hey there oldcpu, thanks for the reply!

i do have libdvdread3 installed, but when i search the repositories for w32codec-all, i can't find one. can't find one by googling it either so i'm guessing maybe there isn't one for the ppc architecture??? if somebody knows of one, please let me know.

anyway, following some advice PMed to me by verxa, i checked and libxine1 was not installed. i installed it and upgraded kaffeine and totem to the latest versions, and everything is working now i am glad to say.

you guys have come through for me again!!! i really do thank you for your help. this community is great!

-dan

p.s. oldcpu, that other link you gave me about openSUSE in general was excellent reading.