I think a lot of this Linux posting(s) is mostly "Inside Baseball" and it is small wonder that most people shy away from Linux. It seems to me, a computer literate since 1985, who would migrate to Linux in a millisecond, that there is a certain "technological snobbery" attached to Linux and most of the cogniscenti want to keep it that way. I mean, I know Solaris and all, but this (mysticism surrounding Linux) is to me at least, the trappings of a cult.

Install vlc player
supports the formats you mentioned