suse enterprise linux 10 and codecs

Hello,
yesterday i downloaded and installed suse linux enterprise linux 10 with KDE and Gnome.
i can watch videos on youtube.
i can play java games
i can play flac files.
havent tryed mp3 files.
i cannot play dvd's in totem movie player.

what is the deal with linux and legal issues with certain codecs?
if i buy a computer and install windows i can stick in a dvd and play it in windows media player. if i brought a mac i could play a dvd out of the box.
so why cant i play a dvd out of the box on linux?
suse enterprise linux is $50 a year. surely for that price they could buy a dvd decoder from a companie and bundle it with the OS?
same with mp3,m4a etc.
i may ring up novell and ask them about this.
suse linux enterprise 10 is a really great OS.
loved it right away.
at some point i plan on getting a laptop and run suse enterprise linux on it. i dont mind paying the $50 or roughly £25 a year. i just want to know what the deal with codecs is and how to solve it.
also it would be nice if it updated java by itself.

 

Do they say it's supported? Their outdated wiki say's it isn't.

S

 

Have you tried VLC in the repos, for playing DVDs you have to download codec pack separately and they are usually marked non-free.

 

whats the point in having totem movie player installed as default in suse enterprise linux 10 SP2 if you cant use it to watch movies?
when i searched for dvd in the package manager i got two entries i installed them both and stil didnt work.
followed a guide that gave me a link to a dvd decoder rpm package i installed that and still didnt work.

 

Some of the popular codecs are not open source and have restrictive licensing. I'm not 100% positive, but I believe that applications/codecs/etc that have restrictive licensing cannot be included in an open source OS, unless absolutely needed for the OS to function properly and that there are no other alternatives. That is why there are other open source encoders/decoders out there.

 

Unless Arup clear's the smoke read the entire thread, it'll give ya an idea of what you're looking for.

http://forums.opensuse.org/applications/multimedia/389095-multimedia-opensuse-11-0-a.html


S

 

hey,
i will read that tomorrow.
in opensuse the opensuse multimedia link for kde and GNome works fine for installing all the codecs. but i dont think there is the same option for the enterprise version of suse.
i dont mind having to download and install codecs but i dont like following instuctions toi the letter and it stil not workin.

 

Likewise, _oogle - hacking SUSE Linux Enterprise 10. You'll see.

S

 

erm is it in the repos on suse enterprise 10?
i opened the package manager typed VLC and clicked search.
nothing found.

 

Hey,
i read that on the suse forums and tried the jem report link as sergested followed the instructions. but still didnt work.
cant seem to find a version of vlc that works on enterprise suse.

 

http://packman.links2linux.org/package/377

 

You might try opening your package manager (Synaptic?) and enabling the repositories that search for proprietary/non-free packages. Alternatively, you could try installing a different media player such as Kaffeine, if it works on suse, or another one that does, along with the appropriate codecs.

 

I thought the instruction's were better on mrnovell's site. Bit of additional advice here.

S

 

Arup's suggestion of VLC is the best solution. You need to add the Packman repository to your SUSE 10 repo's. See the SUSE forums or Packman site on how to do that. VLC will be in the Packman repo's and I don't see why it wouldn't work with any version of SUSE.

 

@Iodore
out of interest why did you opt for SUSE enterprise version with paid subs.?
Is there some special extras or refinements or utilities ??

 

Hey longboard,
different look and feel.
has pretty much everything preinstalled.
so mostly dont need to hunt around for stuff.
install wizard allows installation of both kde and Gnome without having to add one later.
plus support if needed.
i dont normally like Gnome but it looks completely different in the exterprise version of suse.

 

i added the videolan repo and searched for vlc in yast2 ticked it and clicked yes. got dependency errors due to beta and non beta versions. now i tryed taking out the packman repo and trying again but same issue. so i done the other way around and of course packman repo doesnt have vlc on it. so now ive lost the url for the videolan repo.
no wonder linux hasnt hit the mainstream.
yes its more stable but adding repos and installing codecs and program shouldnt be this hard.
interesting if open up the start menu in Gnome and click on install software and type vlc and search when i had the videolan repo added nothing found. i had to go to control centre ,system,yast, system,software management and search for vlc there.
im sure it should be shown in the install software item on the GNome start menu.

 

Not vlc, w32codec-all. Fill us in on those dependency error's and whether you've given Kaffeine, MPlayer or Xine a shot.

S

 

Wow, there must be something different about the Enterprise version then. I had no issues installing VLC in SUSE 11 and all 10 version also. Not sure what else to suggest at this point. Sounds like a headache yes..

For Kaffeine, I think you need the non-free gstreamer plugins, the bad and ugly ones etc. And ffmpeg and so on.

 

maybe if you have a virtual machine or a test machine you could download a free 60 day eval like i did?
link

 

i went to here
i searched for w32codec-all
it found it and i installed it successfully.
still cant play a play in totem movie player.
may see what other plays ive got.
all the dependency errors for installing vlc media player was packages from the packman repo.

most of the media player i have installed need packages from packman but im sure i have added the packman repo.
i need a list of packman repo and mirrors?
i am currently trying to install mplayer.
it had one dependency issue said i needed openal so im installing that atm.
ok installeed that now i need to install libenca.so.0
libenca.so.0 needs rtld(GNU_HASH)
there must be a few repos i can add which has all the stuff i need on it.

while im waiting for other solutions i will install opensuse 11 in a virtual machine.
i can choose two or more desktop enviroments in opensuse as well.
looks pretty much the same as suse enterprise desktop but a few program arent installed as default so i will find out how to install them. the first thing the update asks is what repos i want to add. so i ticked packman and videolan etc.
suse enterprise linux 11 is ment to be pretty much the same as opensuse 11 so maybe i will test it again once it is version 11

 

Question Lodore. Whatever you've installed up to this point has been done through the gui, correct?
Is Totem reading your drive properly?

S

 

correct yes
when i downloaded the rpm's from packman linux links to used the default option open with install
what do you mean is totem reading my drive correctly? and how would i find out?

 

Are you running packman with smart? If that's not how it work's forgive me, I'm not familiar with pm.
If you open a shell and have cdrecord onboard you should be able to type: cdrecord -scanbus

S

 

no i didnt use smart. ive used yast and the package manger application that is in the system tray. aded the repos to the package manager application in the syss tray and that also added the repos to yast