devries Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 When I first started to use Linux some time ago it was quite hard to listen or view web-streams in Linux. It was possible but only after a lot of hard work. However that was then and as we speak it is trivial to play streaming media in Linux. Still some people might need help and for them I'm writing this post. There are 3 ways to listen/view streaming media: -1- with a media player like Amarok, Xmms, mplayer etc etc -2- with a web browser and a plug-in -3- with a media player embedded in a web browser The first option is the simplest. When you click on a link, for example from the internet archive.org a pop up will appear that will ask you what application to use to play the stream. In Amarok it will look then something like you see below in the screenshot. If you have a multimedia keyboard you can use the keyboard keys to control the stream. It works very well. The only problem is that the stream titles aren't shown as on the archive.org page. The second option is more complicated because you need to install a plug-in. There are 2 media plug-ins available: Mozplugger ( link ) and Mplayerplug-in ( link ). Both have been developed for the Mozilla web-browser but work well in other browsers like Opera. When you install the plug-in the browser associates the media types with the plug-in and when you visit a site with media content it will use the plug-in to play the stream. See the screenshot below. The third options is a bit like like the first. A media application is used to play the stream but the app is embedded in a browser. The best examples for this way of playing streams are Kmplayer ( link ) and Kaffeine (link ). In a way this is a better way to play streams because you will have all the config options of the player to control the stream. See screenshot below. (As you can see I'm playing the stream in a tab but you can also play it in a pop-up if you like it better that way) All these programs are available for Mandriva and can easily be installed with urpmi. If you install kmplayer it should automatically be the default application to play streams. If you want to configure the way streams are played you have to edit the file associations. As you see there are different ways to play streams and you can choose which one works the best for you. I've found Amarok and kmplayer to be the best but you're free to differ :). Have fun with all the different content on the web. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jboy Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 Thanks. Not only is the article an excellent resource, but I also learned about Archive.org. I did not know about Archive.org - that's a great site. I'll be spending a lot of time checking through all that's available there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanes Posted September 2, 2005 Report Share Posted September 2, 2005 I've tried this, I have downloaded the plugins and all the players.... Firefox still doesn't recognize the plugins.... I just get plain old nothing when I go to a page with an embedded movie... What am I doing wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devries Posted September 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2005 What plugin are you using with Firefox? If it's mplayerplug-in search the board. The subject has been covered a few times already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.