This tutorial will take you step by step through installing all of the software necessary to play rmvb (RealMedia Variable Bitrate) files in Ubuntu Linux.
Though the steps and screenshots are specific to Ubuntu, they will likely be similar for other versions of Linux. With that said, be sure to read the MPlayer README file if you’re not using Ubuntu. Similar to some of the other tutorials on Simplehelp, this is almost certainly not the only way to play .rmvb files in Ubuntu, but it’s the easiest way I could find. If you know of a easier method, by all means please feel free to leave a comment.
- The first step in playing .rmvb files in Ubuntu is to use the Synaptic Package Manager to install MPlayer. When you mark MPlayer for installation, you’ll be prompted to install additional software packages (if they’re not already installed).
- After MPlayer has been installed, exit out of the Synaptic Package Manager and visit the MPlayer binary codec download page. Download the codec package for your platform (for example, if you’re using a 32bit Intel or AMD processor, download the Linux x86 package).
Save the file to your desktop (or home folder). Once the download has completed, double-click that file. Select the folder to uncompress, and click the Extract button.
- Choose a location to extract the files (your desktop is ideal) and again click Extract.
- Make sure the files extracted correctly. They’ll be in a folder titled essential-date.
- Open up a Terminal by selecting Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal.
- Enter the following commands (and your password when prompted):
cd Desktop
cd essential-date
sudo mkdir /usr/lib/codecs
sudo cp * /usr/lib/codecs - NOTE: you may need to install libstdc++5 to get .rmvb files to play. Even though it might not be necessary for you, it can’t hurt to install (the package isn’t very big). Run the command: sudo apt-get install libstdc++5 in a Terminal, or use Synaptic and search for libstdc++5. Thanks to everyone who commented (see comments below) for the tip.
- Launch MPLayer by selecting Applications -> Sound & Video -> MPlayer Movie Player. Right-click in the Mplayer - Video window and select Preferences from the menu.
- Select the Video tab and change the Available drivers: to x11 X11 (XImage/Shm).
- Select the Codecs & demuxer tab and change the Video codec family: to RealVideo decoder and the Audio codec family: to FFmpeg/libavcodec audio decoders. When you’re done, click OK and close down MPlayer.
- Locate one of your .rmvb files, right-click it and select Properties.
- Select the Open With tab and change whatever the default is to MPlayer Movie Player. Click Close.
- Double-click any of your .rmvb files and they should open up in MPlayer and start playing.
{ 18 trackbacks }
{ 130 comments… read them below or add one }
W0o0 got mine to work!!
but i dont get what step 9 does…
Robby,
It changes the default codec (audio and video) for MPlayer. Without those changes, I was unable to get rmvb files to play. I’m not sure they’re 100% required for EVERY rmvb file, but I only had two to test with (and neither worked without the changes).
Cheers!
Ross
Thanks a lot. This tutorial is quit simple and yet very useful. Once again, thanks for your help.
hi i got a error message after following ur steps
“Mplayer interrrupted by signal 11 in module:init_audio_codec”
any suggestion to solve this will be appreciated
Great.. except putting the dummy fool’s picture in Mplayer.. Great thanks far apart from that!!
thank you very much!
Hi
I came across this page and successfully played all my media files using mplayer in ubuntu. today i tried reinstalling ubuntu and now when i installed mplayer as above, rmvb files dont play in mplayer. any idea what might be the problem? can you mail me any solution.
thanks a lot
Ravi
Hi
Thanks for the reply, its just that rmvb doesnt play, all others, wmv, avi, vob all play. what do you think might be the problem? i’m thinking to reinstall again.
Ravi
If you installed Ubuntu 7.10 and your mplayer can not play rmvb.
Try following steps,
1. Open Synaptic Package Manager.
2. Search libstdc++5 and install it.
3. Download new Codec from http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/dload.html and install it.
This is great… it just works… perfectly.
P.S: Im on Ubuntu Fiesty Fawn.
Thanks
Installing the libstdc++5 did it for me
Now im able to watch my rmvb files
Thank you! I’m using Feisty, and the tutorial worked.. MPlayer is now playing all my movie files with ease. I only have one issue.. when I go to fullscreen, my movies don’t resize, just the window does. Is this normal??
Ah-ha! Changed my video codec to xv and that fixed it. Lost some video quality, but hey.. what can you do?
;)! Thanks!
woot thanks for the tutorial, real helpful and straightforward.
Worked in Gusty Gibbon. It’s the first tutorial that I’ve followed and worked for me. Thanks a lot.
Just had to say “THANKS!” for this “HowTo”…. Worked 100% and really made a difference….. Now i’m gonna have to look around at the site to see what other gems reside within!
