GNOME’s New Video Player: A Modern Take on Video Playback
Even with the rise of online streaming, video players remain a staple on Linux systems. Many users opt for popular options like VLC, MPV player, and SMPlayer. However, GNOME’s default video player, Totem, has been around for a while and is due for a replacement. Enter Showtime, a modern video player app that aims to provide a distraction-free watching experience.
What to Expect from Showtime?
Showtime is a new video player app written in Python and utilizing the GStreamer framework for audio/video playback functionality. As part of the GNOME Incubator program, Showtime is poised to become a core GNOME app, pending fulfillment of the required criteria. The app joins Decibels, a minimal audio player, in the incubator program.
Showtime’s minimalistic interface
A Breath of Fresh Air
I had the opportunity to test the nightly build of Showtime, and I must say, it didn’t disappoint. The user interface is extremely minimal, with all the controls right where I expected them to be. I was able to control the playback using the slider, and there were controls to change the volume, go forward/backward 10 seconds in the video, play/pause, and the cogwheel had options to change the playback speed, language, and subtitles.
Showtime’s playback controls
Trying Out Showtime
If you’re eager to try out Showtime, you can install the nightly build using Flatpak. First, ensure you have configured the nightly repository on a Flatpak-equipped system:
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists gnome-nightly https://nightly.gnome.org/gnome-nightly.flatpakrepo
Then, run the following command to install a nightly build of Showtime:
flatpak install gnome-nightly org.gnome.Showtime.Devel
You can launch Showtime from the app launcher or by running the command:
flatpak run org.gnome.Showtime.Devel
If you’d like to learn more about Showtime, head to its official website, or explore its GitLab repo.
The Future of Video Playback on GNOME
With Showtime, GNOME is taking a significant step towards modernizing its video playback experience. As the app continues to mature, we can expect to see it become a core part of the GNOME ecosystem. If you’re interested in trying out Showtime, now is the perfect time to get involved and provide feedback to the developers.
Showtime’s minimalistic interface
