For Ubuntu and Linux users, there are many media players to choose from. In fact, it’s pretty easy to fine a decent one just by searching Google or visiting popular open-source download sites. The problem is, you can’t install them all, so you must choose the best one that will satisfy your needs.
Here are some of the popular open-source media players for Linux users: VLC Media Player, KMPlayer, SMPlayer, SPlayer, UMPlayer, MPlyaer and a lot more that we didn’t list. How would you choose which one would you go with?
For me personally, I like to install the fewest packages or software to accomplish my goals. What I mean is, if I am looking for a media player, I would pick a single package or software that offers the most benefits.
I look for a packages that are not just good at one thing, but many functions. When searching for good media player, you should also look at whether the player works across different platforms, whether it’s portable, has strong support and customizable.
Based on the criteria above, only a few media players that will be left standing, and the best maybe VLC Media Player. VLC is like a Swiss army knife of media players and it doesn’t come with Ubuntu, Windows or Mac OS X by default.
If you want it, you must install it yourself. For Windows and Mac OS X, visit its download page and get it.
In Ubuntu, you can get it by running the following commands.
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install vlc browser-plugin-vlc
To set VLC as the default media player in Ubuntu, click the gear to the top right menu bar and select System Settings. When System Settings opens, select Details –> Default Applications and set it there for Audio and Video.
To configure default programs in Windows, check this post out.
Hope this helps.
Enjoy!
