SDB:Installing codecs from Packman repositories

Situation

You need to play online or offline multimedia content but the content does not want to play or shows errors. Usually this is a sign of missing codecs: install these packages from Packman to play most music and video:

• ffmpeg
• gstreamer-plugins-good
• gstreamer-plugins-bad
• gstreamer-plugins-libav
• gstreamer-plugins-ugly
• libavcodec-full
• vlc-codecs

You can get them using Zypper, opi or YaST.

Solution

Option 1: OBS Package Installer

opi (Open Build Service Package Installer) works on both Leap and Tumbleweed, and is the easiest way to install community packages and the codecs:

sudo zypper install opi
opi codecs

Option 2: Zypper

If you have not already done so, use the following commands to add all of the third-party Packman repository (Packman Essentials is included), according to your installed openSUSE version:

Tumbleweed:

sudo zypper addrepo -cfp 90 'https://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/misc/packman/suse/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/' packman

Leap:

sudo zypper addrepo -cfp 90 'https://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/misc/packman/suse/openSUSE_Leap_$releasever/' packman

Then, install the desired codecs by first refreshing your local repository database and allowing vendor change for the required packages (consider reading Vendor change). The vendor change step will switch already installed packages to the ones provided by Packman. For example, PipeWire from Packman is compiled with aptX support.

sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper dist-upgrade --from packman --allow-vendor-change
sudo zypper install --from packman ffmpeg gstreamer-plugins-{good,bad,ugly,libav} libavcodec-full vlc-codecs

Omit vlc-codecs if you don't plan on using the VideoLAN Client (VLC).

Option 3: YaST

1. Open YaST, then click Software Repositories.

2. Click Add (in the bottom left), then select Community Repositories.

3. Select Packman Repository, then click OK.

4. Go to the YaST Control Center and click Software Management.

5. View > Repositories > Packman Repository.

6. Click "Switch system packages" to packages from Packman repository.

7. Click Accept and Continue, after the codecs will get installed, You should be able to play Your multimedia files without any issues.