Just flew over this as I have to get to work for a few (then I'll post back more) but try creating a symlink:
ln -sf /dev/hdb /dev/dvd
And then open up a command line, with your DVD in the dvd player and type:
mplayer -dvd 1
And see if it plays, if not, post up the errors.

Ok, brb

Cool

I certainly will! Yes (you are excellent on keeping up with foreign military traditions ya know!) the GI bill is something I'm looking at using, but probably not until next Fall school year. I'm trying to keep my options open, but so far the best I've found is a program through the Air Force Officer program to become a Pharmacist. They pay everything, but you owe em 4 afterwards. During the time I'm in school, I can also draw from my GI bill to sort of "pay my bills" so I can get a low end job and focus on my studies. That all starts next year though, so for now I'm having the family scan papers and things for Pharmacy Technician positions back in my hometown.

Thanks for the encouragement!

As for your nephew, that sounds like great stuff! I'm sure once he actually gets out of class and doing it, he'll be more than happy at his choice. Really sounds like a great future for him!

And my camaro's, definitely! I will someday have me a nice collection that I will have built all myself... I dream of that day constantly

Cool

I have tried this, which it obviously doesn't like

[john@localhost john]$ ln -sf /dev/hdb /dev/dvd
ln: cannot remove `/dev/dvd': Permission denied

so I have tried this

[john@localhost john]$ ls /dev

Which amongst a mountain of output has this:-

dvd@

So I presume that it means that the system has already allocated the name "dvd" ??

Although I didn't manage to do the symlink "thing",

I tried this
[john@localhost john]$ mplayer -dvd 1
Using GNU internationalization
Original domain: messages
Original dirname: /usr/share/locale
Current domain: mplayer
Current dirname: /usr/share/locale


MPlayer 0.90rc4-3.2.1 (C) 2000-2003 Arpad Gereoffy (see DOCS)

CPU: Intel (Family: 8, Stepping: 4)
Detected cache-line size is 64 bytes
CPUflags: MMX: 1 MMX2: 1 3DNow: 0 3DNow2: 0 SSE: 1 SSE2: 1
Compiled with Runtime CPU Detection - WARNING - this is not optimal!
To get best performance, recompile MPlayer with --disable-runtime-cpudetection
Reading config file /etc/mplayer/mplayer.conf
Reading config file /home/john/.mplayer/config
Reading /home/john/.mplayer/codecs.conf: can't open '/home/john/.mplayer/codecs.conf': No such file or directory
Reading /etc/mplayer/codecs.conf: 50 audio & 135 video codecs
font: can't open file: /home/john/.mplayer/font/font.desc
Font /usr/share/mplayer/font/font.desc loaded successfully! (206 chars)
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/john/.mplayer/input.conf : No such file or directory
Input config file /etc/mplayer/input.conf parsed : 52 binds
Opening joystick device /dev/input/js0
Can't open joystick device /dev/input/js0 : No such file or directory
Can't init input joystick
Setting up LIRC support...
mplayer: could not connect to socket
mplayer: No such file or directory
Failed to open LIRC support.
You will not be able to use your remote control.

