When download and install a copy of Ubuntu, including Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail, there are some packages that are left out because of legal reasons. Canonical, the parent company of the Ubuntu distribution must abide by these terms and remove these packages when they make Ubuntu available to the public.
Some of these packages that are left out are required by other programs that allow you watch videos or play online flash movies from your browser. Without these required packages, your machine will not be able to play most media like MP3s, DVD videos and flash.
There’s a way to get around it and it requires you to download and install the missing packages. Canonical made them available but it’s up to you whether you want to install them or not. When you install them, it means you agree to the licensing terms and agreement and that you’ll be held responsible should there be a problem. So, if you still want these packages, then read on, I’ll show you how to install them.
To install these packages, press Ctrl – Alt – T on your keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the commands below to install the package called, Ubuntu-Restricted-Extras
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras
Install the above package will get you half-way there. You’ll be certainly be able to watch online flash videos and play other media formats like MP3s and MP4s. If you want to play some commercial DVDs and others that are encrypted, you must install the packages below.
sudo apt-get install libdvdread4
Next, run the commands below
sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh
That’s it! You should now be able to play almost all popular media formats are there.
If that still doesn’t work, you may have to purchase a package called Fluendo DVD Player. This program is designed to help users play DVDs on Linux systems, including Ubuntu. It supports full DVD playback, DVD menu, full screen and subtitles.
It can be downloaded @ https://apps.ubuntu.com/cat/applications/fluendo-dvd/
Enjoy!
