb sudo dpkg -i w32codecs_20050412-0.0_i386.deb gst-register-0.8 4. Close the terminal window. Log out, and then log back in again.

CHAPTER 19 Movies and Multimedia Movie playback is becoming increasingly popular on computers. Modern PCs come equipped with DVD-ROM drives and, coupled to the right software, these can play DVD movie discs. In addition, many web sites feature streaming movie clips or offer them for download. Ubuntu provides support for movie playback but, as with audio support, you ll need to install additional codecs in order to enjoy the broadest range of playback options. This chapter explains how to set up Ubuntu for watching videos, DVDs, and TV on your computer, as well as playing web site Flash animations. Watching Videos You use the Totem Movie Player application to play back video under Ubuntu. Like the other multimedia software provided with Ubuntu, it s basic but effective and does the job well. However, because of licensing issues, it doesn t support all video formats out of the box. In fact, it supports very few of those you might be used to using under Windows. If you wish to play back the most common video file types, such as those listed in Table 19-1, you must install additional software. This software contains codecs that allow you to play Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, QuickTime, and DivX movie files under Ubuntu. In addition, you ll need to make some updates to Totem. Caution The codecs are quite literally lifted straight from a Windows installation. Therefore, you should install them only if you own a license for Windows and have also installed the relevant media player applications under Windows and agreed to their license agreements. After following the instructions in this section, you will be able to play video files on your hard disk and also stream video from web sites within Firefox.

CHAPTER 18 DIGITAL MUSIC Figure 18-6. Serpentine Audio-CD Creator makes it easy to create CDs from digital audio files. Summary This chapter has covered the audio functions built into Ubuntu and how, by downloading a few extra system files, you can play back the majority of audio files in existence. We started by discussing the moral and legal dilemmas associated with multimedia playback on a computer. Then we moved on to look at how to install the necessary codec files on your computer, before discussing how you can listen to music files, CDs, and online radio stations. We examined how you can convert CDs into music files, and then the inverse of this: how you can create CDs using audio files. In Chapter 19, we ll look at how you can play back movies and online animations using Ubuntu.