Questions and Answers
What does the Unsupported video codec message mean?
It means the video format can not be played. This may be because you do not have a full featured xanim installed. See the next answer for more details.
There are some codecs that will not be playable for the foreseeable future. The one that may affect you the most is Sorenson as used in QuickTime 4.
How do I get the full featured xanim?
Go to the xanim home page and follow the instructions to install the cinepak, indeo and creative video codecs. You may need to recompile xanim, but check your distributions documentation as some are easier to install than others.
How do I know if the VidMode and DGA extensions are available on my system?
There are two ways to check. Which one you use depends on how you installed .
Installed from source 	Check the output of ./configure, you should see "checking for VidMode extensions...". If the script prints a "no" after this line, then you don't have the extensions.
Installed binary (rpm or deb) 	Look in your system for two files called: libXxf86vm.a and libXxf86dga.a, if you have them, good.
In both cases, if you don't have the extensions, check that you've installed the XFree86-devel rpm package from your Linux box. The extensions are included in this package.
How do I know if the VidMode extensions are working on my system?
Try switching video modes with CTRL ALT numpad +. If nothing happens, you may only need to enable additional resolutions. See the next answer for more details.
How do I set up aditional video modes?
You should have a video configuration utility provided with your distribution. If not, there is always XF86Config available.
Enable as many resolution modes as you can. At the very least, you will want to enable 640x400 alongside your standard everyday resolution.