media player decision

[claydoh]

Amarok and dragon for me.

Keeping to the goals and restrictions stemming from Kubuntu as a distro being defined by a limited-size Linux iso focusing on KDE technologies built on an Ubuntu core, the choice of applications and tools included provide the most features and the greatest compatibility for the widest range of users out of the box.

Things can change, though.

As to vlc, it is not a large application overall but how much space do the required plugins need? And how functional could it be made to be in a default iso image scenario? Then of course better theming of the app as you know how important that is to folks for any non-KDE programs .to fit in well

[woodsmoke]

Is it possible that there is/are, one or more apps that:

a) would play "mp3 files/ogg/flac/etc", and physical, coaster type cds.
b) would play "DVDs", restricted in the U.S.(with codecs etc. downloadable by the user and not the responsibility of the distro)

That would extend a "helping hand" to help with, and not impede, "rebranding" for Kubuntu?

In the interests of producing a world class distro that the average YOUNG, MEDIA AWARE(not necessarily "savvy" ) Microshaft user "might" think is...."kewl"?

just a thought and of little worth.

woodsmoke

[dequire]

Is it possible that there is/are, one or more apps that:

a) would play "mp3 files/ogg/flac/etc", and physical, coaster type cds.

Hiya woodsmoke! Apparenty, if you wait for Amarok 2.6, the CD issue is fixed once and for all. I would imagine the Beta for it will be coming down fairly soon, or of course it can be compiled from git.

http://osdir.com/ml/amarok/2012-02/msg00219.html

[Nayar]

Video: VLC
Music: Clementine (Personally, i use JuK because all other linux players shuffle music in a static way: http://groups.google.com/group/cleme...3611d0c4035eaa)

[perspectoff]

I looked at QMMP yesterday aftrer reading this thread.

I like it! It is extensible with plugins (which Clementine isn't) uses ReplayGain for volume normalisation (which Clementine doesn't) plays AudioCDs, has playlists with random shuffle, and is small and lightweight. it is Qt-based. It's not a full-featured as Amarok, but for 99% of my needs it is great.

It is the perfect small, lightweight music player.

[sumski]

Hiya woodsmoke! Apparenty, if you wait for Amarok 2.6, the CD issue is fixed once and for all. I would imagine the Beta for it will be coming down fairly soon, or of course it can be compiled from git.

http://osdir.com/ml/amarok/2012-02/msg00219.html

http://amarok.kde.org/en/releases/2.6/beta/1
Full changelog

You can install it from my PPA, i configured the packages (package name-git) in a way that they remove official package so it's easier to revert to it, if the git version is too unstable, and also, installing one package won't pull the updates for others in the ppa.

OT:
For video playback i use smplayer, and for audio, i switch between amarok and clementine.

[woodsmoke]

Hi Dequire and Sumski

Thanks!

I'll try it out and report back, and if others want to try it and report that would be great also.

woodsmoke

[woodsmoke]

Well, it was fits and starts, but I got the deb to install, I thought, with the Qapt thingy. It certainly ACTED as if it installed, but no, it is just plain Amarok 2.5. It sees the cd, the cd player registers it, etc. but it doesn't play the physical cd.

woodsmoke

[woodsmoke]

BTW the album cover shows, And since it was the Conan (old) cd The Bio of Basil Poledouris is there with photo!

Just won't play! lol

aaahhh well.

woodsmoke

[woodsmoke]

Ok
The trick to it, is that, at least for my install of Precise, the phonon backend was gstreamer. So I installed the VLC backend from synaptic, had to change backends in settings/configure/playback/phonon backend, apply and close and restart the system, but it now works.

That is, to be explicit, it is playing the physical plastic, cd platter, the light in the cd tray is on while the track is playing, it is not playing a ripped track.

EDIT: the lyrics display, the album cover displays from Wikipedia and the Basil Poulidorous bio and pic display.

Kudos to the devs at Amarok.

woodsmoke

[woodsmoke]

A screeny of my brand spankin' new "music activity" and Amarok playing the Conan CD.

Unfortunately the pic is kinda grainy because I have not paid for a premium account at Photobucket.



woodsmoke

[sumski]

I did not know you can move playlist and media sources out of the main window!
Thanks for the tip!

[woodsmoke]

Yes, a CERTAIN OTHER PERSON here at the foums did that and .....ahem....SAID that he was going to give a writeup on it......his name shall remain DISCREETLY unstated! lol, naaah, he just forgot, he's a busy guy...
So, one day, fiddling with Amarok, I found that one could, indeed, seperate them.

However, there are a few drawbacks to doing so, one, being that if one is going to take a screeny with another app, or requestor, or something on the screen, then the two side modules slide out of sight.

Also....there is a whole little toolbar at the bottom of the middle box that i had not fiddled with.

if one "loses" a side box, or both, it/they are hidden in that tool box at the bottom.

Since it seems to be working ok, and will probably continue to do so in the next release; it may be that Amarok is a good candidate to be the "main squeeze" for Kubuntu's default music player , however......

Now, if we could get just, maybe ....two.... radically different colour themes, one very dark other very light, so that people could customize it a little...

If it does become the default player I, personally, think that BOTH the gstreamer and VLC backends should be included because I think that various physical machines respond differently to the backends and there might be a sticky how to about if it doesn't work to try the other backend.

woodsmoke

[sumski]

Context window is also separable. For me, the main drawback is that with this setup, one is not able to minimize amarok with taskbar click. Also, as you wrote, if another window opens over amarok, other modules disappear. But not a huge issue

I didn't try does playing audio CD's works, as mine laptop's DVD reader is broken for a long time. I do have an external player, and will try does the phonon-gstreamer works for me.

[Batty]

Hi Woodsmoke,

Did you try installing amarok-git via Sumski's PPA https://launchpad.net/~hrvojes/+archive/kde-goodies.
It plays CDs with gstreamer backend for me.
It says it's version 2.5-GIT.
The reason I ask is I get some small icons on Amarok which allow feedback to developers.
Did not see the icons on your picture of Amarok.

Dave