This blog describes the multimedia playback capabilities (both audio and video) of the standard Ubuntu 10.04 - that is, what this 64-bit OS can play 'out-of-the-box'. Let us start with the audio capabilities first.
Multimedia - Audio Playback
It was obvious from the start that Ubuntu can handle sound - but what format? A quick peek into the /usr/share/sounds directory gave me some answers. The sound file formats that Ubuntu can handle 'out-of-the-box' are '.wav' and '.ogg' type files. The wav format is an uncompressed PCM one while the ogg format is a lossy compressed one. Both are 'free' formats and that is the reason they were included on a standard Ubuntu (which has a strict policy regarding non-free or propriety formats - they simply are not included).
A test was carried out by plugging in a USB drive containing several audio and video files of various formats, into the Ubuntu 10.04 PC. The USB drive was recognized by the OS and mounted automatically - an icon for that drive appeared on the desktop. The OS also obligingly open the Nautilus file browser showing the contents of the USB drive. Hovering the cursor over the various audio files on the USB drive, I discovered that Ubuntu can indeed play back wav and ogg type audio files plus it also can play back 'flac' type audio files. This format is a lossless compressed PCM type and it is a 'free' format (flac = free lossless audio codec) - hence it was included in the standard Ubuntu. However, out of the box Ubuntu CANNOT play back mp3, mp4, aac, m4a and ape formatted audio files. Obviously, extra non-free or propriety codecs need to be installed to handle these formats.
A quick check with the official Ubuntu 10.04 document did not help much but checking the community document on restricted formats gave instructions on which package to install in order to get support for the other audio (and video) formats. The package is appropriately named 'ubuntu-restricted-extras' and besides the codecs necessary for play back of the other formats, also includes Microsoft TTF fonts, Java runtime environment, Flash plugin, LAME (to create compressed audio files), and DVD playback. Opening the Synaptic Package Manager, I installed this package - which took a while - mainly due to the downloading of the various TTF fonts from a busy server.
After the ubuntu-restricted-extras package was installed, another test was performed on the other audio files on the USB drive. Hovering the cursor over the files I can now play back mp3, mp4, aac, m4a and ape formatted audio files. This package indeed took care of the most popular audio formats found. By the way, I also found out that the popular Microsoft TrueType fonts (like Times New Roman, Arial, Courier New, etc) were also installed on my system - a big plus and another reason to install this package.
Another audio capability test was then performed - the audio CD playback capability. Inserting an audio CD into the drive resulted in it being recognized and mounted (a icon will appear on the desktop). A message box will also pop-up telling me that I have inserted an audio CD and asked which application to use the CD with - the default is Rhythmbox. Note that I can make this the default action also - however, for this test I accepted the default application by clicking on OK. Rhythmbox, the music management and playback software for GNOME, was launched and I was able to play the CD by clicking on the 'Play' button. The details about the CD (album name, artist, and track/song title) was also displayed. This test confirmed that Ubuntu was indeed capable of handling audio CD's.
That's it as far as my needs for audio playback on Ubuntu 10.04 goes. In my next blog, I will be describing the video playback capabilities of the OS, so stay tuned.
Showing posts with label Audio Playback. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Audio Playback. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Audio Playback on the Lenovo S10-2 with UNR 9.10
Out of the box, Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.10 (henceforth called UNR) does not support playback of various audio formats (e.g., mp3). In order to get these supported, you need to install the 'ubuntu-restricted-extras' package. To do this, start the Synaptic Package Manager and type 'ubuntu-restricted-extras' into the Quick search box. Mark this package for install (you will find a lot of dependent files that need to be installed - mark them also) and click the Apply button. There are about 60 packages that will be downloaded and installed so just be patient during the install process.
Once the packages have been installed, you can now test audio playback for the various format. I had a USB stick containing music file using FLAC (a lossless audio format), APE (another lossless format), MP3, OGG, WAV, AAC and MP4 formats. When this stick was plugged into a port on the netbook, it was automatically mounted and UNR opened a File Browser showing the contents of the USB stick. Placing the cursor on any of the music files, UNR will attempt to play that file if the format is recognized. I'm pleased to report that it will play all the formats mentioned above without any problem.
