VLC player wont play AVI or MP4

Question

I'm brand new to Ubuntu (and linux all together). I just installed Ubuntu 12.10 on my Lenovo S10e, and I'm trying to play movies that I loaded from my external HD onto the netbook. I've tried 4 different files, but none are working in either the standard Ubuntu video player or VLC. The only thing that shows up is the VLC cone in the display window.

I have no idea if the graphics driver was installed or not, and if it wasnt I dont know how to do that in Ubuntu.

I have 1.5gb of ram installed, so I doubt thats the issue. Anyways, i'm not very computer saavy, but I'd appreciate any help. Thanks you in advance.

Solution

Avi and MP4 are proprietary formats, so you need to install the Ubuntu Restricted Extras. From the description of the package: "[Installs] Commonly used applications with restricted copyright (mp3, avi, mpeg, TrueType, Java, Flash, Codecs)"

Open the Ubuntu Software Center and search "Ubuntu Restricted Extras"

Comments

[belacqua]

See askubuntu.com/questions/9096/… and help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats