Ubuntu

viewing streaming itunes video

Asked by Richard H

I am taking an online class through the community college that uses iTunes to stream recorded lectures. I am setting up a pc and have Ubuntu 8.10. I have been looking for articles and forums about information regarding streaming iTunes video to Ubuntu, but I have not found anything concrete. The instructor told me there are issues with using Linux for viewing the iTune streams, and I want to have some information in hand before I get into the situation. I see there are plugins for Firefox and programs like Banshee, but I would like some advice before I attempt anything or find out if it will work at all.

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Kayvee (vkkodali) said : 		#1

Is it some kind of video podcast? If that is the case then there a few Linux programs that you can use for that purpose... all you need would be the website address. Another thing that you may want to check out is running iTunes under Wine.

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Best ahowell (alan-howell) said : 		#2

VLC media player (along with a few others), can play itunes (mp4) video streams.

sudo apt-get install vlc

Open Applications > Sound video > VLC
then click on Media > Open Network
Put in the URL of the video you need to play.
==
If it is on a website you need to view along with the video content, you might consider installing restricted extras to allow mplayer plugin through firefox. This will install quite a few audio/video codecs and a few other non-free apps like java. I've not tested "itunes" streams, but have tested mp4 streams ok. Make sure all your "software sources" and third party are selected under Administration > Software Sources program. Reload when/if it asks you to.

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras

Good luck :)

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Richard H (richoff) said : 		#3

Thank you for your replies. According to the instructor, the video is streamed through the iTunes U web site http://www.apple.com/education/mobile-learning/.
I have not tried to log on to it yet since I just signed up for the upcoming class. I'm doing a little homework now, before I attempt to get connected in case I have a problem. I anticipated a problem because of a comment from the instructor. I asked her if my Linux machine would work for the course and her reply was "It tends to cause problems for my online students who need to view my lectures on iTunes U." She did not elaborate on what those issued were. This is not a computer tech related class and the instructor's computer knowledge is limited. I will attempt to get a few more bits of information before I move forward, like what format the video is streamed in and whether iTunes U requires any plugins and such. According to the iTunes U web site, the media provided by the school/instructor should be in AAC, MP3, MPEG-4, or PDF format. I'm not sure if all those formats play nicely with ubuntu, but I suspect they do. Like I said, I haven't moved forward on this yet; I want to go in with some foresight and knowledge. After I get connected (or if I get connected), I will post my experience, issues, and any fixes if any.

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Richard H (richoff) said : 		#4

All of the above were installed, but no help. I was allowed access to the course material through the University and tried the link to the lecture videos. A Firefox alert states "Firefox doesn't know how to open this address, because the protocol (itmss) isn't associated with any program."

Now that I know the protocol, I found the same question in the Ubuntu forum, and the answer was negative. The answer stated that "..the iTunes store is proprietary and they haven't released an iTunes client for linux..." and "...people have gotten iTunes 6 running under wine..."

That question and answer was posted in April 2007.

I am considering this issue solved for now since the problem has already been addressed. I will, however, keep looking for more information.

Thank you all for your input.

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NoBugs! (luke32j) said : 		#5

This should work fine in Linux:
http://www.fritscher.ch/blog/2009/05/13/browsing-itunesu-without-intalling-itunes/

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amarajohsan (amarajohsan) said : 		#7

If you want to view an iTunes video, VLC media player is the best option I like vlc media player because of its high-quality sound. If anyone facing an issue with iTunes like tagging problem, sharing a problem then you can easily take help from this site https://www.mactechnicalsupportnumbers.com/blog/fix-macbook-air-wont-turn-black-screen-problem/