The Rythmbox player installed on UNR by default (System -> Sound & Video), can be used to manage audio media. For example, if you have an external CD drive connected to the netbook and you insert an audio CD into that drive you will be prompted on which media player to use. If you select Rythmbox and check the box that says always do this for any audio CD, Rythmbox will always play the CD.
Rythymbox, however has a problem - it fails to scan a removable media (such as a USB stick) although there is an item labelled as "Scan Removable Media" under the "Music" menu. What this item do is anybody's guess as I simply cannot make it work. The only way I could get all the music files on my USB stick into the library is to use the "Import Folder..." item under the "Music" menu and the type Ctrl-A to select all my music albums on the USB stick and then click on the "Open" button. Then and only then will all my music files be listed on the library.
Audio playback through the S10-2 netbook's internal speakers is adequate - not hi-fi by any standard but just simply good enough. This is not surprising considering the size of the internal speakers. However, if you use a good stereo headphone (not the earbud type), then the sound quality is much better. I have a Nokia WH-600 headset (for use with my Nokia 5320 Xpress Music mobile phone) and the difference in quality of sound over the internal speakers is simply amazing. This is the way to go if you are serious about playing music on the netbook.
The playback volume can be controlled by clicking on the volume control icon (to the right of the network icon) and adjusting the slider. The netbook's Fn+<- and Fn+-> keys will also work in order to decrease or increase the volume. I am glad to note that UNR 9.10 finally got this right - UNR 9.04 had this reversed. I was also amazed to discover that the Fn+F9 - Start/Pause playback, Fn+F10 - Stop playback, Fn+F11 - Skip to previous track and Fn+F12 - Skip to next track worked with Rythmbox! The Lenovo S10-2 manual states that these worked for Windows Media Player but I guess they meant a media player and not specific to WMP.
In conclusion, UNR 9.10 running on the Lenovo S10-2 provides good audio playback support if the 'ubuntu-restricted-extras' package is installed on the netbook.
Once the packages have been installed, you can now test audio playback for the various format. I had a USB stick containing music file using FLAC (a lossless audio format), APE (another lossless format), MP3, OGG, WAV, AAC and MP4 formats. When this stick was plugged into a port on the netbook, it was automatically mounted and UNR opened a File Browser showing the contents of the USB stick. Placing the cursor on any of the music files, UNR will attempt to play that file if the format is recognized. I'm pleased to report that it will play all the formats mentioned above without any problem.
The Rythmbox player installed on UNR by default (System -> Sound & Video), can be used to manage audio media. For example, if you have an external CD drive connected to the netbook and you insert an audio CD into that drive you will be prompted on which media player to use. If you select Rythmbox and check the box that says always do this for any audio CD, Rythmbox will always play the CD.
Rythymbox, however has a problem - it fails to scan a removable media (such as a USB stick) although there is an item labelled as "Scan Removable Media" under the "Music" menu. What this item do is anybody's guess as I simply cannot make it work. The only way I could get all the music files on my USB stick into the library is to use the "Import Folder..." item under the "Music" menu and the type Ctrl-A to select all my music albums on the USB stick and then click on the "Open" button. Then and only then will all my music files be listed on the library.
Audio playback through the S10-2 netbook's internal speakers is adequate - not hi-fi by any standard but just simply good enough. This is not surprising considering the size of the internal speakers. However, if you use a good stereo headphone (not the earbud type), then the sound quality is much better. I have a Nokia WH-600 headset (for use with my Nokia 5320 Xpress Music mobile phone) and the difference in quality of sound over the internal speakers is simply amazing. This is the way to go if you are serious about playing music on the netbook.
The playback volume can be controlled by clicking on the volume control icon (to the right of the network icon) and adjusting the slider. The netbook's Fn+<- and Fn+-> keys will also work in order to decrease or increase the volume. I am glad to note that UNR 9.10 finally got this right - UNR 9.04 had this reversed. I was also amazed to discover that the Fn+F9 - Start/Pause playback, Fn+F10 - Stop playback, Fn+F11 - Skip to previous track and Fn+F12 - Skip to next track worked with Rythmbox! The Lenovo S10-2 manual states that these worked for Windows Media Player but I guess they meant a media player and not specific to WMP.
In conclusion, UNR 9.10 running on the Lenovo S10-2 provides good audio playback support if the 'ubuntu-restricted-extras' package is installed on the netbook.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)