Thanks you for my daughter
Thanks! Great instructions - worked for me
why it doesn’t work? I’ve been followed the instruction(using gutsy gibon+5 repository), please help?
Yay, it works! Thanks so much!
For the newest version of MPlayer the default codec directory is /usr/lib/codecs. (Working with essential-20071007 and MPlayer-1.0rc2)
Thanks. Works like a charm
I still having problems with it even after installing libstdc++5 and redirect directory to “/usr/lib/codecs”. I got the error message “Cannot find codec matching selected -vo and video format 0×30345652″ and no video is played. Audio works normally though. Any ideas what went wrong? :s
cheer, awesome instruction!
instaling libstdc++5 make it is work..thanks
Thank you so much!
omega super helpful.
after following Ross and Vincent instruction…
everything works like magic.
Gracias!
I have followed what you showed up,BUT my mplayer still can not work properly….sos.
It works on my Ubuntu 7.10 The Gutsy Gibbon
thanks a lot.
Thank for the guide.
To the peopl who still have video problem but audio ok:
just cp (copy past) the codecs u have downloaded in a new folder called codecs in usr lib.
I have the problem mentioned above, audio but no video. And i cant cp the file as i don’t have permission. Can you please help me? thx.
Hey man! Thanks a lot! It worked.
By the way, here I use Kubuntu Gutsy Gibbon!
– Hey windows! I’m over you!
to Ashish on Jan 16, 2008
Try to drag and drop your rmvb file to mplay. Read all the comments above.
One more thing, in my case X11/Xv is all right; the X11(XImage/Shm) can play rmvb but cannot enlarge the video.
Thanks for this post!
Thank you.
Worked for me too, im Kubuntu 7.10
Thank you
It work on my Hardy(8.04) Beta. Thanks
Works fine, if you copy the files into “codecs”. Thanks a lot.
thank you very much!!!!
to stretch the video use driver gl (x11/OpenGl).
Nice Tutorial.
Thanks a lot!!! It works now
hey! thanks alot for this great tutorial.
I’m Using Ubuntu 8.04 final, and it didnt work out in the first place.
after installing libstdc++5 from synaptic
and copying the codecs to /usr/lib/codecs
everything worked fine!
(dont know which one of them made the difference, it probably has been only be the directory change)
Hi,
I’m using Ubuntu 8.04 and cannot play rmvb files. No images but sound in Mplayer. I wonder how you manage to play rmvb files? and after installing the libstdc++5 how to copy those codec to /usr/lib/codec ?
Thanks a lot!
I can’t believe people are still encoding in any sort of Real format. What is this, 1997?
Thanks v. much, worked a treat!
thanx it work for me…
gracias, funciono!!
thnks for tutorial.. its work when i made usr/lib/codecs..
im using ubuntu 8.04…
Thanks!!! After changing the directory to codecs and downloading the latest libstdc++5 it worked!!!!
I am using Ubuntu 8.04. I am able to play my rmvb files, but I can’t play them in full screen. How can I play them in full screen? Thanks.
^ Heroes
ThankY!!!
It worked perfect for me
thank you for this easy step-by-step guide
Ubuntu 7.10 64-bit
Thank you. Everything worked for me after I renamed /usr/lib/win32 to /usr/lib/codecs.
On Ubuntu 8.04,
you have to install libstdc++5 from synaptic
and copying the codecs to /usr/lib/codecs!!!
Great Tutorial!
Hi,
After following these steps, it plays the audio but the video could not be played, sometimes not even the audio!!
It throws an error message:
Cannot find codec matching selected -vo and video
format (hex address)
Or
Cannot find codec for audio format (hex address)
What could be the reason? Any possible solutions?
@Dhanuraj:
Take a look at the comments on the post - you probably just have to move the codecs to another folder, esp. if you’re using 8.04
sudo apt-get install libstdc++5
this is what you need if you can’t watch rmvb
by the way, when he asked you to copy the binary into /usr/lib/win32, instead copy everything from the folder you downloaded online into /usr/lib/codec
Cool! after installing libstdc++5, it works! Thank you ^v^
thanks a lot…
please change the tutorial to reflect the sudo cp * /usr/lib/codecs change.
Problem- “Cannot find codec matching selected -vo and video format 0×30345652″
Solution- Go to=> Synaptic package manager and search for win32 codec, then choose and select apply.
Works like a charm! Hardy 8.04 64-bit
THANKS!!!!!
Can’t tell you how much I needed this. I had tried everything, even installed RealPlayer for Linux, but it was only giving audio with no video…
@Kris
I had the same problem, but your suggestion worked flawlessly….I have fiesty too.
