Ubuntu
totem package

totem can't play midi

Asked by Jens Askengren

Binary package hint: totem

Totem thinks it's playing midi (seek-bar moves), but I can't hear any sound.

The properties pane says the codec is "-", which I guess means it failed to detect or load the proper codec?

Try for example
http://www.folkwiki.se/Musik/1402

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: i386
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.04
ExecutablePath: /usr/bin/totem-gstreamer
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
Package: totem-gstreamer 2.26.1-0ubuntu5
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=sv_SE.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: totem
Uname: Linux 2.6.28-15-generic i686

Question information

Language:
English Edit question
Status:
Solved
For:
Ubuntu totem Edit question
Assignee:
No assignee Edit question
Solved by:
marcobra (Marco Braida)
Solved:
Last query:
Last reply:

This question was originally filed as bug #415590.

Revision history for this message
Jens Askengren (jens-askengren) said : 		#1
Revision history for this message
Pedro Villavicencio (pedro) said : 		#2

Thank you for taking the time to report this issue and helping to make Ubuntu better. Examining the information you have given us, this does not appear to be a bug report so we are closing it and converting it to a question in the support tracker. We appreciate the difficulties you are facing, but it would make more sense to raise problems you are having in the support tracker at https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu if you are uncertain if they are bugs. For help on reporting bugs, see https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs.

Revision history for this message
Best marcobra (Marco Braida) (marcobra) said : 		#3

You need download and install timidity packages software to can play midi files:

using terminal type or copy and paste the rows below (one row a time then press enter)

If you are using Ubuntu, install the following by typing in a terminal:

sudo apt-get install timidity timidity-interfaces-extra timidity-el

If you are using Kubuntu add kmid to the end of the line above.

You can play mid and midi files via Exaile, available for installation via Applications, Add/Remove.

Hope this helps

Revision history for this message
Jens Askengren (jens-askengren) said : 		#4

Thanks, that helps.

But didn't totem used to automatically install required codes?

I don't think the timidity-el package is necessary.

Revision history for this message
skierpage (skierpage) said : 		#5

This is a bug in Ubuntu's Totem package. The default installation of Totem (appears as "Movie Player") doesn't play midi files without messing around and, worse, gives no indication that you need to install additional Gstreamer plug-ins. Playing silence is not a helpful behavior.

Either totem should not associate itself with the mime type audio/midi in its /usr/share/applications/totem.desktop file, or it and/or Gstreamer needs to be beefed up to intelligently report "I can't play that, maybe you need to install an additional plug-in." Maybe adding and removing Gstreamer plugins should add and remove mime types from Totem's desktop file, since that contains dozens of other file formats that probably do not actually work in a default Ubuntu install.

People have solved this problem for browser plug-ins, it can be done for playing media.