MPV, the popular free open-source media player, announced new 0.38.0 release few days ago!
The release improved --deinterlace with auto value, and --deinterlace-field-parity to automatically turn on deinterlacing. It can improve the overall clarity, sharpness of the video, by converting interlaced video (commonly found in analog television, VHS, Laserdisc, digital television (HDTV)) into a progressive form.
Without using config file, users can now press and hold Ctrl key then use mouse wheel scrolling to zoom in or zoom out the video playback.
After more than a year of development, Kodi media player 21, code-name “Omega”, is finally released!
Kodi 21 is a new major release. It’s now based on FFmpeg 6.0, that features Radiance HDR image support, VAAPI decoding and QSV decoding for 10/12bit 422, 10/12bit 444 HEVC and VP9, MediaCodec decoder, and various other exciting new features, see ffmpeg.org for details.
For macOS, the release supports HiDPI (retina) displays using its native implementations for window displays. And, it fixed crash on speech recognition activation, improved window resizing when moving (or fallback when display disconnected) from one display to another, and implemented Hotkeycontroller for media keys. Continue Reading…
QMPlay2, the free open-source Qt media player, released version 24.03.16 few days ago.
QMPlay2 is a Qt based media player that uses FFmpeg as backend for most video and audio codecs support. It also supports Audio CD, raw files, Rayman 2 music and chiptunes, as well as ALSA, PulseAudio or PipeWire sound servers. And, it has built-in a browser to search & play YouTube videos.
The most recent 24.03.16 release added better support for FFmpeg 6.1, and experimental Vulkan Video decoder support. So, since this release, the media player now supports hardware accelerated video playback through following APIs:
Parole, the lightweight media player for XFCE Desktop, released version 4.18.1 few days ago.
The new release updates the app icons with 32px, 64px, 96px sizes support, so it should have a cleaner look in system menus like App Finder, Whisker Menu.
The extensions icons have been updated using newer Xfce palette, and semi-transparent borders giving it a sharper look in dark themes.
The system tray icon now is disabled outside X11. And, it now supports middle click actions to control video playback:
middle click to pause/resume playback.
middle wheel scrolling over tray icon to volume up/down.
Other changes in the release include:
Allow to built without X11 support and therefore whithout XfceSMClient.
Fix critical warning and memory leak
mpris2: Properly disconnect signal handlers
honor gtk-dialogs-use-header as Xfce 4.18 is CSD opt-in.
Small UI Improvements and many translation updates
How to Install Parole 4.18.1:
At the moment of writing, there’s no binary package of Parole 4.18.1 for Ubuntu.
But it’s not hard to compile the package from the source (tested in XUbuntu 22.04):
First, open terminal and run command to install the build dependency packages:
Extract the source tarball, then right-click on the new generated folder, and select “Open in Terminal”. Finally, run the 3 commands below one by one to compile it from source:
./configure
make -j4
sudo make install
NOTE: It by default installs the parole executable to /usr/local/bin without overriding the pre-installed one. Meaning you’ll have 2 versions of the media player installed in your system, while the app icon in menu will launch the newer 4.18.1 version.
(Uninstall) By opening the source folder in terminal, you may also uninstall the media player by running command:
For VLC users who prefer installing the player via the classic .deb, here’s Ubuntu PPA update for the latest VLC 3.0.20 (Updated).
The VideoLAN website does NOT announced the release of v3.0.19 at the moment of writing. However, the source code has been rolled out. And, both Snap (in Ubuntu Software) and Flatpak packages have been updated to the new release version.
VLC 3.0.19 adds Super Resolution scaling with nVidia and Intel GPUs, activates hardware decoding of AV1 on Windows (DxVA), improves AV1 HDR support with software decoding, and improves SMB compatibility with Windows 11 hosts.
There are as well many other improvements and bug-fixes, including:
Support RIFF INFO tags for Wav files
Fix AVI files with flipped RAW video planes
Improve playback of QNap-produced AVI, and some old RealVideo files
Multiple fixes on AAC handling
Multiple fixes for hardware decoding on D3D11 and OpenGL interop
Fix rendering issues on Linux with the fullscreen controller
Fix some MPRIS inconsistencies that broke some OS widgets on Linux
See more about VLC 3.0.19 (and v3.0.20 with some quick fixes) via the official changelog file.
How to Install VLC 3.0.20 via PPA in Ubuntu
As mentioned, the new release is available as Snap package in Ubuntu Software, and Flatpak package in Flathub repository.
For those hate running app in sandbox, here’s the unofficial PPA contains the package for Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 23.04, and Ubuntu 23.10. Not only for x86_64, but also arm64/armhf CPU architecture types are supported.
1. First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open a terminal window. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/vlc
Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it asks for sudo authentication, then hit Enter to continue.
2. For Linux Mint, also run command to refresh package cache, which is done automatically while adding PPA in Ubuntu 20.04 +.
sudo apt update
3. Finally, either update VLC package using ‘Software Updater’ or install/upgrade the package directly by running apt command in terminal:
sudo apt install vlc
Uninstall:
If you found any issue about the PPA package, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:
This command will install ppa-purge tool and use it to purge the PPA, which also downgrade VLC and its dependencies to the stock versions in your system repository.
