We rounded up five that offer a bevy of useful features: There are dozens and dozens of Linux media players. Go check out the latest funny videos in RealPlayer to cheer you up. Implementing A Linux Player Got You Down?
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. Many Linux OS’ and players will not recognize or block proprietary software. Since Linux is open-source and free, using proprietary file formats and codecs can be challenging. Some perform better on certain Linux OS variants than others. This has an impact in selecting the right media player. The open-source flexibility of the Linux OS provides developers with the opportunity to create multiple variations of the OS.
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. 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.įor the most part, a Linux media player does the same thing any other media player does: Play audio and video. Just like everyone else they want to listen to music and watch video on their Linux desktop. Overall, Rhythmbox is not just GNOME’s default music player, it is also a very good, standalone music organizer and playback application that works well on any other open source desktop environment.Linux may not be the most popular desktop Operating System (OS), but it definitely has a dedicated group of supporters. Under the hood, we can mention that the application’s GUI is written with the GTK+ tookit, which means that it works well with other GTK-based desktop environments, such as Unity (Ubuntu), Xfce, Cinnamon, MATE, or LXDE. Under the hood and supported desktop environments Furthermore, the panel entry provides users with quick access to the application’s preferences and plugins.Īmong the included functionality provided by the built-in plugins, we can mention support for recording Audio-CDs, support for FM radio broadcasting services, instant messenger integration, remote control support, song lyrics, Zeitgeist integration, and support for Magnatune. It also also includes a plugin architecture that makes enhances the app’s functionality.Īdditionally, you can also enable or disable the side pane, song position slider, status bar, follow playing track, and album art. In addition, the application comes with support for the Libre.fm and Last.fm music platforms, dedicated import functionality, as well as support for podcasts. If using Rhythmbox under GNOME, you can click on its panel entry to change its look by enabling the party mode or move the Play Queue in a separate container in the side pane.
The view mode of the software can be easily customized. It comprises a music browser, searching and sorting functionality, Internet radio support, play queue and playlists. It provides users with a graphical user interface (GUI) that is both familiar (iTunes-like) and easy to use.
If not, users can easily install it separately from the default software repositories of their distribution.
The software will come preinstalled on every fresh installation the GNOME desktop, under any Linux-based operating system. It is powered by the well know GStreamer multimedia framework.
Rhythmbox is an open source music playing application designed to be distributed along with the GNOME desktop environment.