Thanks everyone.
for the latest version of ubuntu,mplayer and its codecs. I think libstdc++5 is essential for mplayer to play rmvb files. If you get libstdc++5 and create the codecs folder, it will work for sure:)
Thanks!
I have a different version of mplayer i think. in my preferences i dont have a tab for video. just audio, display and video :s
any suggestions?
works great!
Thanks guys, once I installed the libstdc++5 codec all was well.
sudo apt-get install libstdc++5
you don’t need mplayer only add more non-free plugins:
——————————————————
1.-open terminal
2.-sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/hardy.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list
3.-sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get update
4.-sudo apt-get install w32codecs
5.-sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2
—————————————————
this work in Ubuntu 8.04 “Hardy Heron”:
for other version check -> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu
that is good . merci
Thanks a lot. Work great. Dhanuraj just creat a directory /usr/lib/codec and copy all files from the folder essential-20071007 and install the library libstdc++5 that all
This isn’t working for me. I followed all the steps, but when i try to play a .rmvb file, I get an error message saying “Cannot find codec matching selected -vo and video format 0×30345652″. It then plays the soundtrack from the .rmvb file, but not the video…
great tutorial but the video play slowly. why? how can i fix it?
followed all the steps but MPlayer plays only the audio part of the clip not the video and gives error msg = Cannot find codes matching selected -vo and video format 0×30345652
Muy bueno el tutorial pero sin los comentarios no hubiera funcionado en mi ubuntu 8.04
Solo queda pendiente que no puedo ver pantalla completa. Por favor si alguien lo soluciono seria muy bueno que indique como. Gracias.
How creat a directory /usr/lib/codec and copy all files from the folder essential-20071007?
Change:
cd Desktop
cd essential-date
sudo mkdir /usr/lib/win32
sudo cp * /usr/lib/win32
To:
cd Desktop
cd essential-date
sudo mkdir /usr/lib/codecs
sudo cp * /usr/lib/codecs
Hi,
I am using ubuntu 8.10 beta version.
I have followed the above instructions but it’s not working for me, when i play the rmvb file I have the audio but there is no video and I get this error message:
Eroro:
**************
can not find codec matching selected -vo and video format 0×30345652.
Hi,
i got the reverse, did all that and i get video but no audio.
thank you so much!!!
i’m using Ubuntu 8.10
i did everything as you said except in Step 6 i used the following:
sudo mkdir /usr/lib/codecs
sudo cp * /usr/lib/codecs
and it works.
thanks again
I confirm changing step 6 to:
sudo mkdir /usr/lib/codecs
sudo cp * /usr/lib/codecs
Works in 8.10.
To get fullscreen use OpenGL.
Thanks very much for this tutorial, I really hate Realplayer.
Hi thanks guys,
In Ubuntu 8.10:
Follow Ross’ instructions. Replace /usr/lib/win32 with /usr/lib/codecs as Sergio pointed out.
It works instantly. Don’t have to do any further step.
I prefer download the real player available for linux, it’s sooo much easier, in formats of : deb, rpm and bin
http://www.real.com/linux
hi,
i downloaded and install RealPLayer for linux from real media home page (real.com).
it plays rmvb files smoothlry and successfully.
regards
vosime
Instructions work for me as well (using ubuntu 8.10 intrepid ibex) provided that:
(1) the installation directory is changed from /usr/lib/win32 to /usr/lib/codecs and
(2) that libstdc++5 is installed: sudo apt-get install libstdc++5
Thanks for the instructions!
/Jan
Thanks!
Thanks for the wonderful tutorial. Works for 8.10 Intrepid Ibex.
You rule!! It worked for me perfectly!!
Thank you very much! It worked! I’m amazed
How do you people know these things?
Thx a lot , it works!
thx a lot…..worked the first time around
–Ubuntu Hardy
thanks for the tutorial, but i am having a propblem:
when i try to open the synaptic, the messages appear:
E: dpkg was interrupted, you must manually run ‘dpkg –configure -a’ to correct the problem.
E: _cache->open() failed, please report.
i try to run on terminal the command, but it tells that I must be an superadministrator.
please help me out
@ cesar
type it way:
sudo dpkg –configure -a
sudo executes stuff with superuser rights (superuser do). Could be useful with other stuff but be extreme careful: one wrong command and your system is ******!!
Ehm, i’m new with ubuntu, i have hardy heron 64bit, which Binary Codec Packages should i download?
tx
thank a lot
@boris
it does not work
it appears that the option is unknown
anyway, thanks a lot for the help
I appreciated that
try it with an double hyphen before the configure. i think the blog software corrupted it to a bigger hyphen und the prog does not know that. or have you tried it already?
