Windows Media players

[Claude Jones]

Douglas Furlong wrote:

>>    
>>
>>>Claude Jones wrote:
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>Thanks for all the suggestions and advice. Maybe you or someone will 
>>have an idea what I did wrong with the mplay install. If I click on a 
>>Windows Media file from the Mozilla browser window, an Mplayer window 
>>opens and a message appears that it's buffering along with a progress 
>>bar -- and that's it. The green progress bar moves left to right, gets 
>>to almost the end, and then I just get the endless hour glass. The file 
>>appears to be downloading, but it never streams, or plays after the 
>>download.
>>    
>>
>There are a couple of things that can cause this (it's mentioned in
>their FAQ, you did read that didn't you? http://mplayerplug-
>in.sourceforge.net/faq.php)
>Have you installed the additional libraries for playing wmv media? There
>also seems to be a problem with playing some wmv files in xine/totem and
>possibly mplayer, the thing they appear to have in common is that they
>are encoded using variable bit rate.
>
>Hope this provides some help.
>
>
>  
>
I have indeed read the faq, and installed the libraries. As I have 
proceeded on this Linux path, I have encountered various problems. 
Multiple versions of documentation, sometimes conflicting. Not knowing 
where to look for the latest documentation. Not understanding the argot 
of Linux. Not understanding the architecture of Linux. Perhaps the most 
serious is the GTBAOF syndrome (getting to be an old f__t), which seems 
to be connected to RAM issues in my cerebrum noticeably associated with 
increasing failure rates of parity checks.

I did get mplayer working, and it's ok, but not as nice as Kaffeine. 
Mplayer just pops up as a new browser window in Mozilla with no 
controls, and just a small not-really-re-positionable video window in 
the topmost left of the browser window. Kaffeine which I can start by 
plugging the URL of the windows media file directly, starts up in its 
own window and gives me many configuration possibilities. So, my new 
related question is how can I switch Mozilla away from using the mplayer 
plug in to using Kaffeine. I have found some limited documentation -- it 
refers to directories that I can't find, including some that begin with a ./

And yes, your help was useful and appreciated.