While trying to play DVDs in mplayer I do not get any sound or subtitles (well, garbled subtitles that look something like: |…]). I just installed all of the codecs, and checked with some other posts about installing certain versions of libs (say, from packman and not vlc). Similarly, I only receive the video in totem. I installed Kaffeine in yast, but bizarrely cannot open it. At any rate, I’m most interested in mplayer as I read it supports subtitles, and at least is playing the video for now.
Sound works great with other video formats.
The following info is often requested for sound issues, hopefully it is helpful in this case as well.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Thanks for all the info. While I look at / digest that, can you also provide the output of:
rpm -qa | grep layer
rpm -q libffmpeg0
rpm -q libdvdcss2
rpm -q kaffeine
rpm -qa | grep xine
rpm -q w32codec-all
… so that we can see what versions of the various applications you are using? I don’t specifically know which (if any) of those will yield definitive information … Currently I’m just trying to understand the scope of the problem.
Also, are you using gnome, kde3 or kde4 ?
How did you install openSUSE-11.0 ? Was it a clean install ? Did you keep the /home partition from a previous openSUSE install ?
You could try a custom edit to your /etc/modprobe.d/sound file, and that might give you superior mix options and/or superior mic control, although frankly I do not believe configuring alsa is the problem you have. From what I can see, autodetect of alsa worked fine with your thinkpad. Still, if you wish to try, to modify your /etc/modprobe.d/sound file, change it to:
However my suspicion is you have an incorrect app installed, or a bad install of a critical app, that is affecting your sound codec.
Also, some audio players, when playing back audio from a CD or DVD, are sensitive to one’s hardware (ie is there a cable connecting one’s DVD player to one’s sound circuitry). The work around for that is to look for a setting in one’s video player for analog and digital audio, and try those different settings.
I just re-installed OpenSuSE-11.0 yesterday … I was surprised that after the new installation, the password from the 1st installation (this is time #3) was still saved for my keyring. The home partitions from my previous 2 installations are saved. So it seems very possible there are some remnant settings floating about that I’ve been trying to escape.
Thank you for the suggestions regarding the /etc/modprobe.d/sound file. I changed it and will test out the microphone (actually, the mic wasn’t working before the re-install, I will check that now too).
With the old sound file settings it gave me an error.
With the new sound file, it records, but only records silence… I’ll finish looking through your other posts about mic issues though and worry about dvds first.
This could be a mixer setting. You could provide a screen print of your various mixer settings. I confess, I’m not familiar with gnome as I use kde (with kmix) so I do not know if I would spot an incorrectly configured gnome mixer setting. You could run the diagnostic script again (that you ran earlier) and post here the new URL for that (with you new /etc/modprobe.d/sound file in place) as that script gives a GREAT mixer summary.
That is always a possibility. Typically, configuration files for a user for a media player are stored under /home/username/.somehidden directory.
For example, on my PC under mplayer under /home/oldcpu/.mplayer/ one method for me to check for setting problems on my PC is to go back to the install default configuration. If I wanted, on my PC I could do this for mplayer by renaming /home/oldcpu/.mplayer/ to /home/oldcpu/.mplayer-old/ Then when I next start mplayer, it will re-create /home/oldcpu/.mplayer/ with the old settings. If I did not like the new default, I could restore the renamed directory “mplayer-old” back to “mplayer”.
Don’t forget to check the digital/analog audio play back settings, like I suggested.
I notice you do not have smplayer installed. I highly recommend you install that application, and use it as a front end to mplayer. SMPlayer - General Info
I confess I have always installed libdvdcss2 from videolan. I have libdvdcss2-1.2.9-1 which appears older than what you have installed. However my audio works with no problem. But having typed that, my current view is you are not experiencing a libdvdcss2 problem.
I’m leaning toward this being a hardware quirk, and you need to check your analog/digital settings in your media player(s) of choice.
I installed smplayer, and without changing anything else the sound works fine. Thanks! Subtitles appear to be very fickle and incomprehensible though. I got them to appear for a moment, but no amount of further prodding has made them visible again (on the same dvd).
As for the microphone. I didn’t see a built-in mixer in Gnome (unless I’m deeply missing something). I just installed aumix and saw that the mic levels were at 0… so that was easy to alter. I’ll surf around some more to see what other options I have to control the sound…a gui with sliding levels seems more appropriate.
I’ve got a similar problem…and reading these solutions I’m left in ‘wrist slashing mode’ My hat!!! How do are we supposed to understand all this when the package is supposed to be a simple user-friendly operation. It’s like hunting for a needle in a haystack and even then you’ve got to know what a needle looks like
Is there a manual anywhere around for this cumbersome otherworldly OS?
I so no difference in the mic levels in the script output you provided.
Does gnome use alsamixer?
I had already put the mic levels back to 0 when I gave that script output (so it wouldn’t constantly be giving audio feedback). I made successful test recordings though.
I downloaded ‘alsamixergui’ from yast, but it only provided levels for ‘main’ and ‘input’, and I could only manipulate the main levels (even though ‘input’ was unlocked). It didn’t look like the screenshots I had seen of ‘alsamixer’ elsewhere. Aumix works well enough for my purposes–really just to turn the mic on and off–and I can change the main levels from the volume control already in gnome’s dock.
The subtitles should work with smplayer.
They worked for a moment, but it definitely wasn’t as simple as clicking on ‘subtitles’ and having them appear. I fiddled with the settings for several minutes and then they appeared. When I moved the tracker to a different place in the film, they disappeared. I got them back again after 5 or so minutes of ‘fiddling’, but I didn’t see any rhyme or reason to what made them appear or disappear. Eventually advancing the tracker made the subtitles disappear again. I’ll see if it poses problems when I actually intend to view a dvd all the way through though.
At any rate, thanks again for helping me resolve the sound issues!
To MadOldBloke,
I’m always amazed that I can ask a specific question and usually within the day (or just in a few hours), someone will have responded with useful information and instructions. I feel I learn a great deal by following these instructions; even if I don’t necessarily understand all of the output I’m providing, I glean useful concepts from the procedures. This thread has been very useful for me, for instance: I can use my microphone, and view dvds now! There might be a small problem with the subtitles, but I’ll look into that. For now, I’m pleased as punch.
My hat!!! How do are we supposed to understand all this when the package is supposed to be a simple user-friendly operation. It’s like hunting for a needle in a haystack and even then you’ve got to know what a needle looks like