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Georgios
Asked: 2018-12-26 08:44:28 +0800 CST

Cannot play *.mp4 - files in Ubuntu 18.10

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I had several tutorial videos stored on my computer, I could run them all, while Ubuntu 16.04.was installed.
Since I have installed Ubuntu 18.10, it is not possible to play any video. I always get the message: File cannot be played, H264-Decoder is necessary.
In the Ubuntu Wiki can't find a solution.
Can someone help? Please!

video h264

4 Answers

  1. Have you tried installing the restricted extras package? That normally covers most non-free media formats.

    The command to use is:

    sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras

    Full instructions here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats

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  2. Install VLC it comes with all the codecs you need.

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  3. The media player that comes with Ubuntu is unable to read *.mp4 files, so you have to install a media player that can read these special codecs, I suggest VLC.
    To install it,
    method 1:
    run the following command from the terminal: sudo apt install vlc
    method 2:
    open ubuntu software (press the Windows button then type 'ubuntu software' in the search bar) then search for VLC and install it.

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  4. Support to decode MPEG-4 AAC is provided by gstreamer1.0-libav and to decode H.264 there is ffmpeg:

    sudo apt-get install gstreamer1.0-libav ffmpeg

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