Awesome, works on Debian Etch. My mistake was to think that libstdc++6 will work. When I play the rmvb file I get “Mplayer interrrupted by signal 11 in module:init_audio_codec”. You need to specifically use libstdc++5. Thanks for the tutorial!
great guide, however I don’t need to change anymore settings on Mplayer anymore, which means I can play rmvb after step 6 or 7
I tried sudo apt-get install libstdc++5, but it doesn’t work.
at the end of all the warnings/errors
it says
The following packages have unmet dependencis:
libstdc++5: Depends: gcc-3.3-base (>= 1:3.3.6-15ubuntu4) but it is not installable
E: Broken packages
I am trying to do this on my PS3 with 8.10
Got it working finally !
had to install the gcc-3.3-base package first
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/intrepid/powerpc/gcc-3.3-base/1:3.3.6-15ubuntu4
after installing this file, then I could install the libstdc++5
then voila, Mplayer can play rmvb
but as somebody mentioned above, when I tried to see it in full screen using OpenGL, the video is stuttering like crazy. Anyway of solving that?
This is running on my PS3.
Hey thanks for the tip!
However when double clicking the videos, I also couldn’t play them in full screen mode as reported Stephanie and An_hin.
However I noticed that when opening the files through the console
>mplayer myvideo.rmvb [enter]
mplayer can resize the video correctly. Wonder if this is a bug in the graphical-user-interface =/
Regards
I take that back, it is not a bug.
You fix that by adding “zoom=true” to the file $HOME\ .mplayer/config
example:
>cat $HOME/.mplayer/config
# Write your default config options here!
zoom=yes
>
regards
thank you cperez
i typed: echo “zoom=yes” >> ~/.mplayer/config
to terminal, and it worked
but the video was stuttering too badly once in full screen.
So now I need to figure out how to make my PS3 play rmvb in full screen smoother.
Thank u very much, the tutorial was very simple. I really appreciate your help!!
a very big thank you to you. i tried your way and after months of toiling to get .rm working, i am now able to watch my shows.
though, the step 9 # Select the Video tab and change the Available drivers: to x11 X11 (XImage/Shm). worked but so well that if the pixels are small, even in full screen mode, the video size will remain small unless changed to x11 X11/Xv where full screen worked for me. the quality depletes but being able to see the video is better than nothing at all.
once again thank you.
Thank you very much it work for me very good, althought other options is install realplayer http://www.real.com/linux, but it is not available for 64 bits.
Hi guys,
I have tried it, it successfully plays the video. However, it has no sound. When I double click on the video it says
“could not open initialize/audio device -> no sound”
Can anybody help ?
Thanks,
Applauses! * * *
Mille Merci! It’s working!
found an easier way, it’s to download real player for linux. http://www.real.com and look for the version for linux….suits a layman like me
Obrigado.
thank you very much. it is working !
Nice tutorial it works with CentOS 5.2
(keep in mind 64bit MPlayer requires /usr/lib64/codecs)
Thanks alot!!
Hey man.. thanks..
it works
wow this is amazing really works!
Thanks! It worked for me!
peace for you all guys
thanks very much for this information ….. it work properly . but I have a query >>>>>> all movie with *rmvb is working but in small window and I can’t resize it or make it large so what I ganna to do ……
thanks again
Hi Ahmed,
The answer to youur problem is written by cperez =).
regards
Thanks!
:) 
You are the best!!!!
thanks. worked on debian etch after installing the codecs in the specified directory and installing libstdc++5 with aptitude, then choosing the xv/x11 video driver and alsa audio in the preferences menu. changing the audio/video codecs didn’t make any noticeable difference.
Oi!
Depois de tanto pesquisar, enfim consegui instalar os codecs para ler os filmes com extensão .rmvb, graças as dicas fornecidas aqui neste site. Parabéns! E muito obrigado!
Abraços!
George Bush…really?
But otherwise …awesome!! Thanks!
me funciono perfecto en hardy, baje los codecs los instale, instale la libreria q faltaba y anduvo sin ningun otro cambio.. gracias!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thank you so much
this is an excellent step by step guide and although i freaked out at one point it was simple and easy to follow
it gives me an error saying
cannot find codec matching selected -vo and video format 0×30345652
I think I’m the 10000th person who make comment in this post:D
But God Bless you man. It helps me a lot.
Now I can watch my copy (I’m sorry that is an illegal copy) Of jomung tv series with ubuntu linux.
thank you so much
i did all of this but mplayer isnt in my applications :S
THANKS A LOOOT!, it works
Leave a Comment