HOWTO: compiling VLC + live555 + all major codecs on Ubuntu

[Updated on 2009/04/03] VLC 0.9.9 is out. Here is the updated tutorial.


In yesterday's post, I showed you how to build a pretty complete ffmpeg.

Today, let's build the latest VLC from source on Ubuntu 8.04.

VLC is the best audio / video player there is, but just like ffmpeg, the binary found in Linux distributions is often outdated and incomplete... and we all know that it's quite frustrating to get stuck with files that you can't play.

For starters, you have to go through yesterday's post:

1. we need the build directories of ffmpeg and x264 for the VLC build,
   
2. up to date versions are required anyway,
   
3. building and installing them will take care of a number of dependencies.

Once you've done that, there are additional dependencies to take care of.

1) Installing libmad

MAD is a high-quality MPEG audio decoder. At the time of this writing, the latest version is 0.15.1b. Let's get the source, build it and install it:

ubuntu% wget http://ovh.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/mad/libmad-0.15.1b.tar.gz
ubuntu% tar xvfz libmad-0.15.1b.tar.gz
ubuntu% cd libmad-0.15.1b
ubuntu% ./configure --prefix=/usr/local
ubuntu% make
ubuntu% sudo make install

[Updated on 2009/01/04] If you try to compile libmad with gcc 4.3, you will get the following error: cc1: error: unrecognized command line option "-fforce-mem". To correct this, just remove the -fforce-mem flags from the CFLAGS list in the Makefile.

2) Installing libdca

libdca is a free library for DTS audio. At the time of this writing, the latest version is 0.0.5. Let's get the source, build it and install it:

ubuntu% wget http://download.videolan.org/pub/videolan/libdca/0.0.5/libdca-0.0.5.tar.bz2
ubuntu% bzip2 -d libdca-0.0.5.tar.bz2
ubuntu% tar xvf libdca-0.0.5.tar
ubuntu% cd libdca-0.0.5
ubuntu% ./configure --prefix=/usr/local
ubuntu% make
ubuntu% sudo make install

3) Installing libmpeg2

libmpeg2 is a free library for MPEG streams. At the time of this writing, the latest version is 2.0.5.1. Let's get the source, build it and install it:

ubuntu% wget http://libmpeg2.sourceforge.net/files/libmpeg2-0.5.1.tar.gz
ubuntu% tar xvfz libmpeg2-0.5.1.tar.gz
ubuntu% cd libmpeg2-0.5.1
ubuntu% ./configure --prefix=/usr/local
ubuntu% make
ubuntu% sudo make install

4) Installing TagLib

TagLib is is a library for reading and editing the meta-data of several popular audio formats (MP3, FLAC, etc). At the time of this writing, the latest version is 1.5. Let's get the source, build it and install it:

ubuntu% wget http://developer.kde.org/~wheeler/files/src/taglib-1.5.tar.gz
ubuntu% tar xvfz taglib-1.5.tar.gz
ubuntu% ./configure --prefix=/usr/local
ubuntu% make
ubuntu% sudo make install

5) Installing live555

live555 is a set of libraries for multimedia streaming (RTP/RTCP, RTSP, SIP).

ubuntu% wget http://www.live555.com/liveMedia/public/live555-latest.tar.gz
ubuntu% tar xvfz live555-latest.tar.gz
ubuntu% cd live
ubuntu% ./genMakefiles linux
ubuntu% make

There is no installation procedure for live555. You have to copy the full directory somewhere safe, like /usr/lib.

ubuntu% sudo cp -r live /usr/lib

6) Installing everything else

Now, let's use APT to fetch all the remaining libraries needed by VLC, as well as the Qt4 packages required by the GUI:

ubuntu% sudo apt-get install libavc1394-dev libraw1394-dev libdc1394-dev libdvdread-dev libdvdnav-dev libdvdcss2-dev libfaad-dev libtwolame-dev liba52-dev libvcdinfo-dev libiso9660-dev libcddb2-dev libflac-dev libschroedinger-dev liba52-dev libogg-dev libvorbis-dev liblua5.1-0-dev libgnomevfs2-dev libtag1-dev libqt4-dev

That should really be it...

