Install VLC on Xubuntu 11.10

Xubuntu's default media player is Parole, but two important features were missing (load subtitles from custom location and play remote files via samba)  so I installed VLC.


Parole is based on the GStreamer framework and focus on simplicity, speed and resource usage. Parole is also part of the XFCE Goodies Project.

In my experience Parole is a great media player, however I noticed two problems that led to VLC installation:
  • Detection of subtitle files: my subtitle files usually are in 'Subtitles' directory. Parole doesn't look for them in that directory and there isn't a option to set the path where parole should look for subtitles.
  • Unable to play remote files: I often mount a samba share and play video files from that remote location, but Parole (version 0.2.0.6 at the time of writing) doesn't support that feature.

On the other hand VLC is rich in functionality and supports these two features.

To install VLC open a terminal windows and type sudo apt-get install vlc, or click on the button bellow to install it from your browser:

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