• Ubuntu

  There are a variety of plugins that allow you to play streaming video in your browser. The recommended plugin is the package called xine-plugin. First, install the Windows Codecs, then install the plugin using Synaptic Package Manager or using the command line.

• Kubuntu

  This is not needed for Konqueror; Kubuntu comes with a plugin by default.

Real Media

• Following the instructions above should enable most media players (such as Totem and Kaffeine) to play RealMedia files but if you wish to set up Realplayer to be the default application to open RealMedia file types:

• Ubuntu

  • Use the File Manager to navigate to a folder containing a sample RealMedia file. Click the file with the right mouse button, select Properties, and then the tab Open With. Click the radio button next to RealPlayer 10, and close the dialog window.

• Kubuntu

  • Open Konqueror, and select Configure Konqueror in the Settings menu. Navigate to the File Associations section using the side bar, Then type rm in the Find Filename Pattern box. Select the known type labelled vnd.rn-realmedia And add Real Player 10 to the top of the Application Preference Order dialogue.

• Note About Streaming Video

  • RealPlayer supports streaming RealMedia files slightly better than other players (for example, those which use the Xine engine). These players generally cannot skip forwards and backwards through streams or resume after pausing, which can be a problem if the connection is dropped temporarily as the file will have to be started again from the beginning. There is a simple solution to this if you want to use your regular media players like Totem or Kaffeine:

  • Install the package streamripper

  • Download a streaming "video" file (actually these are text files containing the online location of the stream)

  • Open a terminal and run the command: streamripper $(cat filename.rm) , which will start to download the video stream onto your filesystem.

This command will repeat itself once finished, so once the first line saying ripping has finished and another appears you can stop the program by pressing Ctrl-C. By default the downloaded file will be called Streamripper_rips/incomplete/ - .mp3. Don't pay attention to the MP3 filename, since Ubuntu recognises files by their actual content rather than the name. Open this in a player which supports RealMedia files and it will no longer be streaming from the Internet, meaning you can pause, resume and skip forwards and backwards as much as you want.