How to install common media codecs

I'm new to Ubuntu. I tried installing it with Windows 8.1, but failed I lost all my files.

I have successfully formatted my PC and installed Ubuntu, but how do I install codecs to play audio and videos files ?

1 Answer

Open a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and paste the following code :

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras 

Or install using Ubuntu Software center :

It will install proprietary codecs needed for reading audio and video files.

Alternatively you can use VLC Media Player which can play most of the audio/video formats :

sudo apt-get install vlc