Playing DVD title 1
libdvdread: Encrypted DVD support unavailable.
Reading disc structure, please wait...
There are 17 titles on this DVD.
There are 2 chapters in this DVD title.
There are 1 angles in this DVD title.
mplayer: ifo_read.c:1167: ifoRead_C_ADT_internal: Assertion `info_length % sizeof(cell_adr_t) == 0' failed.
Aborted
[john@localhost john]$ [john@localhost john]$ mplayer -dvd 1
bash: [john@localhost: command not found
[john@localhost john]$ Using GNU internationalization
bash: Using: command not found
[john@localhost john]$ Original domain: messages
bash: Original: command not found
[john@localhost john]$ Original dirname: /usr/share/locale
bash: Original: command not found
[john@localhost john]$ Current domain: mplayer
bash: Current: command not found
[john@localhost john]$ Current dirname: /usr/share/locale
bash: Current: command not found
[john@localhost john]$
[john@localhost john]$
[john@localhost john]$ MPlayer 0.90rc4-3.2.1 (C) 2000-2003 Arpad Gereoffy (see DOCS)
bash: syntax error near unexpected token `('
[john@localhost john]$
[john@localhost john]$ CPU: Intel (Family: 8, Stepping: 4)
bash: syntax error near unexpected token `('
[john@localhost john]$ Detected cache-line size is 64 bytes
bash: Detected: command not found
[john@localhost john]$ CPUflags: MMX: 1 MMX2: 1 3DNow: 0 3DNow2: 0 SSE: 1 SSE2: 1
bash: CPUflags:: command not found
[john@localhost john]$ Compiled with Runtime CPU Detection - WARNING - this is not optimal!
bash: Compiled: command not found
[john@localhost john]$ To get best performance, recompile MPlayer with --disable-runtime-cpudetection
bash: To: command not found
[john@localhost john]$ Reading config file /etc/mplayer/mplayer.conf
bash: Reading: command not found
[john@localhost john]$ Reading config file /home/john/.mplayer/config
bash: Reading: command not found
[john@localhost john]$ Reading /home/john/.mplayer/codecs.conf: can't open '/home/john/.mplayer/codecs.conf': No such file or directory
> Reading /etc/mplayer/codecs.conf: 50 audio & 135 video codecs
> font: can't open file: /home/john/.mplayer/font/font.desc
bash: Reading: command not found
[john@localhost john]$ Font /usr/share/mplayer/font/font.desc loaded successfully! (206 chars)
bash: syntax error near unexpected token `('
[john@localhost john]$ Failed to open /dev/rtc: Permission denied (mplayer should be setuid root or /dev/rtc should be readable by the user.)
bash: syntax error near unexpected token `('
[john@localhost john]$ Using usleep() timing
bash: syntax error near unexpected token `('
[john@localhost john]$ Can't open input config file /home/john/.mplayer/input.conf : No such file or directory
> Input config file /etc/mplayer/input.conf parsed : 52 binds
> Opening joystick device /dev/input/js0
> Can't open joystick device /dev/input/js0 : No such file or directory
bash: Cant open input config file /home/john/.mplayer/input.conf : No such file or directory
Input config file /etc/mplayer/input.conf parsed : 52 binds
Opening joystick device /dev/input/js0
Cant: No such file or directory
[john@localhost john]$ Can't init input joystick
> Setting up LIRC support...
> mplayer: could not connect to socket
> mplayer: No such file or directory
> Failed to open LIRC support.
> You will not be able to use your remote control.
>
> Playing DVD title 1
> libdvdread: Encrypted DVD support unavailable.
> Reading disc structure, please wait...
> There are 17 titles on this DVD.
> There are 2 chapters in this DVD title.
> There are 1 angles in this DVD title.
> mplayer: ifo_read.c:1167: ifoRead_C_ADT_internal: Assertion `info_length % sizeof(cell_adr_t) == 0' failed.
bash: Cant init input joystick
Setting up LIRC support...
mplayer: could not connect to socket
mplayer: No such file or directory
Failed to open LIRC support.
You will not be able to use your remote control.

Playing DVD title 1
libdvdread: Encrypted DVD support unavailable.
Reading disc structure, please wait...
There are 17 titles on this DVD.
There are 2 chapters in this DVD title.
There are 1 angles in this DVD title.
mplayer: ifo_read.c:1167: ifoRead_C_ADT_internal: Assertion `info_length % sizeof(cell_adr_t) == 0: command not found
[john@localhost john]$ Aborted
bash: Aborted: command not found
[john@localhost john]$

anyhow to see what it threw as errors, do you have any idea what it is telling me to do?

Sorry if it seems like I am asking you to do the leg work (I feel guilty about this) but at the moment the mandrake is really getting on my nerves.

I have been trying to do some minor changes and the whole OS has been running at the speed of a "striking slug"! I have just finished the 3rd re-install, which seems to have got me just about back to "square one"!

My copy of O'Really's "running linux" is taking a bit of a "pounding" as it gets launched into the bathroom, with me moaning about f*****g geeks and why can't they write in english, as I head for the kitchen for another coffee/cigarette/glass of wine/whatever!

God, I must sound like such a thick moaning git! It's really frustrating, but at the moment I just don't understand it.

I suppose I'll have to find a decent book about "bash commands" etc.

regards

John

To administer your system (permission denied things), you must be root, so command this first:

su -

and answer the password prompt with the root password.

Ignoring my sig, I see. These are very good.

Getting Started with Linux
Directory of Linux Commands
You can and should download these:
Linux Newbie Administrator Guide
Rute User's Tutorial and Exposition

originally quoted by MasterC
It might sound like I am labouring the point Chad, but as you have a wife and family to consider, if you have to go for something like the above quote, the go for it, at the end of the day, once you have a pharmacists qualification under your arm, then at least you could do some "locum" type work, and it's not as if you are unfamiliar with uniformed jobs - youre just lucky that you hobbies of computers and cars can be "done" pretty much anywhere (and they would be for maintaining you sanity).

It disappoints me no end that life just seems to be about money, but right now I wish we could get some more of it (then the UK national lottery wouldn't feature so largely in my pension plan!), and until we can get Clare into a "state school", we have to make do with what she get's at a private nursery (kindergarten)(at least she got herself a "proper" qualification)

As you are still in your mid 20's, you've got to get the "pieces of paper" before you and your wife are too tied down - myself and Clare aren't married, but hell we might as well be and we couldn't afford for me to go "part-time" so I could do some studies.

