EasyCodecInstallation

Differences between revisions 6 and 8 (spanning 2 versions)
⇤ ← Revision 6 as of 2006-03-23 23:57:00 →
Size: 4833
Editor: 66-188-77-153
Comment: moved from RestrictedFormats, needs some reworking, will revise in a few hours
← Revision 8 as of 2006-03-24 14:55:32 → ⇥
Size: 4505
Editor: cai17
Comment: doh, optional plugins should be unchecked by default
Deletions are marked like this. Additions are marked like this.
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 * rhythmbox
 * sound-juicer
 * totem
 * any other gstreamer app		 All gstreamer applications
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'''1)''' This assistant appears on an as-needed basis, and may also be presented by an application's first run if all supported plugins are not installed. This assistant appears on an as-needed basis, and may also be presented by an application's first run if all supported plugins are not installed.
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'''2)''' The dialog should appear as follows when connected to the internet Bracketed items below are either buttons or conditional text which varies based on if a user is:
 * online
 * a member of the group admin
 * starting a program or trying to perform an action
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''This application supports the following multimedia formats through the use of plugins.'' ''This application [supports the following multimedia formats through the use of plugins/requires the following plugins to [run / play this file / compress this file / whatever]][, which you are unable to install. Start [program] as an adminstrative user to install these plugins].''
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''Certain countries have laws making the installation of these plugins illegal. _link_ may help in determining what steps, if any, must be taken by you to legally install these plugins in your jurisdiction.'' [''Certain countries have laws making the installation of these plugins illegal. _link_ may help in determining what steps, if any, must be taken by you to legally install these plugins in your jurisdiction.'']
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''[radio] Install these multimedia plugins''

''[radio] Do not install these plugins''

     ''[checkbox] Disable this assistant for all non-administrative users of this computer''
''[radio, default] Ask me again later		 || Plugin || Install || Read Licence ||
||Quicktime Audio || [checkbox, checked / browse button if offline] || [read licence] ||
||Quicktime Video || [checkbox, checked / browse button if offline] || [read licence] ||
|| || Optional Plugins || ||
||Quicktime Audio || [checkbox, unchecked / browse button if offline] || [read licence] ||
||Quicktime Audio || [checkbox, unchecked / browse button if offline] || [read licence] ||
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'''5)''' The dialog appears as follows when not connected to the internet ''[[checkbox] Disable this assistant for all non-administrative users of this computer'']]
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''This application supports MP3, DVD, DivX and other popular multimedia formats through the use of plugins.'' ''[checkbox] Ask me again next time I run [program]''
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''If you wish to install these plugins, run this application again while connected to the internet.'' ''[[continue, grayed until all required entries are checked/located] [cancel]]''
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'''6)''' If the user clicks on "Cancel", the dialog should close and the application should not ran. If password authentication is failed for a user, the dialog will not cancel, but ''ask me again'' will be checked'
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'''7)''' If the user clicks on "OK" and the install option is selected, the assistant should add a dapper-updates-patent repository, run update manager to install the appropriate plugins, and then run the application initially launched.

'''8)''' This is not an application-specific dialog, it will appear to any user at most twice, only once if the internet is accessible on the first run unless they leave the Ask me again later option, at which case they will be asked again the next time they run the program.

'''9)''' If password authentication is failed for a user, the dialog will default back to 'Ask me again later'

'''10)''' The disable this assistant checkbox will be disabled unless the Do not install radio option is selected.

RobJCaskey: Please note, some valuable comments were taken into consideration in production of this revision. Please see the page history. It would be much appreciated if origonal contributors would update their comments and place them here, but not inline in the proposal.		 The disable this assistant option will disable the assistant for all applications and all non-administrative users.
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1. All non free codecs need to be split into individual packages on a licence-by-licence basis with the existing by package replaced by a metapackage.

Summary

Messages about unsupported gstreamer formats are currently unhelpful. This utility assists users in installing the packages needed to use those formats.

Use cases

  • Frederic is a new Linux user on DSL. He attempts to open an mp3 file through a gstreamer application and receives an assistant to help him download and install the needed codecs.

  • Vincent, also new to Linux, is not on the internet. He attempts to open a QuickTime file and is given a different assistant with instructions on how to download the files he needs from an official Ubuntu mirror, and an offer to locate file if he already has a copy handy.

Scope

All gstreamer applications

Design

This assistant appears on an as-needed basis, and may also be presented by an application's first run if all supported plugins are not installed.

Bracketed items below are either buttons or conditional text which varies based on if a user is:

  • online
  • a member of the group admin
  • starting a program or trying to perform an action

This application [supports the following multimedia formats through the use of plugins/requires the following plugins to [run / play this file / compress this file / whatever]][, which you are unable to install. Start [program] as an adminstrative user to install these plugins].

[Certain countries have laws making the installation of these plugins illegal. _link_ may help in determining what steps, if any, must be taken by you to legally install these plugins in your jurisdiction.]

Plugin

Install

Read Licence

Quicktime Audio

[checkbox, checked / browse button if offline]

[read licence]

Quicktime Video

[checkbox, checked / browse button if offline]

[read licence]

Optional Plugins

Quicktime Audio

[checkbox, unchecked / browse button if offline]

[read licence]

Quicktime Audio

[checkbox, unchecked / browse button if offline]

[read licence]

checkbox] Disable this assistant for all non-administrative users of this computer''

[checkbox] Ask me again next time I run [program]

continue, grayed until all required entries are checked/located] [cancel

If password authentication is failed for a user, the dialog will not cancel, but ask me again will be checked'

The disable this assistant option will disable the assistant for all applications and all non-administrative users.

Implementation

1. All non free codecs need to be split into individual packages on a licence-by-licence basis with the existing by package replaced by a metapackage.

Code

Data preservation and migration

Outstanding issues

BoF agenda and discussion

Suggestions from VideoPlaybackRoadmap

ATM, when you try to play an unhandled video with totem, it tells you that he cannot found the corresponding plugin. What I suggest he must do is :

- Tell you what format you are trying to view and what plugin you need. - If available with apt-get, it must suggest "Install this plugin now", so you can install the corresponding plugin in one click. - If not available via apt-get for known issues (patents), it must explain why it is not avalaible and offer a "click here to know more" that send you to a page on this wiki (or on the website), telling you how to install w32codecs, libdvdcss, ... (it can perhaps download and install it automatically after asking you if you are in a country with software patents)

Another way is to have a standalone application that manage gstreamer plugins

- What about developing "dummy" plugins which somehow trigger the display of a message explaining the problem? It could be possible to have fake libraries which either play beck an audio clip or video clip (these things are either decoding audio, video, or both) with directions as to what the problem is, and the individual plugin packages could simply obsolete the dummy plugins / libraries... It seems reasonable to assume that the user will have sound support if he's trying to play back a sound file, and video support if he's trying to play back a video file.

CategorySpec

EasyCodecInstallation (last edited 2008-08-06 16:27:02 by localhost)