Xine is both an open source multimedia playback engine and a video playback application that's been around for a very long time. The number of people using this application has diminished, and there are few maintained third-party apps that are based on this engine. We'll take a closer look at the application to see why this is happening.
There is no point in looking at the multimedia playback engine, so we'll examine the front end, which has the same name. In fact, it might be better known to users because it sports a unique-looking GUI. In this case, unique does not equal good, but we'll get to that later.
Unfortunately for Xine (or Xine-ui), the application and the engine are not included by default in any of the major Linux distributions, but they can be usually found in repositories. There are some good reasons why Xine is no longer preferred or even mentioned in passing. It has nothing to do with the software’s capabilities, which are stellar to say the least, but it's more about support, responsiveness, and mainly the GUI.
Installation
We tested the application in Ubuntu 14.10 and we used the Ubuntu Software Center to install it. Users will find the latest version of the app, but that's not really all that interesting. This build of the Xine-ui package has been around for more than two years, and that's more than enough time to get in the repos. It's also not a good sign when a package hasn't been updated or worked on for so long.
In any case, you can install the Xine media player from the Ubuntu Software Center and you don't have to do anything special to get it going. On the other hand, you can also use the terminal to install it. Just enter this simple command in a terminal near you (root is required):
Usage
The first time you open the application, it will look like something that was developed 10 years ago. From a design point of view, Xine never really evolved, especially the front end. It still looks terrible and I suspect that's because there is no GTK+ 3.x support.
The main controls are embedded in an interface that looks like a car stereo. Some of the older users might remember that there was a time when many media players looked like that. People like it and there are some skins, even today, with variations of this theme. No matter what skin you're using, it still looks terrible. It helps if you don't see the setup menu, but not by much.
When it comes to features, Xine is actually a very good piece of software. It's able to play basically any format, it has a multitude of options that would make this an otherwise powerful app, and it can be enhanced even further with various plugins. Expect stuff like subtitle support, navigation for DVD menus, postprocessing for videos, playlists, you name it. If you can think of it, Xine probably has it.