Playing restricted media formats in Ubuntu 10.04 and (Lucid Lynx) and 9.10 (Karmic Koala)

Ubuntu strives to make all software that meets the licensing terms in the Ubuntu License Policy available. However patent and copyright restrictions complicate...

Blah, Blah, Blah. While Ubuntu makes playback of non-proprietary media formats a snap, additional steps are required to enable the more widely used formats including MP3, WMA and others.

Method 1

1. From the desktop, launch a new terminal session by selecting: Applications > Accessories > Terminal. A new terminal window will display.
2. At the prompt (the blinking cursor), type: sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras then press Enter.
3. When prompted, type the sudo password then press Enter.
4. Once installation is complete, you will have the ability to play all of your favorite proprietary media files.

Method 2

1. Click here to install the ubuntu-restricted-extras package
2. When prompted, click to open the link with apturl and install the package automatically.