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Totem Movie Player Manual

1. Introduction

The Totem Movie Player application is a movie player for the GNOME desktop based on the GStreamer framework and xine library, and enables you to play movies or songs.

Totem Movie Player provides the following features:

  • Support for a variety of video and audio files.
  • A variety of zoom levels and aspect ratios, and a fullscreen view.
  • Seek and volume controls.
  • A playlist.
  • Subtitle support.
  • Complete keyboard navigation.
  • Comprehensive set of plugins, including a subtitle downloader, YouTube browser, and disc burner.

Totem Movie Player also comes with additional functionality such as:

  • Video thumbnailer for GNOME.
  • Audio preview application for GNOME.
  • Nautilus properties tab.

2. Getting Started

2.1. To Start Totem Movie Player

You can start Totem Movie Player in the following ways:

Applications menu

Choose Sound & Video ▸ Movie Player.

Command line

To start Totem Movie Player from a command line, type the following command, then press Return:

totem

To view other command line options that are available, type totem --help, then press Return.

2.2. When You Start Totem Movie Player

When you start Totem Movie Player, the following window is displayed.

Figure 1 Totem Movie Player Start Up Window

The Totem Movie Player window contains the following elements:

Menubar.

The menus on the menubar contain all of the commands you need to use in Totem Movie Player.

Display area.

The display area displays the movie or a visualization of the current song.

Sidebar.

The sidebar displays properties of the file played and acts as playlist. It can also be used by various plugins, such as the MythTV, YouTube and Video Search plugins. They can be selected by clicking on the drop-down list at the top of the sidebar.

Elapsed time slider.

The elapsed time slider displays the elapsed time of the movie or song that is playing. It also enables you to skip forward or backward in a movie or song by dragging the slider's handle along the bar, or by clicking on a point on the bar.

Seek control buttons.

The seek control buttons enable you to move to the next or previous track, and to pause or play a movie or song.

Volume button.

The volume button enables you to adjust the volume.

Statusbar.

The statusbar displays status information about the movie or song that is playing.

3. Usage

3.1. To Open a File

To open a video or an audio file, choose Movie ▸ Open (Ctrl+O). The Select Movies or Playlists dialog is displayed. Select the file or files you want to open, then click OK.

You can drag a file from another application such as a file manager to the Totem Movie Player window. If you drag the file to the display area, the file will replace the current playlist and will start playing immediately. If you drag the file to the playlist in the sidebar, the file will be appended to the current playlist. The Totem Movie Player application will open the file and play the movie or song. Totem Movie Player displays the title of the movie or song in the titlebar of the window and in the playlist in the sidebar.

If you try to open a file format that Totem Movie Player does not recognize, the application displays an error message. This error is most often encountered if you do not have the correct codecs installed. Information on getting codecs working can be found on the Totem Movie Player website.

You can double-click on a video or an audio file in the Nautilus file manager to open it in the Totem Movie Player window.

3.2. To Open a Location

To open a file by URI (location), choose Movie ▸ Open Location (Ctrl+L). The Open Location dialog is displayed. Use the drop-down combination box to specify the URI you would like to open (it lists URIs which have previously been opened) – or type one in directly – then click on the Open button.

If you have a URI in the clipboard already, it will automatically be pasted into the combination box.

3.3. To Play a Movie (DVD or VCD)

Insert the disc in the optical device of your computer, then choose Movie ▸ Play Disc.

To eject a DVD or VCD, choose Movie ▸ Eject (Ctrl+E).

3.4. To Pause a Movie or Song

To pause a movie or song that is playing, click on the button, or choose Movie ▸ Play / Pause (Ctrl+Space). You may also use the P key to pause or play a movie.

To resume playing a movie or song, click on the button again, or choose Movie ▸ Play / Pause (Ctrl+Space).

3.5. To View Properties of a Movie or Song

To view the properties of a movie or song, choose View ▸ Sidebar to make the sidebar appear, and choose Properties in the drop-down list at the top of the sidebar.

