Solution: you cannot play videos in formats such as wmv In ubuntu. By default, the system player in ubuntu cannot play videos in wmv format. This is mainly because video/audio decoding is not available! Gnome Mplayer is a powerful media player. Supported encoding methods include MPEG 1/2/4, DivX 3/4/5, Windows Media 7/8/9, RealAudio/Video (lower than 9), Quicktime 5/6, and Vivo 1/2. It supports installation of Gnome Mplayer in Ubuntu to update the source sudo apt-get update first on the terminal. Run the following command to install Gnome Mplayer: sudo aptitude install Gnome Mplayer or you can find GONME Mplayer in "ubuntu Software Center" and install it. 2. install W32codecs In Ubuntu. deb W32codecs is used to support WMV, RealMedia, and some other formats. However, due to copyright and legal reasons, this software package is not included in the Ubuntu software repository. Install W32codes. deb dpkg-I W32codes. deb on the terminal. Now you can try to open the video in WMV format. It should be okay...