A friend of the family did things slightly different but has some parallel's to you. Instead of doing the military thing, he did a degree, which was his main interest and he got a 1st from Cambridge in Political History, the then took a Summer hiking around the former soviet bloc, and went straight back to Cambridge finishing some 4 years later with a 1st in Medicine (he's a really nice guy, but irritatingly intelligent). Anyway he is a consultant epidemiologist now, and while his wife says he has no common sense, his idea of doing some household DIY, is to do a weekend locum cover for a general practitioner somewhere, and that usually pays enough to pay someone else to, say tile the bathroom - smart cookie eh!

I also get the distinct impression, that while you enjoy your job, you wouldn't be happy being the "lacky" for your entire working life. I suspect that you'd rather be the Boss! (which I suppose is true of most of us).

Keep looking matey.

regards

John

No, not really Fancypiper, I've got most of the links in my history, not that that makes much difference, I just don't understand them.

I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that I'm either really thick or I just don't have the ability to translate "geek speak" (or maybe both )

regards

John

The "geek speak" will come and then you will find that Linux makes much more sense and is much more logically layed out than the popular OS.

Linux has the real power in the command line and you have to think in terms of small tools combined together to do a complex job rather than using one large program to do all things (Microsoft's goal).

Linux and the Tools Philosophy

Understanding how the filesystem is layed out would be a good idea.
# Linux filesystem structure
Directory Navigation Help File
Filesystems, Directories, and Devices Help File

well, his mplayer output did say, libdvdread support
unavailable. maybe he doesn't have libdvdread
installed. that wouldn't let the dvd decrypt.

Well, I spotted whansard's post and installed the libdvdread from my mandrake disc and then I tried MasterC's suggested command which has errored thus

[john@localhost john]$ mplayer -dvd 1
Using GNU internationalization
Original domain: messages
Original dirname: /usr/share/locale
Current domain: mplayer
Current dirname: /usr/share/locale


MPlayer 0.90rc4-3.2.1 (C) 2000-2003 Arpad Gereoffy (see DOCS)

CPU: Intel (Family: 8, Stepping: 4)
Detected cache-line size is 64 bytes
CPUflags: MMX: 1 MMX2: 1 3DNow: 0 3DNow2: 0 SSE: 1 SSE2: 1
Compiled with Runtime CPU Detection - WARNING - this is not optimal!
To get best performance, recompile MPlayer with --disable-runtime-cpudetection
Reading config file /etc/mplayer/mplayer.conf
Reading config file /home/john/.mplayer/config
Reading /home/john/.mplayer/codecs.conf: can't open '/home/john/.mplayer/codecs.conf': No such file or directory
Reading /etc/mplayer/codecs.conf: 50 audio & 135 video codecs
font: can't open file: /home/john/.mplayer/font/font.desc
Font /usr/share/mplayer/font/font.desc loaded successfully! (206 chars)
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/john/.mplayer/input.conf : No such file or directory
Input config file /etc/mplayer/input.conf parsed : 52 binds
Opening joystick device /dev/input/js0
Can't open joystick device /dev/input/js0 : No such file or directory
Can't init input joystick
Setting up LIRC support...
mplayer: could not connect to socket
mplayer: No such file or directory
Failed to open LIRC support.
You will not be able to use your remote control.

Playing DVD title 1
libdvdread: Encrypted DVD support unavailable.
Reading disc structure, please wait...
There are 17 titles on this DVD.
There are 2 chapters in this DVD title.
There are 1 angles in this DVD title.
mplayer: ifo_read.c:1167: ifoRead_C_ADT_internal: Assertion `info_length % sizeof(cell_adr_t) == 0' failed.
Aborted
[john@localhost john]$

And the only difference now is that I can't see any mention of libdvdread.

I don't suppose anyone knows why I couldn't do the "symlink" thing that Chad mentioned in his post earlier and what it means when I try ls /dev and it says amongst lots of other stuff dvd@

regards

John

it looks like the same dvdread thing to me?
they might not have libdvdread support built in?

does anybody know if that version of mandrake's
mplayer has libdvdread support disabled?

here's what mine does, just to give you an idea
of sort of what it's supposed to look like.

i always compile my own, but there's a bunch of
libraries you have to have installed for that.