3.6. To Seek Through Movies or Songs

To seek through movies or songs, you can use the following methods:

To skip forward

To skip forward through a movie or song, choose Go ▸ Skip Forward (Right).

To skip backward

To skip backwards through a movie or song, choose Go ▸ Skip Backwards (Left).

To skip to a time

To skip to a specific elapsed time in the movie or song, choose Go ▸ Skip to (Ctrl+K). The Skip to dialog is displayed. Use the spin box to specify the elapsed time (in seconds) to skip to, then click OK.

The spin box also allows more natural language to be used. You can enter a time in the formats "hh:mm:ss", "mm:ss" or "ss"; where "hh" is the hour, "mm" is the minute and "ss" is the second to skip to.

To move to the next movie or song

To move to the next movie or song, choose Go ▸ Next Chapter/Movie (Alt+Right) or click on the button.

To move to the previous movie or song

To move to the previous movie or song, choose Go ▸ Previous Chapter/Movie (Alt+Left) or click on the button.

3.7. To Change the Zoom Factor

3.7.1. To Change the Video Size

To change the zoom factor of the display area, you can use the following methods:

  • To zoom to fullscreen mode, choose View ▸ Fullscreen (F11). You can also use the F key to toggle fullscreen mode. To exit fullscreen mode, click on the Leave Fullscreen button or press Esc, F11 or F.
  • To change the size of the original movie or visualization, choose View ▸ Fit Window to Movie (Ctrl+0) and choose a scale ratio.

3.7.2. To Change the Video Aspect Ratio

To switch between different aspect ratios, choose View ▸ Aspect Ratio (A).

3.8. To Adjust the Volume

To increase the volume, choose Sound ▸ Volume Up (Up). To decrease the volume, choose Sound ▸ Volume Down (Down).

You can also use the volume button: click on the volume button and choose the volume level with the slider.

3.9. To Make the Window Always on Top

To make the Totem Movie Player window always on top of other application windows, choose Edit ▸ Plugins. Select the Always on Top plugin to enable it. The Totem Movie Player window will now stay on top of all other windows while a movie is playing, but not while audio or visualizations are playing.

To stop the window from always being on top, disable the Always on Top plugin again. See Section 4.2 ― Always on Top for more information.

3.10. To Show or Hide Controls

To show or hide the Totem Movie Player window controls, choose View ▸ Show Controls (Ctrl+H), or press the H key. You can also right-click on the Totem Movie Player window, then choose Show Controls (Ctrl+H) from the popup menu.

If the Show Controls option is selected, Totem Movie Player will show the menubar, elapsed time slider, seek control buttons, volume slider and statusbar on the window. If the Show Controls option is unselected, the application will hide these controls and show only the display area.

3.11. To Manage the Playlist

3.11.1. To Show or Hide the Playlist

To show or hide the playlist, choose View ▸ Sidebar or click on the Sidebar button, and choose Playlist on the top of the sidebar.

3.11.2. Manage a Playlist

You can use the Playlist dialog to do the following:

To add a track or movie

To add a track or movie to the playlist, click on the Add button. The Select Movies or Playlists dialog is displayed. Select the file that you want to add to the playlist, then click Add.

To remove a track or movie

To remove a track or movie from the playlist, select the item or items to remove from the playlist, then click on the Remove button.

To save the playlist to a file

To save the playlist to a file, click on the Save Playlist button. The Save Playlist dialog is displayed; specify the filename as which you want to save the playlist, and click Save.

To move a track or movie up the playlist

To move a track or movie up the playlist, select the item from the playlist, then click on the Move Up button.

To move a track or movie down the playlist

To move a track or movie down the playlist, select the item from the playlist, then click on the Move Down button.

3.11.3. To Select or Unselect Repeat Mode

To enable or disable repeat mode, choose Edit ▸ Repeat Mode.

3.11.4. To Select or Unselect Shuffle Mode

To enable or disable shuffle mode, choose Edit ▸ Shuffle Mode.

3.12. To Choose Subtitles

To choose the language of the subtitles, select View ▸ Subtitles and choose the subtitle language you want to display.

To disable the display of subtitles, select View ▸ Subtitles ▸ None.

