graeme_p - 11:36 am on Mar 14, 2010 (gmt 0)

the other day Wheel mentioned using a paid version of linux and he thought that might account for better support with audio / video.

Very likely. I do not know what distro he uses, but, for example, the paid version of Mandriva comes with DVD player, a bunch of extra codecs from Fluendo, Flash pre-installed (along with some other proprietary stuff).

None of it is a huge problem (one-off installations, the free alternative may even be entirely legal depending on the patent laws where you live) - on the other hand paying saves you some hassle and helps fund it all.