Ubuntu – Unable to seek in MP3 encoded files

gstreamermp3rhythmbox

When I try to play any MP3 encoded song in Rhythmbox, the seek bar is disabled. Upon trying to play the same files in Totem, the same problem appears again.

I think that the problem started after following option C in this guide, and then undoing it.

I've tried reinstalling gstreamer0.1-plugin-ugly, gstreamer0.1-ffmpeg and gstreamer0.1-fluendo-mp3, which are the packages I think Rhythmbox is asking for upon playing a MP3 encoded file.

Running Ubuntu 10.04, recently updated.

Best Answer

The -ffmpeg package allows playback of mp3s, but not seeking. It's possible that if you have both -plugins-ugly and -ffmpeg installed, Rhythmbox (or any other gstreamer-based media player) will choose to use -ffmpeg istead of the ugly plugin, and you will not be able to seek.

gstreamer0.1-plugin-ugly should cover all of your mp3 needs, so you can safely uninstall the gstreamer0.1-ffmpeg package.

For more background on the issue, see a similar bug reported against Banshee, and the much older gstreamer bug it was eventually closed as a duplicate of. Also note that an mp3 parser is now included in the -good gstreamer plugin, so this issue should not affect newer versions of Ubuntu.

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