Totem

Active

apps.gnome.org

Country: United States (US)
Founded: 2003
Developer: GNOME Project
Pricing: Free (open-source)
Open source: Yes
Platforms: Linux

Indexes

Mountaineering Speakers Video Players

Overview

Totem, officially known as Videos in recent GNOME versions, is a free movie player for the GNOME desktop environment. It uses the GStreamer backend to support a wide range of file and streaming formats including H.264, H.265, MPEG-4, WebM, AV1, and legacy formats like Ogg, AVI, ASF, MOV, and WMV. The application also supports DVD playback and can play audio files. Totem is included as the default movie player in Ubuntu and many other GNOME-based Linux distributions.

Key Features

Format Support - Supports H.264, H.265, MPEG-4, WebM, AV1, MPEG-2, MPEG-1, Ogg, AVI, ASF, MOV, WMV, QuickTime, and more through GStreamer backend
DVD Playback - Capable of playing DVD media directly
Playlist Management - Features a searchable list of local videos and playlist functionality
Network Video Sharing - Supports local network video shares using UPnP/DLNA protocols
Subtitle Downloader - Built-in functionality to download subtitles for videos
Playback Controls - Speed up or down playback functionality for flexible viewing
Screenshot Galleries - Ability to create screenshot galleries from video content
DVD Recording - Support for recording DVDs
Full-Screen Mode - Full-screen viewing capability with seek and volume controls

Pricing

Plan	Price	Includes
Free	$0	All features including format support, DVD playback, playlist management, subtitle downloader, and playback controls

Platforms & Requirements

Totem runs on Linux systems with GNOME desktop environment, including Ubuntu and other GNOME-based distributions. It requires GStreamer framework as the default backend, though it can also use xine libraries. Hardware acceleration support depends on graphics card capabilities, and some users may need to disable hardware acceleration for certain codec profiles.

Integrations & Ecosystem

GStreamer backend
Xine libraries
UPnP/DLNA network sharing
Subtitle download services
File manager drag-and-drop
GNOME desktop environment integration

Alternatives

App	Difference
VLC Media Player	Cross-platform media player with broader OS support (Windows, macOS, Linux, mobile) and more extensive codec support
MPV	Lightweight command-line focused media player with minimal GUI, preferred by advanced users for customization
Kaffeine	KDE-based media player alternative for users on KDE Plasma desktop environment
Celluloid	GNOME media player fork with GTK interface, offers alternative UI design for GNOME users

Reputation

Totem is a stable and reliable media player well-integrated into the GNOME ecosystem, serving as the default player in Ubuntu and other distributions. Users appreciate its simplicity, format support, and seamless GNOME integration. Some users report codec compatibility issues, particularly with H.264 High Profile videos on certain systems, though these can typically be resolved through driver or plugin updates. The application is considered lightweight and suitable for basic to intermediate media playback needs on Linux systems.

Sources (9)