User Guide - Playing Multimedia

Fedora includes several tools for listening to audio and viewing video. You can access sound and video applications through the Applications > Sound & Video menu.

By default, Fedora provides the following applications for audio and video:

• CD Player is an application for listening to audio CDs in GNOME.
• KsCD is an application for listening to audio CDs in KDE.
• Sound Juicer is an application for converting CDs to music files (also known as ripping) in GNOME.
• Rhythmbox is a music player that features tools for organizing music, CDs, Internet radio stations, and more, and is included in GNOME by default.
• Amarok is a music player that features tools for organizing music, CDs, Internet radio stations, and more, and is included in KDE by default.
• Totem Movie Player is an application for viewing videos in GNOME.
• Kaffeine is an application for viewing videos in KDE.

Media formats not supported by default in Fedora
Because of licensing and patent encumbrances, Fedora cannot ship with certain audio and video playing capabilities, known as codecs. An example is the MP3 codec. Refer to the section Fedora Project's Approach to Multimedia Support, located below, for more information.

Fedora Project's Approach to Multimedia Support

In short, the Fedora Project encourages the use of open formats in place of restricted ones.

Fedora includes complete support for many freely-distributable formats. These include the Ogg media, Vorbis audio, Theora video, Speex audio, and FLAC audio formats. These freely-distributable formats are not encumbered by patent or license restrictions, and provide powerful and flexible alternatives to popular yet restricted formats such as MP3 that are not legally distributable with Fedora. For more information, refer to the Fedora Multimedia wiki.

Playing Audio CDs (CD Player)

File:Docs Drafts DesktopUserGuide Multimedia cdplayer.png CD Player is the default application for playing CDs in GNOME. Audio CDs begin playing automatically when the disc is inserted into the CD-ROM drive.

In GNOME, this program can be launched by clicking on the menu entry Applications > Sound & Video > CD Player. In KDE, this program can be launched by clicking on the menu entry KMenu > Applications > Multimedia > CD Player.

Playing Audio CDs (KsCD)

File:Docs Drafts DesktopUserGuide Multimedia ksCD.png KsCD is the default application for playing CDs in KDE. Audio CDs begin playing automatically when the disc is inserted into the CD-ROM drive.

In KDE, this program can be started by clicking on the menu entry KMenu > Applications > Multimedia > CD Player. In GNOME, this program can be started by clicking on the menu entry Applications > Sound & Video > KsCD.

Organizing your Multimedia Files (Rhythmbox)

File:Docs Drafts DesktopUserGuide Multimedia rhythmbox.png To organize multimedia files, you can use Rhythmbox. It is accessed by clicking on Applications > Sound & Video > Rhythmbox Music Player in GNOME.

Rhythmbox provides a front-end for music services, Internet radio stations, podcasts, and your own library of multimedia.

To learn more about using Rhythmbox, you can access the Rhythmbox Music Player Manual through the Help > Contents menu entry.

Organizing your Multimedia Files (Amarok)

File:Docs Drafts DesktopUserGuide Multimedia amarok.png To organize multimedia files, you can use Amarok, accessible in KDE by clicking KMenu > Applications > Sound & Video > Amarok.

Amarok provides a front-end for music services, Internet radio stations, podcasts, and your own library of multimedia including any videos you have.

To learn more about using Amarok, you can access the Amarok Manual through the Help > Amarok Handbook menu entry within the program.

Playing Videos (Totem)

The Totem Movie Player can play a variety of videos. Found at Applications > Sound & Video > Movie Player, Totem plays any format that can be legally supplied with Fedora. For help with Totem, click on the Totem Movie Player Manual, accessible through the Help > Contents menu.

Playing Videos (Kaffeine)

File:Docs Drafts DesktopUserGuide Multimedia kaffeine.png The Kaffeine Movie Player can play a variety of videos. Found at Applications > Sound & Video > Kaffeine, Kaffeine plays any format that can be legally supplied with Fedora. For usage help, the Kaffeine Player Manual is accessed through the Help > Kaffeing Player Handbook menu.

mp3 Players

Personal digital media players can be used to store and listen to music away from a computer. These are often referred to as mp3 players, a potentially misleading name; not all of these players use mp3 files to store music.

Many mp3 players can be mounted as storage mediums, and music can be added to them just like a file can be added to any other disk. See the chapter on media for more information.

Some players, however, require special applications to transfer music.

iPod Connectivity

The Fedora Project does not by default offer the ability to interact with the Apple iPod. However, a program called Gtkpod can be used to sync music, podcasts, and other content to your iPod.

Gtkpod is not installed by default from the Live-CD or the DVD. If you do not have access to the Internet, you can use the Fedora DVD to install Gtkpod. The Add/Remove Software utility offers a graphical installation interface for new users.

Here is how to install Gtkpod using Add/Remove Software in the Gnome Desktop Environment.

Click System > Administration > Add/Remove Software. This will open the Add/Remove Software application.

In the [Search Box] with the binoculars icon, type:

gtkpod

Next, click the [Find] button. The message "Querying" appears in the lower left corner.

Tick the box next to Gtkpod. The message "Downloading repository information" appears in the lower left corner. The window area below the list of packages contains additional information about Gtkpod.

Select any additional packages to install or remove at this time by changing tick boxes next to the package name.

Finally, click the [Apply] button. This starts the Gtkpod installation process and concurrently installs or removes any additional packages where you modified the tick box. Follow any prompts to install additional packages.

Gtkpod is now installed on your computer.

Another way to install the Gtkpod application is to use the command line.

Click Applications > System Tools> Terminal to open the command line.

Type:

su -c 'yum install gtkpod'

You will be prompted for the computer's root password. Type in the root password and press 'Enter'. You will not see the password as you type. The terminal will start giving information about the application, and end with Is this ok [y/N]:.

Type:

 y

The terminal downloads the necessary files and completes the installation of Gtkpod.

After you install Gtkpod using one of the methods described above, launch the program by clicking Applications > Music and Video > gtkpod.

For further help on iPod support, you can go to the Gtkpod website.

File:Docs Drafts DesktopUserGuide Multimedia gtkpod.png

This is the default icon associated with Gtkpod.

Zune Connectivity

There are currently no established methods for safely transferring files to Microsoft's Zune device on Linux. If you own a properly licensed version of Microsoft Windows, running a virtual machine may be an option, but is beyond the scope of this guide.

Further Information

For more information on freely-distributable formats and how to use them, refer to the Xiph.Org Foundation's web site here.

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