How to Play Videos in Ubuntu MATE

By default, Ubuntu MATE comes with VLC Media Player pre-installed. All you need to do to play a video file on your computer is double-click the video file. If the video file is supported by VLC Media Player it should open up and play.

Locate your video file by clicking on Caja file manager. Click on the Applications menu, high-light System Tools, and then click on Caja.

In a few seconds the Caja file manager will load.

Click on the Videos folder on the left. Your video file might be in a different location. Use the Caja file manager like you would the Windows file manager to locate your video file.

Once you locate your video file, double-click the file and it should open and start playing in VLC Media Player.

In a few seconds the video file will play.

If you double-click on a file and it doesn't play or you try to play a DVD and it doesn't play then you'll need to install some additional packages on your computer.

To install one of the needed codec's, open your MATE Terminal. 

Click on the Applications menu, highlight System Tools, then locate and click on MATE Terminal.

In a few seconds the MATE Terminal will load on your screen.

Copy the following commands and then paste them in your MATE Terminal.
   sudo apt-get install libavcodec-extra

After you enter the commands, press the Enter or Return key and type  in your password. In a few moments it will install the libavcodec-extra file needed for streaming or transcoding audio and video files.

To close the MATE Terminal, type exit and press the Enter or Return key.

In order to play a DVD, you'll need to install some additional codecs. I have the steps for installing the codecs needed for playing a DVD on How To Play A DVD. 

I hope this helped you play your video files.

Take care!