7) Fetching VLC

Stable sources can be downloaded as a tarball from the VLC download page. At the time of this writing, the latest version is VLC 0.9.8a. If you want to try development snapshots, be my guest but YMMV!

ubuntu% wget http://download.videolan.org/pub/videolan/vlc/0.9.8a/vlc-0.9.8a.tar.bz2
ubuntu% bzip2 -d vlc-0.9.8a.tar.bz2
ubuntu% tar xvf vlc-0.9.8a.tar

8) Adding ffmpeg, x264 and live555 to the mix

For the sake of convenience, let's copy the three build directories into the VLC tree:

ubuntu% cd vlc-0.9.8a
ubuntu% cp -r $YOUR_FFMPEG_BUILD_DIR extras
ubuntu% cp -r $YOUR_X264_BUILD_DIR extras
ubuntu% cp -r $YOUR_LIVE555_BUILD_DIR extras
ubuntu% ls extras
analyser buildsystem contrib ffmpeg live misc package x264

9) Building VLC

Let's go! Don't forget to check your configure output for possible errors.

[Updated on 2009/02/23: added support for XVID & FLV formats through ffmpeg]

ubuntu% ./configure --prefix=/usr/local --with-ffmpeg-tree=extras/ffmpeg --with-x264-tree=extras/x264 --with-live555-tree=extras/live --enable-release --enable-switcher --enable-shout --enable-dc1394 --enable-dv --enable-dvdread --enable-v4l --enable-pvr --enable-gnomevfs --enable-vcdx --enable-faad --enable-twolame --enable-real --enable-realrtsp --enable-flac --enable-tremor --enable-tarkin --enable-theora --enable-ogg --enable-vorbis --enable-a52 --enable-gnomevfs --enable-dca --with-ffmpeg-flv --with-ffmpeg-xvid
UNIX-related output removed
checking for SHOUT... no
configure: WARNING: libshout library not found
checking for LUA... yes
checking proxy.h usability... no
checking proxy.h presence... no
checking for proxy.h... no
checking for NOTIFY... no
checking for TAGLIB... yes
checking for liveMedia/libliveMedia.a in extras/live... /home/julien/tmp/vlc-0.9.8a/extras/live/liveMedia/libliveMedia.a
checking /home/julien/tmp/vlc-0.9.8a/extras/live/liveMedia/include/liveMedia_version.hh usability... yes
checking /home/julien/tmp/vlc-0.9.8a/extras/live/liveMedia/include/liveMedia_version.hh presence... yes
checking for /home/julien/tmp/vlc-0.9.8a/extras/live/liveMedia/include/liveMedia_version.hh... yes
checking for liveMedia version >= 1214895600 ... yes
checking libraw1394/raw1394.h usability... yes
checking libraw1394/raw1394.h presence... yes
checking for libraw1394/raw1394.h... yes
checking for raw1394_get_nodecount in -lraw1394... yes
checking libdc1394/dc1394_control.h usability... yes
checking libdc1394/dc1394_control.h presence... yes
checking for libdc1394/dc1394_control.h... yes
checking for libraw1394/raw1394.h... (cached) yes
checking libavc1394/avc1394.h usability... yes
checking libavc1394/avc1394.h presence... yes
checking for libavc1394/avc1394.h... yes
checking dvdread/dvd_reader.h usability... yes
checking dvdread/dvd_reader.h presence... yes
checking for dvdread/dvd_reader.h... yes
checking for dvdnav-config... /usr/local/bin/dvdnav-config
checking libsmbclient.h usability... no
checking libsmbclient.h presence... no
checking for libsmbclient.h... no
checking for struct _SMBCCTX.close_fn... no
checking for dvbpsi/dr.h... yes
checking for dvbpsi_GenSDTSections in -ldvbpsi... yes
checking linux/videodev.h usability... yes
checking linux/videodev.h presence... yes
checking for linux/videodev.h... yes
checking alsa/asoundlib.h usability... yes
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checking for main in -lasound... yes
checking linux/videodev2.h usability... yes
checking linux/videodev2.h presence... yes
checking for linux/videodev2.h... yes
checking for LIBV4L2... no
configure: WARNING: LibV4L2 support disabled because libv4l2 development headers were not found
checking for new linux/videodev2.h... yes
checking for GNOMEVFS... yes
checking for LIBCDIO... yes
checking for VCDINFO... yes
checking for LIBCDIO... yes
checking for cdrom_msf0 in linux/cdrom.h... yes
checking for scsireq in sys/scsiio.h... no
checking for ioc_toc_header in sys/cdio.h... no
checking for LIBCDDB... yes
checking linux/dvb/version.h usability... yes
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checking linux/dvb/frontend.h usability... yes
checking linux/dvb/frontend.h presence... yes
checking for linux/dvb/frontend.h... yes
checking X11/Xlib.h usability... yes
checking X11/Xlib.h presence... yes
checking for X11/Xlib.h... yes
checking for inet_pton... yes
checking for inet_ntop... yes
checking ogg/ogg.h usability... yes
checking ogg/ogg.h presence... yes
checking for ogg/ogg.h... yes
checking for oggpack_read in -logg... yes
checking ebml/EbmlVersion.h usability... no
checking ebml/EbmlVersion.h presence... no
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checking libmodplug/modplug.h usability... no
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checking mpcdec/mpcdec.h usability... no
checking mpcdec/mpcdec.h presence... no
checking for mpcdec/mpcdec.h... no
configure: WARNING: only static linking is available, you must provide a gme-tree
checking mad.h usability... yes
checking mad.h presence... yes
checking for mad.h... yes
checking for mad_bit_init in -lmad... yes
checking id3tag.h usability... no
checking id3tag.h presence... no
checking for id3tag.h... no
configure: WARNING: --with-ffmpeg-tree is deprecated. Use PKG_CONFIG_PATH instead.
checking for AVCODEC... yes
checking libavcodec/avcodec.h usability... yes
checking libavcodec/avcodec.h presence... yes
checking for libavcodec/avcodec.h... yes
checking ffmpeg/avcodec.h usability... no
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checking libavutil/avutil.h usability... yes
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checking for libavutil/avutil.h... yes
checking ffmpeg/avutil.h usability... no
checking ffmpeg/avutil.h presence... no
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checking for AVFORMAT... yes
checking libavformat/avformat.h usability... yes
checking libavformat/avformat.h presence... yes
checking for libavformat/avformat.h... yes
checking ffmpeg/avformat.h usability... no
checking ffmpeg/avformat.h presence... no
