Problem with audio...

[csinner]

OK... so I'm having issues with the audio. Nothing plays audio with one exception. I've downloaded VLC, Songbird, and I've also tried the GXine that's come with my Xubuntu distro. Nothing works. I can play some video files, but they have no sound. The only thing that appears to play audio is flash (www.pandora.com plays music for me). But that's it...

Any ideas? Do I need audio drivers? Do I need to modify some settings? Is there any way to troubleshoot this?

Thanks for your time again guys,
~C

[jens]

Nothing plays audio with one exception.

Never assume you tried everything.

Please give a real example of an audio format(mp3, ogg, ...) and the player you used for it.
Did you install its codec?

If you're using gxine, try to play it from the CLI using ...
xine songname (no "g")
... and see if it shows you get an error.

[csinner]

I'm afraid I don't completely understand. Does GXine have it's own CLI or is it a shell accessible in the terminal? I tried going to the terminal and typing xine "./Utah Saints - Power To The Beats.mp3" but it gave me:

bash: xine: command not found

For starters I'd be happy to be able to play MP3 files (as that is what I am trying with all the programs). Beyond that I would LIKE to be able to play wma and mp4 files as well. I don't really care about movie files. I'd just like to be able to listen to my music collection while I am working inside linux.

Also you mentioned installing a 'codec' for MP3, or ogg files, however I never knew that this was necessary (did I mention I'm a complete newb?). In windows most media players come with their own distributable versions of the lame decoder or their own decoder, which appears to work fine. I assumed that linux would take a similar approach, but I've been known to be wrong before. How would I go about installing a codec for MP3s for example? Is the process different for WMAs and MP4s?

Thanks,
~C

[jens]

I'm afraid I don't completely understand. Does GXine have it's own CLI or is it a shell accessible in the terminal? I tried going to the terminal and typing xine "./Utah Saints - Power To The Beats.mp3" but it gave me:

bash: xine: command not found

Use whatever (terminal, konsole, xterm) you like.
If you have gxine, you should have xine as well (gxine is just a link with a front).
Why the "./" ? Xine always plays in the map you're in...

Anyway, the easiest way to get it all is automatix (installs all addons for you):
http://getautomatix.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

Click here to download:
http://www.getautomatix.com/apt/dist...0edgy_i386.deb

Install it:
sudo dpkg -i automatix2_1.1-2.3-6.10edgy_i386.deb

Next just start it and pick everything you want (codecs, players, JAVA, P2P software, 3D drivers, ...).

[csinner]

Hey jens,

Alright, that definitely worked!

Thanks so much. My linux experience has just improved ten-fold thanks to you.


MUCH appreciated,
~C