Linux and the DVD...it works!

[altivo]

Well. I'm impressed by the devious resourcefulness of Linux programmers.

My new PC has a DVD drive rather than plain CD-ROM. I figured I was taking a chance, given all the encryption and copy protection schemes that the video cartels use on their discs, but it wasn't that expensive.

So... when I first tried a commercial DVD I wasn't too surprised at the string of error messages. Read error, unsupported format, etc. Some experimentation showed that unencrypted DVDs play fine (cheap releases of old classic movies, cartoons, and, oddly enough, porn.) But major films, nuh uh. As always, it took a little delving into error logs. Don't just point and click, run the playback programs from the command line so you can see the error messages that result...

So, xine and gxine just don't like my hardware, it seems. But Totem works. It was complaining about not finding a dll file. What? Yes, a Windoze dll file. Sure enough, I went scrounging on my mate's XP system and retrieved the file it was trying to open. Voila! Now it plays back WMV and ASF and other Windows proprietary formats, by using Microsloth's own code to do it. I love it.

The other missing piece for playing the commercial DVDs was libdvdcss.so which contains the decryption for the most common formats. This library is not distributed with most Linux versions because of some legal issues. But it is quite small. A brief download from a European site (gee, why not US? thanks to the RIAA/MPAA everyone here is terrified to defy them) and a fast configure/make solved the problem. Totem now plays back every DVD I can find to try.

Not that I plan to sit in front of the computer watching movies, but I do have use for some screen shots now and then. I'm also impressed by the sound quality. With my inexpensive earphones, the surround sound works. I dunno how, but it does. Sounds just as good as my mate's seven speaker surround setup.

Comments

[songdogmi.livejournal.com]

I'm impressed by the devious resourcefulness of you. :-)

[ducktapeddonkey.livejournal.com]

I've been surprised by just how far some distros have come on the multi media front several times. I've found it not only better for watching DVDs. But much better for ripping them as well.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I'm more interested in music than in video. But certainly Linux is a match for Windoze in that area too. I've grown quite fond of xmms.

[kyhwana.livejournal.com]

Try vlc http://www.videolan.org

I _think_ they play CSS encrypted DVDs.

But yeah, you can't get libdvdcss from anywhere in the US thanks to the MPAA/DVDCSS thanks to the DMCA.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

They probably do. I think that's the site I downloaded the libdvdcss source from. I had to laugh when I saw that xine lets you set your region number to play DVDs encoded for any region.

[calydor.livejournal.com]

*cry*

Now you've done it again, that completely unexpected phrase I'd never expect from you.

You nearly killed me this morning, Tivo. Had me choking on my morning coffee.

You have porn? On DVDs? Store-bought, obviously? YOU?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Sorry I just don't fit in any pigeon holes, not being a pigeon. ;P

No, not store-bought. But garage sale and hand-me-downs, yes, I have a handful of disks and tapes. Mostly out of curiosity, and mostly not very watchable because the "acting" is so cardboard cutout stiff. I find that some literary porn is quite nice, but so far I remain unimpressed by the cinematic variety. Still, they were here to test with.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, I know you were aware that I have written and published and actually been paid for pornographic stories. So the fact that I might have some in my possession should hardly be such a shock to you. ;)

[calydor.livejournal.com]

IIRC, you wrote those about 15-20 years ago, if not more. The shock was more that you had 'new' porn in the shape of DVDs.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The stuff I got paid for is 15 years old, yes. But I have certainly written (or cowritten) things much more recent. In fact, you participated in a good chunk of it.