5 Linux Media Players: Which is the Best Fit?
Posted On June 11, 2012
Compare Video Software, Video Players
Linux may not be the most popular desktop Operating System (OS), but it definitely has a dedicated group of supporters. Just like everyone else they want to listen to music and watch video on their Linux desktop. Granted, there are some technical complexities found in Linux media players that do require more computer knowledge – still there are plenty of excellent options available.
For the most part, a Linux media player does the same thing any other media player does: Play audio and video. In this article, the term ‘Linux media player’ is used for software that does double duty as a Linux video player and Linux audio player. Therefore, apps like Audacious and Rhythmbox won’t be included since they are strictly Linux audio players.
FORMATS AND CODECS
Linux users are more tech-savvy. The open-source flexibility of the Linux OS provides developers with the opportunity to create multiple variations of the OS. This has an impact in selecting the right media player. Some perform better on certain Linux OS variants than others.
Since Linux is open-source and free, using proprietary file formats and codecs can be challenging. Many Linux OS’ and players will not recognize or block proprietary software. For example, MP4 format and H.264 codec (used for HD video) are proprietary so you’ll want to double check that the Linux media player you’ve selected can run the formats and codecs needed.
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5 LINUX MEDIA PLAYERS EXPLORED
There are dozens and dozens of Linux media players. We rounded up five that offer a bevy of useful features:
- Banshee – This media player has been around since 2005 and has continued to improve over the years. Banshee is one of the more popular media players for the Ubuntu Linux OS. Banshee has sophisticated playlist capabilities for both audio and video. It can scan your hard disks and other storage devices to locate and catalog all types of media. Although it can play video and bring up additional information about videos, the audio player is arguably more sophisticated.
- Miro – This is an unusual Linux media player because in addition to being a regular video player, it can also connect to and download content from the Internet. There’s a channel guide to access online video sources such as Hulu, Crackle, Yahoo! Screen and other TV shows on the Internet. Miro supports nearly all the common video file formats and can also display HD video.
- MPlayer – One of the most flexible players currently available since it can run on many variations of Linux. It also supports one of the largest ranges of file formats and codecs including MP4 with H.264. One of MPlayer’s most notable features is that it can play through hardware MPEG decoders. This means higher quality output, particularly for watching video on a full screen display. The user interface has simple icons and text menus that are direct and easy to use.
- Totem – A solid player with a basic, no-frills user interface that can often be found in the GNOME desktop environment. It is a much better Linux video player than a Linux audio player. It can display video in full screen mode, plus it has controls for brightness, contrast, hue, and saturation.
- Xine – This attractive Linux media player fills two roles. First, it’s a standalone player. Second, it can be used as a multimedia engine (a backend) for interfaces (frontend) that other media players are built on. For example, the Linux media player Kaffeine is built on Xine. The player supports a large number of audio and video file formats, which is plus especially when its being used as a multimedia engine.
Those are a few Linux media players that offer different features. As noted earlier there are quite a few players available. Which media player do you use?
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Audacious (audacious2) would be another good one to review.
It even plays FLAC files, meaning that you could use it as the basis for a high quality digital audio streaming system. MP3 is decidely crude in comparison.
Yes, FLAC’s lossless encoding should be better than MP3, and it has a superior specifications. MP3 compresses about 5 times as much in comparison, and is lossy. MP3 was great in its time and still does a good job of getting music and other audio into the hands of people in a very small package.
I looked at the Audacious website, but didn’t see mention of an Audacious2. The current version is 3.2.3. Are you referring to something else, or am I missing something?
…TV
Linux has by far the best media players out there, beating crap like Windows Media Player, iTunes, Realtime Player etc. In terms of audio and movie playback.
Best in what ways?
Resolution, bit depth, bit rate, color space, chroma sampling, RGB luminance values, file formats, codecs, frame rate, dropped frames, embedded metadata, surround sound formats and channels, audio/video synchronization, multiple language audio and subtitle tracks, contrast ratio, stereoscopic layouts and viewing methods, or just what exactly; in terms of audio and movie playback?
…TV
Here is another mplayer based audio player
It has everything I need
Simple and stable.
Well, that looks like the one for you.
…TV
Sorry, but I gotta go with Guayadeque. I can’t believe more people aren’t familiar with it. It’s lightweight, attractive, and easy to use. It’s usually one of the first things that I install on a new OS.
Guayadeque is a music player. The Linux piece was aimed more at general purpose, audio and video media players. That said, there seems to be a positive buzz about Guayadeque, so you should enjoy it and spread the word.
…TV
I’m no expert on video players, but I thought VLC was very popular. Why is that not included in the list?
Mike,
You are absolutely correct, VLC makes one of the most popular media players. Not only for Linux, but Windows, Mac and several other operating systems. It is for that reason I left it off the list. I wanted to introduce readers to other brands that had particular focus on Linux, were high quality, but maybe not so visible. VLC is so well known, I believed people looking for a Linux media player would find VLC even if they weren’t trying. If this had been a top ten list, it would have been there. Thanks for the comment.
…TV
merci detre disponible
De rien.
How can I install realplayer on olpc xo-1. Thank you, you can reply me since my e-mail
Hi Deny,
We have sent an email which should help to resolve the problem, for further assistance please respond back to the email
Hello
I’m looking for the Real Player 11 download link for Linux 13 Maya distro. Pls help me. I’m unable to get the link here where I’m always directed while looking for .deb pacakge for the same.
Thank you in advance for your help & co-operation.
Hello Sky,
RealPlayer for Linux has been discontinued and is no longer supported. Archived copies are available for download in the Helix community:
https://player.helixcommunity.org/2005/downloads/
For help with Helix Universal Server, Helix Producer, RealSystem Server, RealSystem Producer, RealServer, RealProducer, and other content creation and delivery tools from RealNetworks, go to the Helix Help Center:
http://realnetworks.com/helix/streaming-media-support/