cant play a DVD
 

Hi everybody,

I've been trying to play a DVD on my box that runs Mandrake 9.0.
It came with Xine, but it does not work. I do get the following error message:
-------
Xine Engine Error

There is no input plugin available to handle ' dvd://video_ts.vob.
Maybe MRL syntax is wrong or file/stream source doesn't exist.

Then there are 2 buttons (Done and More...) If I press MORE, I get XineLog with more info:
“stream format” tab:
xine: cannot find input plugin for this MRL
libmpeg2: frame size is 592 x 448
using video decoder plugin 'mpeg2dec'
system layer format 'MPEG_ELEM' detected.
using input plugin 'file' for MRL 'file:///usr/share/xine/skins/xine_logo.mpv'

“messages” tab:
input_dvd: Unable to find >VIDEO_TS.VOB< on dvd.
input_dvd: Sorry, this plugin doesn't play encrypted DVDs. The legal status of CSS decryption is unclear and we cannot provide such code.
Please check http://dvd.sf.net for more inforamtion.
input_cda: open(/dev/cdaudio) failed: No such file or directory.
----------

I downloaded mplayer (I read on some forums that people like that dvd player). When I try mplayer -dvd 1 in my upper part of the screen I get some colored line.

I can see all the files on my dvd, the ln symlink already exists, dont know what else to try.

If anybody has any advice, I would really apreciate it !!

Thanks,
m_m

does the version of xine that comes with mandrake come with the DeCSS libraries for decoding encrypted dvds? the libraries are technically illegal in the us, so lots of distros (e.g. redhat) don't ship with them. however, for all practical purposes, every dvd is encrypted. you'll have to either download the libraries, if you don't have them, or download another player, (i like ogle, myself) that has them if you want to watch dvds on your box.

The easiest way to do it is using PLF through urpmi. Update urpmi following the directions here: http://plf.zarb.org/~nanardon/ Use the Mandrake control center to install packages. You should be able to scroll through descriptions of the packages available at PLF and install the needed ones (including decryption).

By the way, I think mplayer is superior in general to xine and easier to get working. The latest version (1.0pre1 I think) has gmplayer (the graphical interface) included. Gmplayer is also available from PLF. The "-dvd" option is obsolete with the newest mplayer. The correct command is "mplayer dvd://N" where N is the title number on the DVD.

Ogle handles DVD menus better than either mplayer or xine.

here is the link to the rpms page for ogle. i don't use redhat or mandrake, so i don't know if the rpm binaries given for rh8 will work for mandrake (rpmers, anybody know?) or not. my understanding is that this is sort of iffy and sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. however, the srpms are given, and those are sure to work, so i'd be inclined to go through the extra effort of using rpmrebuild on them. your choice though. just make sure you install all the (s)rpms in the order given at the top of the page, and you should be set.

stupid me, i didn't read the directions. it says the binary rpms have been reported to work with mandrake 9, so ignore everything i said about srpms and just install the binaries in the order given.

The new version of Mplayer Pre1 that just got released is a godsend for video on linux(for the newbie at least). I recommend trying it.

http://www2.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/rel....0pre1.tar.bz2

I recommend *NOT* trying it as a security exploit was found in 0.91 and 1.0pre1 last week. use 0.92 or CVS versions.

In particular, you need the file xine-d5d-0.2.7-2.plf to enable DVD menu support. You may have to search for libcss, libdvdcss, libdvdnav, libdvdread and xine-dvdnav files in Mandrake Control Centre after you update the sources from plf as per the web site above.

Works flawlessly for me.

HTH
baldrick

>:-(
I still couldnt make it work.
I tried first http://plf.zarb.org/~nanardon/ It download and install something but still Xine didnt work.
Than I download Ogle ( tars and rpms, I tried them both ).
When make install for ogIe-0.9.1, I get the following error:
----
configure: error: You need libXext
---

I still need a little bit of help.

Thanks,
m_m

kinda speaks for itself......

use mplayer, complie it from source. it will work. if not give us the error messages.

It might speak for itself for advanced users. For me it is just a missing library, that I dont know where to get it, nor how to install it.

Anyway, when I launch mplayer I get some this:
--
Reading config file /usr/local/etc/mplayer/mplayer.conf: No such file or directory
Reading config file /home/diferit/.mplayer/config
Reading /home/diferit/.mplayer/codecs.conf: can't open '/home/diferit/.mplayer/codecs.conf': No such file or directory
Reading /usr/local/etc/mplayer/codecs.conf: can't open '/usr/local/etc/mplayer/codecs.conf': No such file or directory
Using built-in default codecs.conf
font: can't open file: /home/diferit/.mplayer/font/font.desc
font: can't open file: /usr/local/share/mplayer/font/font.desc
Failed to open /dev/rtc: Permission denied (mplayer should be setuid root or /dev/rtc should be readable by the user.)
Using usleep() timing
Can't open input config file /home/diferit/.mplayer/input.conf: No such file or directory
Can't open input config file /usr/local/etc/mplayer/input.conf: No such file or directory
Falling back on default (hardcoded) input config
----

I get the sound perfectly, but the image is just some colored lines in my upper part of the screen.

OK, I should have said also that you need the contrib sources/packages as well. After you run the urpmi stuff from the console as root, open the Mandrake Control Centre, go to Install Software, and search for the above stuff I previously mentioned.

This should install the missing stuff, especially the lib stuff and the xine-dvdnav.

HTH
Baldrick

Many of the error messages you see can be ignored. The errors referring to a missing mplayer config file is because mplayer doesn't create a config file by default, but uses a default configuration and should work without one. The errors referring to fonts is because mplayer has a package called "mplayer-fonts" I assume for the user interface. Once again, mplayer should work without the fonts. If you want to create a config file type "man mplayer" and you can read how to create it and where to store it.

In the latest version of mplayer, I had trouble playing an encrypted *.vob file directly from the DVD and I saw random colored patches on the screen similar to what you describe. I didn't have trouble If I chose a title from the DVD. You might try the command "mplayer dvd://1" to try and play title 1 from the DVD. Another thing to try is "gmplayer". When gmplayer opens, right click on the window and select play>>dvd, don't try to open a file from the dvd itself. Also from gmplayer you can right click on the screen and select preferences. Under video there are choices for different drivers. I think the default is x11, but xv works better for me. You might try different video drivers to see if that has an effect.

I still cant play DVDs on my linux box.
Everything is so complicated, or at list it looks like that to me.
Download source, download deCSS, install this, install that, lots of dependency errors.
I got one simple question.

Since XINE is already installed and it comes with the system, isnt some plug-in that I can install to make it work???

If it is do I have to recompile Xine again or just install the plug-in?

Anyway , thanks to everybody that participated in this topic. :-)
m_m