checking for ffmpeg/avformat.h... no
checking for libavutil/avutil.h... (cached) yes
checking for ffmpeg/avutil.h... (cached) no
checking for SWSCALE... yes
checking libswscale/swscale.h usability... yes
checking libswscale/swscale.h presence... yes
checking for libswscale/swscale.h... yes
checking ffmpeg/swscale.h usability... no
checking ffmpeg/swscale.h presence... no
checking for ffmpeg/swscale.h... no
checking for POSTPROC... yes
checking libpostproc/postproc.h usability... no
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checking faad.h usability... yes
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checking for faacDecOpen in -lfaad... no
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checking twolame.h usability... yes
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checking for twolame_init in -ltwolame... yes
checking for zlib.h... (cached) yes
checking sysfs/libsysfs.h usability... no
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checking libtar.h usability... no
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checking a52dec/a52.h usability... yes
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checking for a52_free in -la52... yes
checking for DCA... yes
checking FLAC/stream_decoder.h usability... yes
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checking for FLAC/stream_decoder.h... yes
checking for LIBMPEG2... yes
checking vorbis/codec.h usability... yes
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checking vorbis/vorbisenc.h usability... yes
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checking tremor/ivorbiscodec.h usability... no
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checking speex/speex.h usability... yes
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checking theora/theora.h usability... yes
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checking png.h usability... yes
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checking for png_set_rows in -lpng... yes
checking for x264.h in /home/julien/tmp/vlc-0.9.8a/extras/x264... yes
checking for X264... yes
checking for FLUIDSYNTH... no
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configure: WARNING: ZVBI library not found. Enabling the telx module instead
checking for KATE... no
checking kate/kate.h usability... no
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checking for X11/extensions/dpms.h... yes
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checking for X11/Xlib.h... (cached) yes
checking for XShmAttach in -lXext... yes
checking X11/extensions/Xv.h usability... yes
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checking for XvPutImage in -lXv... yes
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checking GL/glu.h usability... yes
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checking X11/extensions/Xinerama.h usability... yes
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checking for XineramaQueryExtension in -lXinerama_pic... no
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checking GL/gl.h usability... yes
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configure: WARNING: The development package for SDL_image is not installed.
You should install it alongside your SDL package.
checking for FREETYPE... yes
checking fontconfig/fontconfig.h usability... yes
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checking for xml2-config... /usr/bin/xml2-config
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configure: WARNING: Not building Roku HD1000 compatible video output
checking cascade/graphics/CascadeBitmap.h usability... no
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configure: WARNING: Not building Roku HD1000 compatible video output
checking linux/fb.h usability... yes
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checking for PULSE... no
configure: WARNING: pulseaudio library not found
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checking deschutes/libraries/hdmachinex225/PCMAudioPlayer.h usability... no
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checking Ph.h usability... no
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checking for BONJOUR... yes
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checking for LIBGCRYPT - version >= 1.1.94... yes (1.4.1)
checking LIBGCRYPT API version... okay
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checking for osso_display_blanking_pause in -losso... no
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configure: creating ./vlc-config.in
configure: creating ./config.status
config.status: creating extras/package/win32/vlc.win32.nsi
config.status: creating extras/package/macosx/Info.plist
config.status: creating extras/package/macosx/Resources/English.lproj/InfoPlist.strings
config.status: creating extras/package/macosx/plugin/Info.plist
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config.status: creating extras/package/macosx/plugin/English.lproj/InfoPlist.strings
config.status: creating Makefile
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config.status: creating doc/Makefile
config.status: creating extras/package/ipkg/Makefile
config.status: creating libs/loader/Makefile
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config.status: creating modules/Makefile
config.status: creating projects/mozilla/Makefile
config.status: creating m4/Makefile
config.status: creating po/Makefile.in
config.status: creating projects/activex/axvlc_rc.rc
config.status: creating projects/mozilla/npvlc_rc.rc
config.status: creating share/Makefile
config.status: creating share/vlc_win32_rc.rc
config.status: creating share/libvlc_win32_rc.rc
config.status: creating src/Makefile