For choice, you may run command to just remove VLC media player:
sudo apt remove --autoremove vlc
Then remove the PPA either from ‘Software & Updates’ -> ‘Other Software’ tab, or by running command in terminal:
Xfce’s Parole media player announced the 4.18.0 released a day ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 22.10 and their based systems.
Parole is a modern simple video player based on the GStreamer. It’s an free opensource app fit well in the lightweight XFCE desktop, though also works in other Linux desktops.
The new version 4.18.0 was released last night. It’s been more than 2 years since the last release, there’s however NO big changes but only bug-fixes, minor improvements, and translation updates.
Changes in Parole 4.18.0 according to the NEWS file:
Hovering mouse wheel over a speaker icon can also increase volume now.
Reduce playback control panel to stay 2 seconds when in full-screen mode.
Fix memory leak when loading cover image.
Some icon updates and translation updates.
How to Install Parole 4.18.0 via PPA in Ubuntu:
The project does not provide official binary packages. Besides building from the source tarball, XUbuntu, Linux Lite, Linux Mint, and of course other Ubuntu based systems can get it from this unofficial PPA.
NOTE: Parole seems not working good in GNOME desktop with Wayland session. Meaning Ubuntu and Fedora workstation with default desktop environment need to switch to classic Xorg for this app.
1. First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard or search for and open terminal window from start menu. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps
Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it asks and hit Enter to continue. The PPA support for Ubuntu 20.04 and higher with both amd64 and arm64/armhf cpu architecture types.
2. Some Ubuntu based systems may need to manually update package index after adding PPA. To do so, run command:
sudo apt update
3. Finally, either upgrade the media player from an existing version (if any) using Software Updater (Update Manager), or run command in terminal to install it:
sudo apt install parole
Uninstall Parole or Restore original package
To restore the original version, run command in terminal to purge the PPA as well as downgrade the package:
In Ubuntu 22.04, you’ll find that the MPV media player does NOT have window border and title-bar out-of-the-box.
That’s quite annoying! You can no longer drag resizing the app window. And, title bar buttons (minimize, maximize, and close) only appear when you hover over the window during video playback.
MPV no window border and title bar
Why:
It’s NOT feature but a bug! Someone has reported the issue almost 9 years ago. Though, it’s still not been fixed due to GNOME Wayland protocol.
You know, MPV is a command line media player. It does not use the GUI toolkit for window borders, but the server-side protocol. However, GNOME developers do deliberately do not support the xdg-decoration protocol for server-side decorations in Wayland (via this FAQ).
Ubuntu 22.04 finally switched Wayland as the default session. So, the problem occurs.
Workaround 1: Switch back Xorg Session
Besides MPV, still many applications have compatibility issues with GNOME Wayland. Even the Night Light feature does not work in Ubuntu 22.04 with this session.
As a workaround, user may switch back to the classic Xorg session. To do so, simply log out, click your username in login screen, then select “Ubuntu on Xorg” via the bottom right gear button menu, and finally type password to log in.
To verify your current session either run echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE command in terminal or check in “Settings -> About -> Windowing system”.
Workaround 2: Run MPV via X11 backend
For those prefer GNOME Wayland session, it’s possible to run MPV media player via X11 backend without switch session.
1.) To start video playback from command line, use command:
Here --gpu-context=x11egl tells to use x11 backend for video playback. And, --hwdec=vaapi-copy is required to enable GPU hardware acceleration in this case.
Thanks to S. Likhitrattanapisal, you may try --hwdec=vaapi flag to enable hwacc. Though it may not work, it depends on your hardware.
2.) To enable this for global use, you may add the flags into MPV configuration file.
Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When terminal opens, make a copy of configuration file first via command:
sudo cp /etc/mpv/mpv.conf /etc/mpv/mpv.conf.bak
Then, edit the file via command:
sudo xdg-open /etc/mpv/mpv.conf
When file opens, change the content into:
hwdec=vaapi-copy
gpu-context=x11egl
After saving the changes, start playing your movie via MPV. The window border as well as title-bar should be back!
Workaround 3: Use GUI front-end
There are a few media players that use MPV as backend. As far as I know, there are SMPlayer and Celluloid (formerly GNOME MPV), both of which are available to install via Ubuntu Software.
The popular Kodi media center has the first update in 2022 by releasing v19.4. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu.
The release fixed many issues in the Kodi 19 “Matrix”, including Chinese keyboard character display issue, seekbar wouldn’t disappear when pause via a remote app, EDL mute now working, flickering with interlaced H.264 SD on AMD GPUs. For Linux, it now automatically plays DVDs.
And for Xbox users, it may now passthrough audio via WASAPI, and install Python add-ons without permission issue. See release note for more about Kodi 19.4.
How to Install Kodi 19.4 in Ubuntu:
Kodi has an official Ubuntu PPA. It usually contains the latest packages for all current Ubuntu releases.
