SMPlayer is a cross-platform free and open source media player for Windows and Linux with built-in codecs that can play virtually all video and audio formats.
It doesn’t need any external codecs. Just install SMPlayer and you’ll be able to play all formats including avi, mp4, mkv, mpeg, mov, divx, h.264 etc. without the hassle to find and install codec packs.
SMplayer has been localized in more than 30 languages.
One of the most interesting features of SMPlayer: it remembers the settings of all files you play. So you start to watch a movie but you have to leave – don’t worry.
When you open that movie again it will be resumed at the same point you left it, and with the same settings: audio track, subtitles, volume. SMPlayer is built with Qt and is based on MPlayer. This makes it quite portable, since MPlayer and Qt are already available on all major operating systems.
Another area where SMPlayer excels is in subtitles. SMPlayer allows you to choose subtitles in a variety of formats allowing you to choose the font, size, and even colors.
SMPlayer is a graphical user interface (GUI) for the award-winning MPlayer, which is capable of playing almost all known video and audio formats.
But apart from providing access for the most common and useful options of MPlayer, SMPlayer adds other interesting features like the possibility to play Youtube videos or download subtitles.
Table of Contents
Key Features
- Free and Open-Source
- Play all media formats
- Comes with several skins and icon themes, so you can easily change the look of the player.
- SMPlayer can play YouTube videos and it’s also available an optional plugin to search for YouTube videos.
- SMPlayer includes many advanced features like video and audio filters, change of the playback speed, adjustment of audio and subtitles delay, video equalizer
- Can search and download subtitles
- Available in more than 30 languages
- SMPlayer is a cross platform application available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS.
This article explains two methods of installing SMPlayer on Ubuntu 20.04.
Choose the installation method that is most appropriate for your environment.
Method 1: Installing SMPlayer as a Snap Package
The easiest way to install SMPlayer on Ubuntu 20.04 is by using the snap packaging system.
A snap package is a type of universal Linux package that you can enjoy irrespective of the distro. Its an self-contained software packages that include the binary all dependencies needed to run the application.
All you need is the snap service pre-configured, In the case of Ubuntu 20.04, it comes with snap pre-installed.
If snapd package is not already installed then you can install it by running following command.
$ sudo apt install snapdNote: Snap packages can be installed from either the command-line or via the Ubuntu Software application.
This is actually the Snap version of the SMPlayer. It can be used on any Linux distribution that has Snap support.
Open your terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and type the following command to install the SMPlayer package.
$ sudo snap install smplayerAt this step, you have successfully installed SMPlayer application on Ubuntu 20.04 system.
Type the following command to update SMPlayer package.
$ sudo snap refresh --listMethod 2: Installing SMPlayer via PPA Repository
If you want to install the most recent version of SMPlayer, you can use the PPA repository.
Personal Package Archives (PPA) are software repositories designed for Ubuntu users and are easier to install than other third-party repositories. PPAs are often used to distribute pre-release software so that it can be tested.
Step #1
First of all open the terminal from system application launcher and type the following command to add the SMPlayer PPA to your system.
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rvm/smplayerStep #2
Then, execute the following commands to install SMPlayer package on your Ubuntu system.
$ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install smplayer smplayer-themes smplayer-skinsOnce installed, launch it from your system application menu.
Starting SMPlayer
SMPlayer can be launched from the command line by typing smplayer or In the Activities search bar type “SMPlayer” and click on the icon.
SMPlayer user interface:
How to Uninstall SMPlayer from Ubuntu 20.04
For some reason, If you want to uninstall SMPlayer application, refer following methods.
Method #1
If you have installed SMPlayer via Snap type the following command:
$ sudo snap remove smplayerMethod #2
If you have installed the appication via PPA then uninstall by running the below commands.
Step #1
It’s most likely that you added the PPA using add-apt-repository command. You can use the same command to remove the PPA as well. Just give it --remove option in the command.
$ sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:rvm/smplayerStep #2
As of now we removed the PPA. What about the applications installed using these PPAs? Will they be removed as a result of removing the PPA? The answer is NO.
So this is when ppa-purge comes in picture. It not only disables the PPA but also uninstalls all the programs installed by the PPA or revert them to original version provided by your distribution.
So type the following command to install the ppa-purge package and uninstall the SMPlayer package.
$ sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:rvm/smplayerConclusion
I hope that now you have a good understanding of How to install SMPlayer on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa.
If anyone does have any questions about what we covered in this guide then feel free to ask in the comment section below and I will do my best to answer those.