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config.status: creating modules/access/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/access/bda/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/access/dshow/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/access/dvb/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/access/mms/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/access/cdda/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/access/rtsp/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/access/rtmp/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/access/v4l2/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/access/vcd/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/access/vcdx/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/access/screen/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/access_filter/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/access_output/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/audio_filter/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/audio_filter/channel_mixer/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/audio_filter/converter/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/audio_filter/resampler/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/audio_filter/spatializer/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/audio_mixer/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/audio_output/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/codec/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/codec/avcodec/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/codec/cmml/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/codec/dmo/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/codec/subtitles/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/codec/spudec/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/codec/xvmc/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/control/Makefile
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config.status: creating modules/demux/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/demux/asf/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/demux/avformat/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/demux/avi/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/demux/mp4/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/demux/mpeg/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/demux/playlist/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/gui/Makefile
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config.status: creating modules/gui/pda/Makefile
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config.status: creating modules/gui/minimal_macosx/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/gui/qnx/Makefile
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config.status: creating modules/gui/skins2/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/gui/wince/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/meta_engine/Makefile
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config.status: creating modules/misc/playlist/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/misc/osd/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/misc/stats/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/misc/xml/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/misc/probe/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/mux/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/mux/mpeg/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/packetizer/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/services_discovery/Makefile
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config.status: creating modules/stream_out/transrate/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/video_chroma/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/video_filter/Makefile
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config.status: creating modules/video_filter/dynamicoverlay/Makefile
config.status: creating modules/video_output/Makefile
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config.status: creating modules/visualization/galaktos/Makefile
config.status: creating config.h
config.status: config.h is unchanged
config.status: executing depfiles commands
config.status: executing libtool commands
config.status: executing po-directories commands
config.status: creating po/POTFILES
config.status: creating po/Makefile
config.status: creating vlc-config
Enabled modules: a52 a52tofloat32 a52tospdif access_dv access_filter_bandwidth access_filter_dump access_filter_record access_filter_timeshift access_gnomevfs access_mmap access_realrtsp adjust adpcm alphamask alsa aout_file aout_sdl araw asf atmo audio_format audioscrobbler avcodec avformat avi bandlimited_resampler blend blendbench bluescreen bonjour canvas cc cdda cdg chain cinepak clone cmml colorthres converter_fixed converter_float crop croppadd cvdsub dbus dc1394 deinterlace dolby_surround_decoder dts dtstofloat32 dtstospdif dummy dvb dvb dvbsub dvdnav dvdread dynamicoverlay equalizer erase export extract faad fake fb flac float32_mixer folder freetype gaussianblur gestures glx gnutls gradient grain grey_yuv h264 hal headphone_channel_mixer hotkeys http i420_rgb i420_rgb_mmx i420_rgb_sse2 i420_ymga i420_ymga_mmx i420_yuy2 i420_yuy2_mmx i420_yuy2_sse2 i422_i420 i422_yuy2 i422_yuy2_mmx i422_yuy2_sse2 image inhibit invert libmpeg2 linear_resampler live555 logger logo lpcm m4a m4v magnify marq memcpy memcpy3dn memcpymmx memcpymmxext mono mosaic motion motionblur motiondetect mp4 mpeg_audio mpga mpgatofixed32 mpgv mux_ogg mux_ts noise normvol nsc ogg opengl opengl osd_parser osdmenu oss panoramix param_eq playlist png podcast postproc probe_hal ps psychedelic puzzle pvr qt4 rawvideo rc realaudio realvideo remoteosd ripple rotate rss rv32 sap scale scaletempo schroedinger screen screensaver sharpen shout showintf signals simple_channel_mixer skins2 spatializer spdif_mixer speex spudec stats subsdec subsusf svcdsub swscale t140 taglib telepathy telnet telx theora transform trivial_channel_mixer trivial_mixer trivial_resampler ts twolame ugly_resampler v4l v4l2 vcd vcdx visual vmem vorbis vout_sdl wall wave x11 x264 xml xtag xvideo yuy2_i420 yuy2_i422