By default, Totem Movie Player will choose the same language for the subtitles as the one you normally use on your computer.

Totem Movie Player will automatically load and display subtitles for a video if it finds a subtitle file with the same name as the video being played, and the extension asc, txt, sub, srt, smi, ssa or ass.

If the file containing the subtitles has a different name from the video being played, you can right-click on the video in the playlist and choose Select Text Subtitles from the popup menu to load the correct subtitle file. You may also choose subtitles by choosing View ▸ Select Text Subtitles.

Using the Subtitle Downloader plugin, you can also download subtitles from the OpenSubtitles service. See Section 4.8 ― Subtitle Downloader for more information.

3.13. To Take a Screenshot

To take a screenshot of the movie or visualization that is playing, choose Edit ▸ Take Screenshot. The Save Screenshot dialog is displayed. Choose a location and insert the filename as which you want to save the screenshot, then click on the Save button to save the screenshot.

Totem Movie Player will display a preview of the screenshot which is to be saved on the left-hand side of the Save Screenshot dialog.

3.14. To Create a Screenshot Gallery

To create a gallery of screenshots of the movie or visualization that is playing, choose Edit ▸ Create Screenshot Gallery. The Save Gallery dialog is displayed. Choose a location and insert the filename as which you want to save the gallery image, then click on the Save button to save the screenshot.

You may specify the width of the individual screenshots in the gallery using the Screenshot width entry. The default width is 128 pixels.

You may also specify the number of screenshots to be put in the gallery. By default, this is calculated based on the length of the movie; however, this may be overridden by deselecting the Calculate the number of screenshots checkbox and entering the new number in the Number of screenshots spin box.

4. Plugins

Totem Movie Player has many features which are present in the form of plugins — pieces of the software which are only loaded if necessary.

4.1. To Enable a Plugin

To view the list of installed plugins, choose Edit ▸ Plugins. The Configure Plugins dialog is displayed. On the left is a list of all the plugins you have installed, while on the right is a description of the currently selected plugin. Plugins which have options which can be changed will have a sensitive Configure button on the right.

To enable a plugin, simply select the checkbox to the left of its name in the plugin list, and the plugin will be loaded immediately. If there is any error loading the plugin, an error dialog will also be displayed immediately.

To disable a plugin again, deselect its checkbox. Plugins will remain enabled or disabled as set even when Totem Movie Player is closed.

4.2. Always on Top

When enabled, the Always on Top plugin will force the main Totem Movie Player window to be on top of all other windows while a movie is playing, but not while audio or visualizations are playing. To stop the window being on top, disable the plugin again.

4.3. Coherence DLNA/UPnP Client

The Coherence DLNA/UPnP Client plugin allows Totem Movie Player to play multimedia content from UPnP media servers (such as Coherence servers) on the local network.

With the Coherence DLNA/UPnP Client plugin enabled, choose View ▸ Sidebar (F9) or click on the Sidebar button to show the sidebar. Select Coherence DLNA/UPnP Client from the drop-down list at the top of the sidebar to display the Coherence DLNA/UPnP Client sidebar.

The tree view in the sidebar will list the available media servers. Clicking on one will expand it to show the types of media it can serve, and clicking on a media folder will expand it to list the media files available. Double-clicking on a media file will add it to Totem Movie Player's playlist and play it. You may alternatively right-click on a file and choose Play or Enqueue to play the file immediately or add it to the playlist, respectively.

If the media server allows it, choosing Delete from a file's context menu allows you to delete that file from the media server.

4.4. Gromit Annotations

The Gromit Annotations plugin allows you to draw on top of movies as they are played using Gromit. You must have Gromit installed before you can enable the plugin — consult your operating system documentation for information on how to do this.

With the plugin enabled, press Ctrl+D to toggle Gromit on or off. When Gromit is enabled, your pointer will change to a crosshair. To draw on the screen, hold down your mouse button and drag your pointer around, before releasing your mouse button. Press Ctrl+D again to toggle Gromit off.

To clear the screen of annotations, press Ctrl+E, or close Totem Movie Player.

