Learn How to Install SMPlayer in Ubuntu

SMPlayer is a free multimedia player for Windows and Linux that comes with built-in codecs. It can play YouTube videos, search and download subtitles, and includes additional features like a thumbnail generator and various audio/video filters.

Features

• YouTube Support − Search, play, and download YouTube videos directly

• Built-in Filters − Multiple video and audio filters available

• Thumbnail Generator − Creates video thumbnails for easy navigation

• Video Equalizer − Adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, and gamma

• Customizable Interface − Multiple skins and themes available

• Speed Control − Variable playback speed from 0.25x to 4x

• Synchronization − Audio and subtitle delay adjustment

Installing SMPlayer

Step 1: Add the PPA Repository

First, add the SMPlayer PPA to your system −

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rvm/smplayer

You will see output similar to this −

Packages for SMPlayer.
To install SMPlayer from this PPA, run these commands on a terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rvm/smplayer
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install smplayer smtube smplayer-themes smplayer-skins
More info: https://launchpad.net/~rvm/+archive/ubuntu/smplayer
Press [ENTER] to continue or ctrl-c to cancel adding it
gpg: keyring `/tmp/tmpeab9bvoh/secring.gpg' created
gpg: keyring `/tmp/tmpeab9bvoh/pubring.gpg' created
gpg: requesting key E4A4F4F4 from hkp server keyserver.ubuntu.com
gpg: /tmp/tmpeab9bvoh/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created
gpg: key E4A4F4F4: public key "Launchpad PPA named smplayer for rvm" imported
gpg: no ultimately trusted keys found
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg: imported: 1 (RSA: 1)
OK

Step 2: Update Package Lists

Update your system's package lists to include the new repository −

sudo apt-get update

Ign:1 http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb stable InRelease
Get:2 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-security InRelease [102 kB]
Hit:3 http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb stable Release
Hit:4 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial InRelease
Get:5 http://ppa.launchpad.net/rvm/smplayer/ubuntu xenial InRelease [17.5 kB]
Get:6 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates InRelease [102 kB]
Get:8 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports InRelease [102 kB]
Get:9 http://ppa.launchpad.net/rvm/smplayer/ubuntu xenial/main amd64 Packages [1,532 B]
Get:10 http://ppa.launchpad.net/rvm/smplayer/ubuntu xenial/main i386 Packages [1,532 B]
...

Step 3: Install SMPlayer

Install SMPlayer along with themes and skins using the following command −

sudo apt-get install smplayer smplayer-themes smplayer-skins

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following additional packages will be installed:
  esound-common libaudiofile1 libdirectfb-1.2-9 libenca0 libesd0 libgif7
  libqt4-opengl libqtwebkit4 libsdl1.2debian libvorbisidec1 mplayer smtube
Suggested packages:
  pulseaudio-esound-compat mplayer-doc netselect | fping
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  esound-common libaudiofile1 libdirectfb-1.2-9 libenca0 libesd0 libgif7
  libqt4-opengl libqtwebkit4 libsdl1.2debian libvorbisidec1 mplayer smplayer
  smplayer-skins smplayer-themes smtube
0 upgraded, 15 newly installed, 0 to remove and 284 not upgraded.
Need to get 18.9 MB of archives.
After this operation, 66.8 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y
...

Launching SMPlayer

Once installed, you can launch SMPlayer from the command line −

smplayer

Alternatively, you can find SMPlayer in your applications menu under Sound & Video category.

Command Line Options

SMPlayer supports various command-line options. To view all available options −

smplayer --help

Common Options

Alternative Installation Methods

If you prefer not to use PPA, you can install SMPlayer from the default Ubuntu repositories −

sudo apt-get install smplayer

However, the PPA version typically provides more recent updates and additional packages like themes and skins.

Conclusion

SMPlayer is a versatile media player that offers excellent codec support and YouTube integration. The installation process through PPA ensures you get the latest version with all available themes and skins for a customized media viewing experience.