SMPlayer 18.10 Released with 4K Youtube Videos Support

October 21, 2018 — Leave a comment

SMplayer

SMPlayer media player 18.10 was released a day ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.10, Ubuntu 18.10, Ubuntu 16.04, and their derivatives.

SMPlayer 18.10 optimised the internal code for YouTube, so it now supports resolutions up to 4K. In addition, support for age restricted videos has been fixed.

SMPlayer with Mac skin

How to Install SMPlayer 18.6 in Ubuntu:

For all current Ubuntu releases and their derivatives, do following steps to install or upgrade SMPlayer via the PPA repository.

1. Search for and launch “terminal” from application menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rvm/smplayer

Type your user password (no asterisks feedback while typing) when it asks and hit Enter.

Smplayer PPA

2. Then upgrade SMPlayer using Software Updater (or Update Manager):

upgrade smplayer

or run commands in terminal to install (or upgrade) the media player:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install smplayer smtube smplayer-themes

Uninstall:

To remove SMPlayer, run command in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove --autoremove smplayer smtube smplayer-*

And remove the PPA via “Software & Updates” utility under “Other Software” tab.

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How to Install KDE Plasma 5.14.1 in (K)Ubuntu 18.10

October 20, 2018 — Leave a comment

KDE Plasma 5.12

The latest KDE Plasma desktop 5.14 was finally available to install in (K)Ubuntu 18.10 via the Kubuntu Backports PPA.

KDE Plasma 5.14 was released a week ago. It features:

  • New Display Configuration widget for screen management
  • Audio Volume widget now has a built in speaker test feature
  • Network widget now works for SSH VPN tunnels again.
  • The lock screen now handles user-switching for better usability and security.
  • Import existing encrypted files from a Plasma Vault.
  • The Global menu now supports GTK applications.
  • Plasma Discover gained fwupd support.
  • Plasma Discover now supports for Snap channels.
  • For more details, see the announcement.

Install Plasma 5.14 in (K)Ubuntu 18.10:

Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut or by searching for ‘terminal’ from software launcher. When it opens, do:

1. Add Kubuntu Backports PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports

Type user password (no asterisks feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

2. Install Plasma 5.14 in Kubuntu 18.10:

Either install all system update via Update Manager, or run command in terminal:

sudo apt update && sudo apt dist-upgrade

3. For non-Kubuntu user:

Run command to install Plasma desktop:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install plasma-desktop

or install full KDE desktop environment via command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install kubuntu-desktop

Uninstall:

You can purge the Kubuntu Backports PPA, which downgrade Plasma desktop to the stock version (5.13.5) in Ubuntu 18.10 repository.

sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports
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How to Install Avidemux 2.7.1 in Ubuntu 18.10 via PPA

October 19, 2018 — 1 Comment

Avidemux video editor

The latest Avidemux video editor 2.7.1 now can be installed in Ubuntu 18.10 easily via PPA (unofficial) repository.

The new package name has been renamed to avidemux2.7, thanks to Thanh Tung Nguyen. Unfortunately, I can’t build the VapourSynth plugin at the moment due to lack of time (I’m new to computer languages, and one small issue can take me a few hours to solve).

1. For Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 16.04 with avidemux2.6 installed, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and remove it first via command:

sudo apt remove --autoremove avidemux2.6-qt avidemux2.6-plugins-qt

2. Add the PPA repository by running command in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/avidemux

Type user password (no asterisks feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

3. Finally install Avidemux 2.7.1 via command:

sudo apt install avidemux2.7-qt5

For Ubuntu 16.04, run sudo apt update to refresh cache first.

Uninstall:

To remove the software package, run command in terminal:

sudo apt remove --autoremove avidemux2.7-qt5

To remove the PPA, launch Software & Updates and navigate to Other Software tab.

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How to Upgrade Ubuntu 18.04 Desktop to Ubuntu 18.10

October 18, 2018 — 2 Comments

Ubuntu 18.04

Ubuntu 18.10 Cosmic Cuttlefish was finally released today. Here’s how to upgrade from Ubuntu 18.04 to Ubuntu 18.10.

Ubuntu 18.10 is a short-term release with 9 months support. It features Linux 4.18 kernel, X.Org Server 1.20.1, Mesa 18.2.2, and new default desktop theme ‘Yaru’.

Preparation:

Before getting started, you need to do some preparations:

  1. Backup your bookmarks, documents, and other important data.
  2. It’s recommended to remove proprietary drivers and use the open-source drivers instead.
  3. Purge or remove third-party PPA repositories (Software & Updates -> Other Software)

To upgrade to Ubuntu 18.10:

1. Open Software & Updates and navigate to Updates tab.

Then select “For any version” from the drop-down menu of ‘Notify me of a new Ubuntu version’

2. Install all available system updates by running commands in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Type your user password (no asterisks feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter to continue.

3. Start Update Manager and you’ll see Ubuntu 18.10 available for upgrade (Restart first if required):

sudo update-manager -c

4. Click the Upgrade button and confirm in the next release note dialog:

The upgrading process starts and it may take a few hours depends on your device and internet speed.

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How to Install FFmpeg 4.0.2 in Ubuntu 18.04/16.04 via PPA

October 17, 2018 — Leave a comment

FFMPEG

FFmpeg 4.0 “Wu” was released months ago as a new major release. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, and/or Ubuntu 18.04.

FFmpeg 4.0 release highlights:

  • Intel QSV accelerated overlay filter
  • NVIDIA NVDEC GPU-based decoding for H264 / MJPEG / HEVC / MPEG-1/2/4, VC1, VP8, and VP9 formats.
  • OpenCL overlay filter
  • VA-API MJPEG and VP8 decoding support
  • AV1 Support through libaom
  • AMD AMF H.264 and HEVC encoders
  • And many other new filters, and accelerated code path improvements.

How to Install FFmpeg 4.0 in Ubuntu:

FFmpeg 4.0.2 is available in Ubuntu Software via SNAP package (Runs in sandbox).

To upgrade from the Ubuntu build FFmpeg 3.x, the unofficial PPA contains the latest packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 16.04, and Ubunu 14.04.

1. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut, or by searching for ‘terminal’ from software launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jonathonf/ffmpeg-4

Type user password (no asterisks feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter.

2. You can then upgrade FFmpeg libraries via Software Updater:

Or run commands in terminal:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

How to Restore:

For any reason, you can downgrade FFmpeg to the stock version in Ubuntu universe repositories by purging the PPA via command:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:jonathonf/ffmpeg-4
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