libvlc configuration
--------------------
version : 0.9.8a
system : linux
architecture : i686 mmx sse sse2
build flavour : release
vlc aliases : cvlc rvlc svlc qvlc
plugins/bindings :

You can tune the compiler flags in vlc-config.
To build vlc and its plugins, type `./compile' or `make'.

All right, let's run make and get some coffee while VLC is building:

ubuntu% make
lots of output removed
make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/julien/tmp/vlc-0.9.8a'
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/julien/tmp/vlc-0.9.8a'

We're done! Let's check our new VLC before we install it.

7) Checking VLC

ubuntu% ./vlc --version
VLC media player 0.9.8a Grishenko
[00000001] main libvlc debug: VLC media player - version 0.9.8a Grishenko - (c) 1996-2008 the VideoLAN team
[00000001] main libvlc debug: libvlc was configured with ./configure '--prefix=/usr/local' '--with-ffmpeg-tree=extras/ffmpeg' '--with-x264-tree=extras/x264' '--with-live555-tree=extras/live' '--enable-release' '--enable-switcher' '--enable-shout' '-enable-dc1394' '--enable-dv' '--enable-dvdread' '--enable-v4l' '--enable-pvr' '--enable-gnomevfs' '--enable-vcdx' '--enable-faad' '--enable-twolame' '--enable-real' '--enable-realrtsp' '--enable-flac' '--enable-tremor' '--enable-tarkin' '--enable-theora' '--enable-ogg' '--enable-vorbis' '--enable-a52' '--enable-gnomevfs' '--with-ffmpeg-flv' '--with-ffmpeg-xvid'
[00000001] main libvlc debug: translation test: code is "C"
VLC version 0.9.8a Grishenko
Compiled by julien@ubuntu.
Compiler: gcc version 4.2.4 (Ubuntu 4.2.4-1ubuntu3)
This program comes with NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
You may redistribute it under the terms of the GNU General Public License;
see the file named COPYING for details.
Written by the VideoLAN team; see the AUTHORS file.

Looks good. You can verify that your favorite codecs are supported with 'vlc --list', e.g.:

ubuntu% ./vlc --list|grep -i h264
output removed
h264 H264 video demuxer
packetizer_h264 H.264 video packetizer
h264 H264 video demuxer
packetizer_h264 H.264 video packetizer

Let's also run a quick transcoding test:

ubuntu% ./cvlc file://clip.mov --sout="#transcode{vcodec=h264,vb=1024,acodec=mpga,ab=128}:std{access=file,mux=mp4,dst=clip.mp4}" vlc://quit
VLC media player 0.9.8a Grishenko
output removed
x264 [info]: using SAR=53889/54000
x264 [info]: using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast SSSE3 Cache64
x264 [info]: profile Main, level 5.1
x264 [info]: slice I:141 Avg QP:20.66 size: 14629
x264 [info]: slice P:4027 Avg QP:24.82 size: 8194
x264 [info]: mb I I16..4: 46.2% 0.0% 53.8%
x264 [info]: mb P I16..4: 19.5% 0.0% 23.0% P16..4: 18.3% 11.5% 2.4% 0.0% 0.0% skip:25.4%
x264 [info]: kb/s:1009.4
[00000499] dummy demux: command `quit'
ubuntu% ls -l clip*
-rw-r--r-- 1 julien julien 91322704 2008-12-25 22:08 clip.mov
-rw-r--r-- 1 julien julien 39719104 2008-12-25 22:17 clip.mp4

And since VLC can play that new mp4 clip, I declare this a good build :) Let's install it:

ubuntu% sudo make install

We're done. Now you can enjoy all your media files with a single player!