4.5. Jamendo

The Jamendo plugin allows you to listen to the collection of Creative Commons-licensed music on the Jamendo service.

4.5.1. To Configure the Plugin

The Jamendo plugin can be configured. Click on the Configure button when enabling the plugin, and the Jamendo Plugin Configuration dialog will be displayed. Here, you can choose whether to download songs in Ogg or MP3 format (Ogg is preferred due to its open-source nature); and the number of albums to retrieve when doing a search (choose more albums if you have a faster Internet connection).

Once you're done, click OK.

4.5.2. To Display the Jamendo Sidebar

With the Jamendo plugin enabled, choose View ▸ Sidebar (F9) or click on the Sidebar button to show the sidebar. Select Jamendo from the drop-down list at the top of the sidebar to display the Jamendo sidebar.

4.5.3. To Search for Music

Enter your search terms in the search entry at the top of the Jamendo sidebar. You can search by either artist or by tags. Click on the search button to start your search.

Search results will be displayed in the tree view in the Search Results page of the sidebar, and can be browsed through using the arrow buttons at the bottom of the sidebar. Albums are listed, and if you click on an album, its tracks will be listed below it. Click again to hide the album's tracks.

With an artist selected, you can click on the Jamendo Album Page button to open that album's page on the Jamendo website. Double-clicking an album, or choosing Add to Playlist from the album's context menu, will replace your playlist with all the tracks on that album and begin streaming the first track from Jamendo's website. Double-clicking an individual track will replace your playlist with just that track.

4.5.4. Popular Albums and Latest Releases

Viewing the Popular page in the Jamendo sidebar will load a list of the most popular albums on Jamendo at the moment, which can be played as with search results. Viewing the Latest Releases page will likewise load a list of the latest albums released on Jamendo.

4.6. Local Search

The Local Search plugin allows you to search for playable movies and audio files on your computer from within Totem Movie Player. With the plugin enabled, choose View ▸ Sidebar (F9) or click on the Sidebar button to show the sidebar. Select Local Search from the drop-down list at the top of the sidebar to display the Local Search sidebar.

To perform a search, enter your search terms in the search entry at the top of the sidebar and click Find. Your search terms may include wildcards such as *, which will match any character. For example, the search *.mpg will find all movies with the .mpg file extension.

Search results may be browsed using the Back and Forward buttons at the bottom of the sidebar, and you may jump to a specific results page by entering its number in the spin box.

4.7. Publish Playlist

The Publish Playlist plugin allows you to publish playlists on your local network to allow other computers to access and play them.

4.7.1. To Configure the Plugin

The Publish Playlist plugin can be configured. Click on the Configure button when enabling the plugin, and the configuration dialog will be displayed. Here, you can change the name which will appear for your playlist share. The following strings will be replaced when playlists are published:

%a

Replaced with the program's name: Totem Movie Player.

%h

Replaced with your computer's host name.

%u

Replaced with your username.

%U

Replaced with your real name.

%%

Replaced with a literal percent sign.

You can also select the Use encrypted transport protocol checkbox if you wish to encrypt the shared playlists when they're transmitted over the network.

Once you're done, click Close.

4.7.2. To Publish Playlists

With the plugin enabled, you do not need to explicitly publish playlists; they are automatically made available on the network as a Zeroconf website.

4.7.3. To Browse your Neighborhood

To view the shared playlists of others on your network, select Neighborhood from the drop-down list at the top of the sidebar. If any playlists have been published on the network, they will be listed here. Double-click on a playlist to load and play it on your computer.

4.8. Subtitle Downloader

The Subtitle Downloader plugin allows you to find and download subtitle files from the OpenSubtitles service.

Subtitles can only be downloaded for local movies; not audio files, DVDs, DVB streams, VCDs or HTTP streams. To search for subtitles for the currently playing movie, choose View ▸ Download Movie Subtitles, which will display the Download Movie Subtitles dialog.

Select the language in which you wish to have your subtitles from the drop-down list at the top of the dialog, then click on the Find button to search for subtitles for the current movie. Subtitles are found on the basis of the movie's content, rather than its filename or tags.

