The stock Ubuntu repositories don’t include the w32codecs (wmvdmod.dll, etc) so xine, mplayer can play WMV and other formats. Basically the package puts 127 DLLs in /usr/lib/w32codecs.
So, I temporarily added the following line to my /etc/apt/sources.list
deb ftp://ftp.nerim.net/debian-marillat/ testing main
And then did this:
apt-get update && apt-get install w32codecs
I then commented that line out since and apt-get upgrade would have picked up a bunch of updated packages from that repository.
Tags: apps, config, General, hp, laptop, linux, tips, ubuntu
here there is a better one (for ubuntu)
ftp://cipherfunk.org/pub/packages/ubuntu/
According to the logs, this is my most popular blog entry.
Leave a note here if you find it helpful. Also leave a note if you *don’t* find it helpful and suggest a URL
that is.
Thanks!
-marc
Hiya Marc
The line “deb ftp://ftp.nerim.net/debian-marillat/ testing main”
….. is fine – but I have found out that “testing” should be replaced by “sarge”. Not sure if this is a permanent change……
The second link doesn’t work for me….. just times out.
Take care man
JJ
JJ is right, thanks for mentioning that JJ, or i doubt i would have figured it out myself.
BTW this page is #1 when you search for w32codecs+ubuntu on google. :)
I put that deb line in the list and then ran “sudo apt-get update && apt-get install w32codecs” but got these errors:
W: GPG error: ftp://ftp.nerim.net sarge Release: The following signatures couldn ‘t be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY 07DC563D1F41B9 07
W: You may want to run apt-get update to correct these problems
E: Could not open lock file /var/lib/apt/lists/lock – open (13 Permission denied )
E: Unable to lock the list directory
got any ideas?
Thanks for the help
tod: try `sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install w32codecs`
To install the appropriate key, use:
gpg –recv-key 07DC563D1F41B9
gpg –export 07DC563D1F41B9 | apt-key add -
Tod,
From a note I finally added to my /etc/apt.sources so I would not have to look it up again:
# keys for verification are retrieved with gpg:
# gpg –recv-keys 07DC563D1F41B907
# and added with apt-keys:
# gpg –export -a 07DC563D1F41B907 | sudo apt-key add -
# (the example is Christian Marillat’s key)
sdb
http://murtog.blogspot.com/2005/10/w32codecs-for-ubuntu-hoary-breezy.html
In this link there is a tutorial to install the package.
the repo in the article didn’t work for me, but the one listed by marC did. the line i added to /etc/apt/sources.list:
deb ftp://cipherfunk.org/pub/packages/ubuntu breezy main
then did the:
sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install w32codecs
they also have more up-to-date versions of some other video codec packages.
Guys
I can’t this to work. I think it may be due to my architecture.
W: Couldn’t stat source package list ftp://cipherfunk.org breezy/main Packages (/var/lib/apt/lists/cipherfunk.org_pub_packages_ubuntu_dists_breezy_main_binary-powerpc_Packages) – stat (2 No such file or directory)
Any assistance greatly appreciated
Graham
Yes, as you guessed the problem is those binary-only codecs are only available for the i386 platform.
You can tell because in ftp://cipherfunk.org/pub/packages/ubuntu/pool/main/w/w32codecs/ there is not powerpc packages.
-marc
Marc – cheers for confirming that.
i used mike’s explaination and it works very good. But there is still a problem that i need serious answer which i think someone can help me to find answers to it, i have searched but no answer the problem is my laptop is azerty but after installation of the new version of ubuntu ie hoary the keyboard is now qwerty i have tried but no fruitfull result
Any idea about how to go abt is hartely welcome
taran
Working Ubuntu w32codecs
The details in the article didn’t work for me either – some nice dude near the bottom of the comments has got it working (marC). I added this to the /etc/apt/sources.list:
deb ftp://cipherfunk.org/pub/packages/ubuntu breezy main
then did the:
su…
Awesome. Thanks Marc (and Mike), CNN video works now. :)
What about authentication? There’s no indication that these w32codecs are coming from an official source, because they aren’t signed by anyone. Doesn’t this introduce the risk of a trojan?
M, of course you are trusting the owners of cipherfunk.org & http://ftp.nerim.net
are doing the right thing.
Anytime you download and install binaries or source, there is an element
of trust involved.
-marc
Just wanted to say THANK GOD for finding this. I have been working for liek 3 hours and came across this and got it working in like 15 min.
Good job guys.
Ry
on irc.freenode.net’s #ubuntu channel, the uboto chatbot says this:
…about w32codecs ([w32codecs] binary only codecs that some call evil., and they’re available from http://giannaros.org/public/breezydebs/)
got this working with
deb ftp://ftp.nerim.net/debian-marillat/ sid main
for my debian unstable box.
see http://ftp.nerim.net/debian-marillat/ (scroll down) for help.
Ubuntu 5.04 sources have been peeving me off for months.
I like the 5.04 Unofficial faq, but unfortunately very little of it works until you spend hours searching and playing with sources. Someone setup a repo that doesn’t change every three weeks for Gods sake.
I support a lot of Fedora machines and I find answers to be quick and almost always accurate.
With Ubuntu (I like Ubuntu) I find the answers about 95% of the time are either inaccurate or out dated.
Ubuntu is a pretty cool OS once tweaked … but the community seems filled with misinformation which is damned irritating and I can see why people don’t speak favourably of it.
Granted its not the OS, its defintely the community.
I will keep supporting Ubuntu for laptop, and stay with Fedora on everything else .
The information I found here, as typical is not working (either because its out of date I am seeing it in January 2006) or because it was just wrong to begin with.
I could care less either way, I will figure it out.
Yep its a rant .. but I have been lurking in the ubuntu posts a long time as well as the Fedora ones.
The Fedora community just seems like a much more organized group.
David,
Ubuntu 5.04 is no longer the current version, Ubuntu 5.10 has out since
October 2005.
My original posting was related writing back in July 2005 when I was using
the older version. It appears that the *unofficial* repositories have changed
since then.
You didn’t mention where you are getting your information. I recommend
the official Ubuntu Wiki — https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ or checking in on IRC in
#ubuntu on irc.freenode.net
Don’t trust unofficial repos (especially packages that aren’t signed).