How to play .mp4 movies?

Solution 1:

In a terminal, type in sudo apt-get install vlc, press enter, and key in your password when prompted.

VLC Player will play just about anything. If your MP3/MP4 files still do not work, you will need to download the restricted codecs pack. Search for these in Google and use the above command to install them once you find out what the file-name is. I.e., type in sudo apt-get install [filename].

DVD playback is the same as above, you will need the restricted repositories. Again, once you locate them, just type in the above.

EDIT: All of the above, and indeed many other countless codecs and programs can also be installed through the Synaptic Package Manager. To access this, click Systems > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager.

This can be a bit of a headache though, as there are many, many things available, and if you do not know the specific program name or keywords for it used through the search function, it can be difficult.

Solution 2:

My solution was to go to Tools > Preferences > Video, make sure Enable video and Window decorations were checked, then set the Output drop-down menu to X11 video output (XCB).

See this answer for more information.

Solution 3:

Try xine or VNC media players, My personal choice is xine because it uses very little resources. Both are in the repository. Edit, sorry, did not see comment above. Where did the file come from? Can you post a link to it? Is it a pay to view movie?