1. Add Kodi PPA.
Firstly, open terminal either by searching from the activities overview screen or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard.
When terminal opens, paste the command below into it and hit Enter to add the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:team-xbmc/ppa
Type user password when it asks (no asterisk feedback) and hit Enter to continue.
2. Install / Upgrade Kodi.
If you’re now running the stock version of Kodi package in Ubuntu, the Software Updater may refuse to update it. So it’s recommended to use the command below to install or update the media player.
Firstly refresh system package cache for old Linux, e.g., Ubuntu 18.04, by running command:
sudo apt update
Next, install or upgrade Kodi via command:
sudo apt install kodi
Once installed, you may open Kodi like normal apps by searching from the overview screen. Or log out and select login via Kodi session.
The PPA also provides more audio encoder and PVR add-ons packages. Install them as you need via either apt command or synaptic package manager.
How to Downgrade:
You can purge the Ubuntu PPA as well as downgrade Kodi to the stock version available in Ubuntu main repositories. To do so, run command:
This simple tutorial shows how to install the latest version of Kodi media center in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04, and their based systems, e.g., Linux Mint 20, Elementary OS 6 and Zorin OS 16.
Kodi, formerly XBMC, is now at version 19.2 “Matrix”. It fixed some possible crashes caused by missing timer type, missing channel icons, accessing invalid PVR channel, or switching monitors, toggling on/off HDR from Windows 10 display settings.
The big one in the release it that Kodi 19.x now is available on the Xbox, along with swap chain and HEVC DXVA2 decoder performance improvements, and 4k resolution and HDR video playback fixes. For more, see the release note.
How to Install Kodi 19.2 in Ubuntu:
Kodi has an official Ubuntu PPA. It usually contains the latest packages for all current Ubuntu releases.
1. Add Kodi PPA.
Firstly, open terminal either by searching from the activities overview screen or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard.
When terminal opens, paste the command below into it and hit Enter to add the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:team-xbmc/ppa
Type user password when it asks, while no asterisk feedback, and hit Enter to continue.
2. Install / Upgrade Kodi.
If you’re now running the stock version of Kodi package in Ubuntu, the Software Updater may refuse to update it. So it’s recommended to use the command below to install or update the media player.
Firstly refresh system package cache for old Linux, e.g., Ubuntu 18.04, by running command:
sudo apt update
Next, install or upgrade Kodi via command:
sudo apt install kodi
Once installed, you may open Kodi like normal apps by searching from the overview screen. Or log out and select login via Kodi session.
The PPA also provides more audio encoder and PVR add-ons packages. Install them as you need via either apt command or synaptic package manager.
How to Downgrade:
You can purge the Ubuntu PPA as well as downgrade Kodi to the stock version available in Ubuntu main repositories. To do so, run command:
SMPlayer media player released version 21.8.0 with official dmg package for macOS, and more binary packages for Linux users.
SMPlayer is a free open-source video player for Windows and Linux. By releasing v21.8.0, it finally adds macOS support officially. It uses MPV and/or MPlayer multimedia engine, so it can play virtually all video and audio formats.
The player remembers the settings of all files you play, so when you open an unfinished movie it will be resumed at the same point you left it, as well as the same settings. It also has built-in YouTube browser, allows to search for and click to play YouTube video directly in the media player.
I always keep SMPlayer in my system as an alternative media player, because it has some useful features that I need. They include:
ability to fetch subtitles from internet.
cast to smart phone and chromecast.
rotate video and change aspect ratio while playback.
What’s New in SMPlayer 21.8.0
Besides the macOS package, Linux Appimage, Flatpak, and Snap support, the release also include following changes:
Better automatic resizing of the main window, trying to prevent black borders.
Add option to rotate the video by 180 degrees.
Add some predefined speeds (0.25x, 0.5x, 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x).
Prevent a one second delay when using play prev/next.
The installation of YouTube support is now optional on Windows.
Disable power saving on Linux Wayland during playback.
And some bug-fixes.
How to Get SMPlayer:
The media player now is available at Github. All the binary packages as well as source tarball are available to download at the link below:
For Linux, since Appimage is a non-install executable, Flatpak and Snap are universal package formats need separate daemons to run in sandbox, native .deb / .rpm package may still be preferred.
To install and keep SMPlayer native packages up-to-date, you can either use the official OBS repository for Arch Linux, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE.
Or use the official Ubuntu PPA for all current Ubuntu releases, Linux Mint, and derivatives.
1. Add Ubuntu PPA.
Open terminal either from start menu (click top-left ‘Activities’, search for and open terminal), or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rvm/smplayer
Type user password, no asterisk feedback, and hit Enter to continue. So for, it supports Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, and Ubuntu 21.04.
2. Install / Upgrade SMPlayer:
After adding the PPA, you can either install it via command:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install smplayer smtube
or upgrade the player via Software Updater (Update Manager) if an old release was installed.
Uninstall SMPlayer in Ubuntu:
To remove the PPA, either open “Software & Updates”, go to “Other Software” line and remove the relevant repository line, or run command:
