MP3 Support

[phil1349]

Can anyone tell me how to play MP3 files in Karmic ?

Basically, in all releases since 7.04, on installation I installed DVD support by installing libdvdread3, w32codecs & lib-xine etc etc which all worked fine for DVDs and which automatically enabled MP3 support as of course DVD soundtracks are MP3.

I did the same in 9.1 Karmic, DVD play no problem but it will not play MP3s in Amaroc, Exaile or Rhythmbox which seems very strange, they all give error messages to say that plug-in is not installed.

Any advice gratefully received.

[skunk]

Re: MP3 Support

Basically, in all releases since 7.04, on installation I installed DVD support by installing libdvdread3, w32codecs & lib-xine etc etc

We need mode details about the etc etc
You should install the package called "kubuntu-restricted-extras"

which automatically enabled MP3 support as of course DVD soundtracks are MP3.

Actually, I believe most commercial DVDs use linear PCM for encoding audio.

[phil1349]

Re: MP3 Support

In reply to Skunk, I cannot easily get at the contents of the W32codecs & lib-xine packages as one of the "Improvements" in the latest version of KDE is that on installation, the individual files are not echoed to screen as on previous versions.

I do not have the time at present to chase down the individual files included in these packages.

I am making progress as Kaffeine will now play MP3s, it is not my player of choice as it is a bit clunky but it is progress.

I cannot find a package or repository called kubuntu-restricted-extras.

My understanding is that linear PCM is the protocol used to digitise the sound. This produces a raw file such as a .WAV file. MP3 is the compression technique developed by the MPEG group to compress the pcm file to save space on the DVD. It escaped from the MPEG scene to become a standard means of storing music.