[PLUG] Playing an avi file? (Trying to RTFM)

[Fedor G. Pikus]

MPlayer is hard to install, bu only if the RPMs from FreshRPMs.net don't
want to install on your system, or they don't have the ones you want.
I'd ignore the security vulnerability thingie, unless you're installing it
on some school system full of nosy students.
MPlayer can play just about anything you can throw at it, and most of the
time it figures out what codecs to use all by itself. On the other hand,
if you want to use its GUI, it's cumbersome, and if you need to ask a
question to developers, don't bother, here is the universal answer sheet:
1) Go RTFM (use this answer if this is the first time you ask the
question)
2) Go RTFM you asshole (use this answer second and all other times)

On Sun, 22 Dec 2002, guy1656 wrote:

> Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2002 21:33:30 -0800
> From: guy1656 <guy1656 at ados.com>
> Reply-To: plug at lists.pdxlinux.org
> To: PLUG <plug at lists.pdxlinux.org>
> Subject: [PLUG] Playing an avi file? (Trying to RTFM)
>
> Okay.
>
> I am a Linux 'user.'
>
> I am running KDE 2.2.1 in Mandrake 8.1.
> I have XMMS installed, and want to play AVIs.
>
> I don't want to use MPlayer, because the MPlayer page mentions some kind of
> security vulnerability ( I got fried here the last I brought this up, but the
> jyst is that the vocabulary which describes said vulnerability is WAY over my
> head.) Discretion being the better part of valor, I decided to look for other
> alternatives to Mplayer, especially ones WITHOUT mention of security
> vulnerabilities, 'known bugs' or hellaciously complex installs.
>
> Over the past several weeks, I have spent short packets of time searching for
> files named "[This-plays-AVI's].i386.rpm" but haven't found anything useful.
> Meanwhile, no AVI's for me.
>
> So I am biting the bullet and trying to go to the next level and looking into
> .tar.gz's. (Ugh.) One of these which looked promising is:
>
> http://freshmeat.net/redir/avi-xmms/545/url_tgz/avi-xmms-1.2.3.tar.gz
>
> so I nabbed that. Upon unpacking it, the 'README' file contains the following:
>
> "This plugin uses the aviplay library version 0.53.5. Avifile is included
> in the archive and will compile to a static library and then static linked
> into the plugin. This means there will not be any other files installed
> exept for the plugin itself. Please make sure you don't have avifile linked
> to xmms as avi4xmms require that to function, if you do you will not be
> able to play any avi files as there will be a conflict between avifile
> versions."
>
> :-) -> OK, so if XMMS was already installed when the [VERY GOOD PERSON WHO
> DESERVES A GREAT DEAL OF CREDIT AND GRATITUDE - Thanks!!!] set up my system,
> I have no idea whether "avifile" is "linked to xmms" or not. Shall I take the
> plunge, or no?
>
> :-) -> The following seems arduous. How do I know if I'm using
> [Letters-I-never-heard-of-before] decoding, whether I have
> bunch-of-other-letters-or better .... ? And of course, the penalty for NOT
> guessing right is a crash. (Not any worse than Windoze, right?)
>
> " Also, SDL library (www.libsdl.org) is required to play movies using
> avi-xmms. If you plan to use software YUV decoding, you should have SDL 1.1.7
> or better, because software YUV decoders of SDL 1.1.6 (and previous versions
> also) are broken and will cause XMMS to crash.'
>
>
> :-)  -> Good heavens: (does this thing work, or not?)
> "We have the big issue with this plugin: If SDL is compiled using Xfree 4.0
> and NOT Xfree 4.0.1 it will not work in a correct way and crashes a lot.
> Xfree 4.0 has a threading bug in libXv.a that SDL compiles statically and
> XMMS is a threaded application and that's why this plugin won't work with
> Xfree 4.0. Please upgrade Xfree to 4.0.1 Else you can compile SDL without
> libXv.a but you won't get Hardware acceleration do (in SDL directory):
> ./configure --disable-video-x11-xv"
>
>
> :-)  ->  HELP IN SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS WANTED PLEASE ....
>           and feel free to e-mail me privately... (preferred.)
>
> -GLL
>
> _______________________________________________
> PLUG mailing list
> PLUG at lists.pdxlinux.org
> http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
>

-- 
                                  Fedor G. Pikus
Mentor Graphics Corporation         | Phone: (503) 685-4857
8405 SW Boeckman Road               | FAX:   (503) 685-1239
Wilsonville, Oregon 97070           | http://www.pikus.net/~pikus/