Converting videos have come to be a pain in the back for most new Ubuntu users due to the hassle involved in installation of formats and finding a suitable software package. As usual like everything else in Ubuntu the scenario is changing rapidly. Contrary to popular belief, video converting is pretty easy in Ubuntu once your get to know the right tools for the job. FFmpeg is a versatile tool when it comes to converting videos as it is a video converter and so much more. If you know how to use the command line then no other video conversion package matches the power and flexibility of FFmpeg. For those you who would rather prefer a GUI based conversion package, FFmpeg also offers you a graphical frontend. We have compiled a step by step guide to using FFMPEG to convert videos in Ubuntu.

The latest version of XBMC, codenamed Babylon is finally released. It has many new features and enhancements. For beginners, XBMC is an award winning Open Source Multimedia Application with eye candy and easy to use interface. Take a look at the screenshots of XBMC. All new XBMC 9.04 comes with a lot of improvements and added features. Some of the new features include support for Power PC architecture, improved FanArt support,  VDPAU hardware accelerated video decoding under Linux on NVIDIA graphics and so on.

Here are the detailed instructions on How to install XBMC 9.04 - Babylon in Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope and also further details on the application.

Windows Media Player is a multimedia player owned by Microsoft Corporation. It is a Windows only media player and doesn't have any Free alternative. Newbie GNU/Linux users find it difficult to find a good alternative for Windows Media Player. There exist a plethora of highly efficient media players in Ubuntu like XBMC Media Center, Amarok, Smplayer, VLC etc.

XBMC Media Center (XBOX Media Center) is an  award winning free and open source media center which is also multiplatform.  It looks stunning and is also feature rich. Apart from being an excellent  multimedia player, it has of features like visually appealing user interface, playlist playback, picture viewing, some really good skins, and even third party softwares and addons. XBMC media center is released under GNU General Public License.