Troubleshooting Windows Media Redirection on Linux
Article ID: CTX120342
Updated On:
Description
Version 11.x of Citrix Receiver for Linux (formerly the Client for Linux) supports Windows Media Redirection using the GStreamer Framework. This allows high quality audio and video playback within an ICA session if you have all the relevant codecs installed locally on the client device. GStreamer can be installed using the package manager of most popular Linux distributions.
This feature can be enabled during the Citrix Receiver for Linux installation by entering Y when asked if you want to integrate the client with the GStreamer plugin.
To enable or disable Windows Media Redirection after installation, modify wfclient.ini, set the SpeedScreenMMAVideoEnabled and SpeedScreenMMAAudioEnabled parameters to On or Off, respectively.
By default, Windows Media Redirection is enabled at the server farm level for both XenApp and XenDesktop.
Supported Media Players
Citrix recommends using one of the following media players:
-
Windows Media Player 10
-
Real Player 11
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Media Player Classic
Earlier versions of these products might work if Windows Media Redirection is enabled, but are not recommended. The following players are not currently supported:
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Quicktime
-
iTunes
-
Winamp
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VLC Media Player
-
Windows Media Player 7.1
Supported Connection Speeds
-
WAN (DSL) – Supported
-
LAN – Supported
-
Modem, 56kbs – Not supported
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Satellite – Not supported
Supported Container Formats
Containers are wrappers which contain audio and/or video data. This data can be encoded using any number of codecs. The following container formats are supported, although some files with these extensions might not play because of lack of codecs.
Supported video containers
- AVI - Audio Video Interleave
- MPEG - Motion Pictures Expert Group
- MP4 - MPEG 4 Video
- ASF - Microsoft Advanced Streaming Format
- TS - Transport Stream
- MKV - Matroska Video
- DIVX - DIVX Video
- OGG - OGG Video
- FLV - Flash Video
Supported audio containers
- WAV - PCM Audio
- MP3 - MPEG 1 Audio Layer 3
- AAC - Advanced Audio Coding
- WMA - Windows Media Audio
- AC3 - AC3 Audio
- APE - Monkey’s Audio
- AIFF - Apple Audio Interchange
- M4A - MPEG 4 Audio
- MKA - Matroska Audio
- OGG - OGG Audio
Supported Codecs
GStreamer supports an extensive range of audio and video codecs. As long as your XenApp or XenDesktop server supports the container format, it should work over Windows Media Redirection. However, if you have a problem with a particular file, contact Citrix technical support with a sample for assistance.
The following tables list all the video and audio codecs tested by Citrix and mentions whether they are currently supported or not.
Video Codecs
Supported
| Media Type (Encoding format | Media Player 10 | Real Player 11 | Media Player Classic |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIVX Video (3/4/5/6/7) | YES | YES | YES |
| XVID Video | YES | YES | YES |
| Microsoft Video 1 | YES | YES | YES |
| MPEG-1 Video | YES | YES | YES |
| MPEG-2 Video | YES | YES | YES |
| MPEG-4 Video (H.264) | YES | NO | YES |
| MS MPEG-4 V1 | YES | YES | YES |
| MS MPEG-4 V2 | YES | YES | YES |
| MS MPEG-4 V3 | YES | YES | YES |
| WMV 7 | YES | NO | YES |
| WMV 8 | YES | NO | YES |
| WMV 9 | YES | NO | YES |
| Indeo Video 3.2 | YES | NO | YES |
| Indeo Video 4.5 | YES | NO | YES |
| Indeo Video 5.1 | YES | NO | YES |
| Flash Video (Note) | YES | NO | YES |
| 3GP/3GP2 | NO | NO | NO |
| DVD/VOB | NO | NO | NO |
| DV | NO | NO | NO |
| Techsmith | NO | NO | NO |
| Quicktime | NO | NO | NO |
| Real Video | NO | NO | NO |
| Dirac | NO | NO | NO |
Note: Flash video works only in a standalone player. Content embedded in web pages is not currently supported.
Audio codecs
Supported
| Media Type (Encoding format) | Media Player 10 | Real Player 11 | Media Player Classic |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCM WAV | YES | NO | YES |
| MP1 | YES | NO | YES |
| MP2 | YES | NO | YES |
| MP3 | YES | NO | YES |
| M4A (AAC LC) | NO | NO | YES |
| MKA | NO | NO | YES |
| OGG | NO | NO | YES |
| AAC | YES | NO | YES |
| FAAC | YES | NO | YES |
| WMA 7/8/9 | YES | NO | YES |
| AC3 | NO | NO | YES |
| APE (Lossless) | YES | NO | YES |
| AIFF | YES | NO | YES |
| MusePack | NO | NO | YES |
| WavPack | NO | NO | YES |
| IMA Adaptive PCM | NO | NO | NO |
| Real Audio | NO | NO | NO |
| FLAC (Lossless) | NO | NO | NO |
| MIDI | NO | NO | NO |
Known Issues
The following known issues related to Windows Media Redirection have been observed when using Version 11.x of Citrix Receiver for Linux:
- Videos embedded in web pages sometimes cause the Receiver to exception
- Files encoded with the DIVX 5.1.1 codec freeze after about 15 seconds of playback
- When playing MPEG 1 or MPEG 2 files, you may see a black screen after seeking
- Some DIVX/XVID files have Audio/Video synchronization problems after seeking
- All DIVX/XVID/MPEG4/WMV files display gray blotches after seeking
- AC3 does not work in Media Player (but works in Media Player Classic)
- Real Media and Quicktime formats are not supported
- 16:9 Videos get stretched to 4:3 in full screen mode (and vice-versa)
- Multimedia published content does not start correctly, but can be fixed by seeking
- The last second of audio and/or video is often cut off
- Windows Media Redirection does not currently work when connecting to Citrix XenApp 5.0 servers
Additional Resources
- Citrix recommends to always use the latest version of GStreamer on the client device. Windows Media Redirection requires at least version 0.10.15. You must also install the GStreamer codec plugins to play various types of media.
- Citrix also recommends to use the latest version of DirectX and Media Player on the server.
- Install GStreamer and any plugins before installing the Receiver.
- The Citrix Receiver for Linux requires 32-bit GStreamer codecs for Windows Media Redirection to work correctly. To use Windows Media Redirection on 64-bit operating systems, install the appropriate 32-bit GStreamer codecs for your operating system before installing the Citrix Receiver for Linux.
CTX120175 – Citrix Receiver for Linux 11.x Administrator's Guide
CTX120177 – Citrix Receiver for Linux Version 11.x Readme
Issue/Introduction