/# mplayer -dvd 1
Using GNU internationalization
Original domain: messages
Original dirname: /usr/share/locale
Current domain: mplayer
Current dirname: /usr/share/locale
MPlayer 0.90rc5-2.95.3 (C) 2000-2003 Arpad Gereoffy (see DOCS)
CPU: Advanced Micro Devices (Family: 6, Stepping: 1)
Detected cache-line size is 64 bytes
SSE supported but disabled
CPUflags: MMX: 1 MMX2: 1 3DNow: 1 3DNow2: 1 SSE: 0 SSE2: 0
Compiled for x86 CPU with extensions: MMX MMX2 3DNow 3DNowEx
Reading config file /usr/etc/mplayer/mplayer.conf: No such file or directory
Reading config file /root/.mplayer/config
Reading /root/.mplayer/codecs.conf: can't open '/root/.mplayer/codecs.conf': No
such file or directory
Reading /usr/etc/mplayer/codecs.conf: 50 audio & 136 video codecs
Font /root/.mplayer/font/font.desc loaded successfully! (206 chars)
Using Linux hardware RTC timing (1024Hz).
Can't open input config file /root/.mplayer/input.conf : No such file or directo
ry
Can't open input config file /usr/etc/mplayer/input.conf : No such file or direc
tory
Falling back on default (hardcoded) input config
Playing DVD title 1
Reading disc structure, please wait...
There are 3 titles on this DVD.
There are 30 chapters in this DVD title.
There are 1 angles in this DVD title.
DVD successfully opened.
Cache fill: 16.55% (2777088 bytes) MPEG-PS file format detected.
VIDEO: MPEG2 720x480 (aspect 2) 29.97 fps 9608.0 kbps (1201.0 kbyte/s)
==========================================================================
Opening audio decoder: [liba52] AC3 decoding with liba52
Using 3DNowEx optimized IMDCT transform
AC3: 2.0 (stereo) 48000 Hz 192.0 kbit/s
Using MMX optimized resampler
AUDIO: 48000 Hz, 2 ch, 16 bit (0x10), ratio: 24000->192000 (192.0 kbit)
Selected audio codec: [a52] afm:liba52 (AC3-liba52)
==========================================================================
vo: X11 running at 800x600 with depth 16 and 16 bpp (":0.0" => local display)
==========================================================================
Opening video decoder: [mpegpes] MPEG 1/2 Video passthrough
VDec: vo config request - 720 x 480 (preferred csp: Mpeg PES)
Could not find matching colorspace - retrying with -vop scale...
Opening video filter: [scale]
The selected video_out device is incompatible with this codec.
VDecoder init failed
Opening video decoder: [libmpeg2] MPEG 1/2 Video decoder v2.0
libmpeg2: Using MMXEXT for IDCT transform
libmpeg2: Using MMXEXT for motion compensation
VDec: vo config request - 720 x 480 (preferred csp: Planar YV12)
VDec: using Planar YV12 as output csp (no 0)
Movie-Aspect is 1.33:1 - prescaling to correct movie aspect.
VO: [x11] 720x480 => 720x540 Planar YV12
Using MMX2 for colorspace transform
SwScaler: using unscaled Planar YV12 -> BGR 16-bit special converter
Selected video codec: [mpeg12] vfm:libmpeg2 (MPEG 1 or 2 (libmpeg2))
==========================================================================
Checking audio filter chain for 48000Hz/2ch/16bit -> 48000Hz/2ch/16bit...
AF_pre: af format: 2 bps, 2 ch, 48000 hz, little endian signed int
AF_pre: 48000Hz 2ch Signed 16-bit (Little-Endian)
AO: [oss] 48000Hz 2ch Signed 16-bit (Little-Endian) (2 bps)
Building audio filter chain for 48000Hz/2ch/16bit -> 48000Hz/2ch/16bit...
Starting playback...
A: 103.6 V: 103.5 A-V: 0.061 ct: 0.210 230/230 11% 76% 1.1% 5 0 47%

John, if you've got GCC installed, I suggest you roll your own Mplayer (compile it).

If you need help, I'll be glad to assist with that.

Cool

get some of the stuff from here.
you'll need the mplayer source, and the win32 codecs.


http://www.mplayerhq.hu/homepage/design6/dload.html

This may be a stupid question, but when I looked for libdvdread, a lot of the first links refered to OGLE, so would I be better off trying to install and configure OGLE and "binning" Mplayer, given that it seems that the mandrake version doesn't seem to have the libdvdread compiled already?

I suppose that really means is OGLE better than Mplayer or vice versa ???

regards

John

"better" is such as nasty word, unless it's used to say "mplayer is better than xine" or "blackbox is better than KDE".

mplayer doesn't technically use libdvdread, it uses an ehanced hack of dvdread they called mpdvdkit, which always comes in the official mplayer relases so there are less dependencies. i'd certainly suggest installing MPlayer from source, the RPMS seem to have an awful lot of parts to them, but a single mplayer.tar.bz2 will get everythign up and running.

I would like to add a bit to that...

Go for it John. Go ahead and install Ogle, but don't give up on Mplayer (even if Ogle suffices). You'll surely want it once you get the ball rolling on it, it's much faster, far superior and of course, supported by acid_kewpie

Cool