How to install multimedia codecs on Fedora 22/23

By | May 25, 2023

Multimedia Codecs

Installing multimedia codecs would allow you to play more audio and video formats than what you Fedora system can play using free tools.

Most of these codecs are proprietary and non free which Fedora does not include. In order to install these, you need to add some extra repositories and install.

1. Setup RPMFusion repository

The rpmfusion repository provides lots of software and apps that are not present the Fedora repositories for a number of reasons.

The instructions for setting up the rpmfusion repository are available at http://rpmfusion.org/Configuration.

Fedora 22/23 users just need to run the following command -

su -c 'dnf install http://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm http://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm'

Now we are ready to install various multimedia codecs and apps.

2. Install gstreamer plugins and ffmpeg

The gstreamer framework is used by many media players like Totem, Banshee etc. Installing codec plugins for gstreamer enables all those players to play additional audio/video formats.

Installing is easy. Just run the following command and it would be done -

sudo dnf install gstreamer1-plugins-base gstreamer1-plugins-good gstreamer1-plugins-ugly gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free gstreamer1-plugins-bad-freeworld gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free-extras ffmpeg

3. Install VLC Player

VLC player is a very powerful video player that is capable of playing almost all popular video formats. It is available from the rpmfusion repository. Install using the dnf command

$ sudo dnf install vlc

Rpmfusion contains many other video players like Smplayer that you can install.

4. Install libdvdcss

Libdvdcss enables media players to play encrypted dvds. It is not available from the rpmfusion repo.

First setup this repository

sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo=http://negativo17.org/repos/fedora-handbrake.repo

Now install libdvdcss

$ sudo dnf install libdvdcss

5. Install Handbrake

Handbrake is a video converter utility that can convert videos from one format to another. It is also available from the negativo17 repository. So just install using the dnf command

$ sudo dnf install HandBrake-gui

Yes, the H and B are in caps.

Conclusion

Now your system should be capable of playing most popular video and audio formats. If you face any issues while installing the above, feel free to comment below.

https://handbrake.fr/ - Handbrake video converter

About Silver Moon

A Tech Enthusiast, Blogger, Linux Fan and a Software Developer. Writes about Computer hardware, Linux and Open Source software and coding in Python, Php and Javascript. He can be reached at [email protected].

8 Comments

How to install multimedia codecs on Fedora 22/23
  1. ed

    For the love of God , why people use old laggy buggy Vlc is beyond me. Just install SMPLAYER and be done with it . Plays more than Vlc (tested), plays smoother than Vlc, and plays less glitchy. You welcome !

    1. Tom

      Not everyone wants to install smtube, QT5, and mplayer just to watch some videos on smplayer. VLC works fine, just use it.

  2. Christian Bueno

    Hello , one question , in the second section ( 2. Install gstreamer plugins and ffmpeg )
    there is repeated twice.
    there is
    dnf install … gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free
    Can we rid of one?

    1. Eri

      To install VLC you should install rpmfusion repository first like the tutorial indicates. Otherwise you will not be able to find the package.

      1. Dean

        You will also need to run sudo dnf update first i believe. Then run sudo dnf install vlc. But you shouldn’t need vlc anyway. Totem or Videos as it’s now known is pretty good these days.

        And as stated in a previous comment mplayer is a little cooler than vlc :]

  3. Albert

    why are there two gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free? first I thought this was a mistake until I noticed the same thing on another sites instructions.

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