Getting more codecs for eeepc

One thing that I could not do with a eeepc is play mp4 files. The solution to this was to install a codec pack. It adds codecs to mplayer.

There is a guide at eeepc user. For those who are too lazy to even google it, I will quickly rehash the procedure to save you a mouse click (I really do have too much time).

Why have a codec pack added to your eeepc?
Raw video (or music in fact is huge) so codecs are used to compress the file into a smaller size (codec in fact means compressor decompressor) to save space. There are different types of codecs and eeepc player does not have them all. Therefore to play specific files, you have to get a codec pack.

Adding codec pack

1. Need a working internet connection.

2. Open up a terminal window (press Control + Alt + T )

3. In console, type "sudo /usr/share/mplayer/scripts/binary_codecs.sh install" without quotes. To copy and paste, right click copy and in the terminal window, press the scoller button on the mouse down.

4. Wait for the downloads to finish downloading which depends on speed of connection.

5- You are done. Try your multimedia file to see if it works.

h264 codec missing
Apparently, the newer version of mplayer in Xandros (eeepc linux operating system) does not support the h264 codec. To get this functionality back, mplayer must be downgraded.

Downgrading Mplayer so it supports h264
**Proceed with caution**. This process may cause problems in your eeepc. If you want to continue, here are the steps (taken from eeepcuser.com)

1. Open up a terminal window (press Control + Alt + T )
2. Type in the terminal window sudo kwrite /etc/apt/sources.list
3. Add the following to the file: deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian/ etch main non-free contrib
**If the above repository is not working, give this one a try: deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org etch main
4. Save changes to the file
5.Back in the terminal, type "sudo aptitude update" without quotes
6.Then type "sudo aptitude install mplayer=1.0~rc1-12etch5" without quotes.

To play rmvb files on eeepc

1. Download the codecs files for rmvb (real media video) files and save it a known directory.

2. Right click the file and select Extract All.

3. Type in the following lines in terminal (should know how to open terminal by now)

cd /{insert directory name}/essential-date
sudo mkdir /usr/lib/codecs/
sudo cp * /usr/lib/codecs/

4. You are done.