Search results are listed in the tree view in the middle of the dialog. Currently, subtitles can only be used with a movie by reloading the movie with the subtitles, so after selecting the subtitle file you wish to download, click on the Play with Subtitle button to download the subtitles and reload the movie.

Downloaded subtitle files are cached (in ~/.cache/totem/subtitles, by default) so that they do not need to be downloaded again when playing the movie again. When downloading new subtitles for a movie, any previously downloaded subtitles for that movie are deleted.

4.9. Thumbnail

The Thumbnail plugin sets Totem Movie Player's main window icon to a thumbnail of the current movie, and updates the icon when new movies are loaded.

If a thumbnail doesn't exist for the current movie (or if you're playing an audio file), the main window icon will be reset to the Totem Movie Player logo.

4.10. Video Disc Recorder

The Video Disc Recorder plugin allows you to burn the current playlist to a DVD or VCD using Brasero.

To burn the current playlist, choose Movie ▸ Create Video Disc. A Brasero dialog will be displayed, giving options for converting the movies to the appropriate format and burning them to disc. For more information, see the Brasero documentation.

4.11. YouTube Browser

The YouTube Browser plugin allows you to search and browse YouTube, and play YouTube videos directly in Totem Movie Player. With the plugin enabled, choose View ▸ Sidebar (F9) or click on the Sidebar button to show the sidebar. Select YouTube from the drop-down list at the top of the sidebar to display the YouTube sidebar.

To search for a YouTube video, enter your search terms in the entry at the top of the sidebar, then click Find. The search results will be listed in the tree view below. More results will be loaded automatically as you scroll down the list.

To play a video, double-click it in the results list, or choose Add to Playlist from its context menu. When a video is played, a list of related videos will automatically be loaded in the Related Videos page of the YouTube sidebar.

YouTube videos can be opened in a web browser by choosing Open in Web Browser from their context menu. This will open the video in its original location on the YouTube website.

4.12. D-Bus Service

The D-Bus Service plugin broadcasts notifications of which track is playing in Totem Movie Player on the D-Bus session bus. Applications such as Gajim can listen for such notifications and respond accordingly by, for example, updating your instant messaging status message to display the video currently being played in Totem Movie Player.

5. Preferences

To modify the preferences of Totem Movie Player, choose Edit ▸ Preferences.

5.1. General

Networking

Select network connection speed from the Connection speed drop-down list.

Text Subtitles
  • Automatically load subtitle files: select this option to automatically load any subtitle files with the same filename as a movie when the movie is loaded.
  • Font: select this option to change the font used to display subtitles.
  • Encoding: select this option to change the encoding used to display subtitles.

5.2. Display

Display
  • Select the resize option if you want Totem Movie Player to automatically resize the window to the size of the video when a new video is loaded.
  • Select the screensaver option if you want to allow the screensaver to activate when playing audio files. Some monitors with integrated speakers may stop playing music when the screensaver is activated.
Visual Effects
  • Visual: select this option to show visual effects while an audio file is playing.
  • Type of visualization: select type of visualization from the drop-down list.
  • Visualization size: select visualization size from the drop-down list.
Color balance
  • Brightness: use the slider to specify the level of brightness.
  • Contrast: use the slider to specify the level of contrast.
  • Saturation: use the slider to specify the level of saturation.
  • Hue: use the slider to specify the level of hue.

You may use the Reset to Defaults button to reset the color balance controls to their default positions.

5.3. Audio

Audio Output

Select audio output type from the Audio output type drop-down list.

6. About Totem Movie Player

Totem Movie Player is written by Bastien Nocera (), Julien Moutte () for the GStreamer backend, and Guenter Bartsch (). To find more information about Totem Movie Player, please visit the Totem Movie Player website.

To report a bug or make a suggestion regarding the Totem Movie Player application or this manual, follow the directions in the GNOME Feedback Page.

This program is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public license as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. A copy of this license can be found at this link, or in the file COPYING included with the source code of this program.

  • Totem Movie Player Manual