DVD_Playback_HOWTO - The Linux Documentation Project

DVD Playback HOWTO

DavidJao Email: djao@dominia.org Publication date: 2004-02-26

Revision History:

1.0	2004-02-26	DJ	Initial Release, reviewed by LDP1.02004-02-26DJInitial Release, reviewed by LDP
0.9	2004-02-07	DJ	submitted to LDP0.92004-02-07DJsubmitted to LDP
0.1	2004-01-26	DJ	first public release0.12004-01-26DJfirst public release This document describes how to view DVD movies on a Linux computer with a DVD drive. This document describes how to view DVD movies on a Linux computer with a DVD drive.

Introduction

In this document we describe how to view DVD movies and video on a Linuxsystem. We give practical, specific, and straightforward commands forgetting DVD playback up and running quickly on most of the popular Linuxdistributions.Special attention is given to the various little-knownperformance optimizations that are needed for smooth DVD video playback. In this document we describe how to view DVD movies and video on a Linux system. We give practical, specific, and straightforward commands for getting DVD playback up and running quickly on most of the popular Linux distributions.Special attention is given to the various little-known performance optimizations that are needed for smooth DVD video playback.

Copyright and License

This document, DVD Playback HOWTO, iscopyrighted © 2004 by David Jao.Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify thisdocument under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License,Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free SoftwareFoundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts,and with no Back-Cover Texts.A copy of the license is availableathttp://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html. This document, , is copyrighted © 2004 by . Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts.A copy of the license is available at [http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html]

http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html. Linux® is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Disclaimer

No liability for the contents of this document can be accepted.Use the concepts, examples and information at your own risk.Although this is highly unlikely, there may be errors andinaccuracies herein that could be damaging to your system. Theauthor(s) do not take any responsibility for any damage that youincur through your own actions. No liability for the contents of this document can be accepted. Use the concepts, examples and information at your own risk. Although this is highly unlikely, there may be errors and inaccuracies herein that could be damaging to your system. The author(s) do not take any responsibility for any damage that you incur through your own actions. The mere act of accessing or viewing DVD content, or dealingin software written for such purposes, may be illegal in somelocalities.The author(s) cannot accept any responsibility for anyactions of yours which violate the laws of the jurisdictions towhich you are subject. The mere act of accessing or viewing DVD content, or dealing in software written for such purposes, may be illegal in some localities.The author(s) cannot accept any responsibility for any actions of yours which violate the laws of the jurisdictions to which you are subject. All copyrights are held by their by their respective owners,unless specifically noted otherwise.Use of a term in thisdocument should not be regarded as affecting the validity of anytrademark or service mark.Naming of particular products orbrands should not be seen as endorsements. All copyrights are held by their by their respective owners, unless specifically noted otherwise.Use of a term in this document should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.Naming of particular products or brands should not be seen as endorsements.

Feedback

Questions, comments, suggestions, and feedback are most certainlywelcome and should be sent to the author of this document atdjao@dominia.org. Questions, comments, suggestions, and feedback are most certainly welcome and should be sent to the author of this document at

Email: djao@dominia.org.

System Preparation

Hardware Prerequisites

A certain level of processing power is necessary for smooth DVDplayback. The system requirements in Linux are somewhat higher than inWindows, because many of the techniques used for hardware accelerationof video playback work only in Windows. A certain level of processing power is necessary for smooth DVD playback. The system requirements in Linux are somewhat higher than in Windows, because many of the techniques used for hardware acceleration of video playback work only in Windows. At a minimum, I recommend the following: At a minimum, I recommend the following: 700 MHz or higher CPU,700 MHz or higher CPU,video card withsupportvideo card withsupportDVD drive withenabledDVD drive withenabled

Creating the /dev/dvd symlink

If you don't already have a /dev/dvd symboliclink, then run (as root) thecommand# ln -s /dev/hdc /dev/dvdto create a symbolic link from/dev/dvd to theactual hardware device representing your DVD-ROM drive(which in this example is /dev/hdc, but you shouldreplace it with the actual device file used by your drive). The/dev/dvd link is not merely a matter ofconvenience; almost all of the player software mentioned in this HOWTOassumes that the link is there.If you don't already have a /dev/dvd

symbolic

link, then run (as root) the command # ln -s /dev/hdc /dev/dvd

to create a symbolic link from

/dev/dvd

to the

actual hardware device representing your DVD-ROM drive (which in this example is /dev/hdc , but you should replace it with the actual device file used by your drive). The

/dev/dvd

link is not merely a matter of convenience; almost all of the player software mentioned in this HOWTO

assumes that the link is there.If you don't know which device name your DVD-ROM drive uses, youcan usually find it with the command dmesg | grepDVD in the console or a shell right after booting up the system.If you don't know which device name your DVD-ROM drive uses, you can usually find it with the commandin the console or a shell right after booting up the system.

Setting the DVD Region

All DVD drives (except for RPC Phase I drives made in1999 or before) enforce region playbackrestrictions in the drive firmware and consequently are supposed tobe set to a specific region before they can play back discs from thatregion (and only that region). In reality, most Linux DVD playbacksoftware can bypass the DVD drive's built-in region locks, but it takesextra time for the software to break the region lock, and it is betterto avoid the complications of region locks if you can.All DVD drives (except for [http://www.dvdcca.org/rpc.html RPC Phase I drives] RPC Phase I drives made in 1999 or before) enforce [http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#1.10 region playback restrictions] region playback restrictions in the drive firmware and consequently are supposed to be set to a specific region before they can play back discs from that region (and only that region). In reality, most Linux DVD playback software can bypass the DVD drive's built-in region locks, but it takes extra time for the software to break the region lock, and it is better to avoid the complications of region locks if you can.For the small minority of readers who own RPC-I drives, you do not needto do anything: your drive is already capable of handling DVDs from allgeographical regions. These drives are old enough by now that everybodywho has one of them probably knows already that they have one. For the small minority of readers who own RPC-I drives, you do not need to do anything: your drive is already capable of handling DVDs from all geographical regions. These drives are old enough by now that everybody who has one of them probably knows already that they have one. For the majority of readers who have RPC-II drives, there are severaloptions available: For the majority of readers who have RPC-II drives, there are several options available:

X Video Overlay

The XFree86 video overlay extension is a very poorly documentedstandard feature of XFree86 4.x and is absolutelyessential for high quality video playback under Linux. It is the only type of hardware playback acceleration that is widelysupported in Linux, and it is by far the single most importantconfiguration element for DVD playback on a Linux system. The XFree86 video overlay extension is a very poorly documented standard feature of XFree86 4.x and isfor high quality video playback under Linux. It is the only type of hardware playback acceleration that is widely supported in Linux, and it is by far the single most important configuration element for DVD playback on a Linux system. To check if you have this extension, typexvinfo in an X terminal. If the command returnsseveral screens full of important-looking output, then congratulations,you have hardware video overlay and you need not worry about it anymore.To check if you have this extension, type

in an X terminal. If the command returns

several screens full of important-looking output, then congratulations, you have hardware video overlay and you need not worry about it anymore. If, on the other hand, xvinfo returns with a negative answer like:# xvinfoX-Video Extension version 2.2screen #0 no adaptors presentthen that means you don't have hardware overlay support. Seefor tipson how to get overlay support working. If, on the other hand, xvinfo returns with a negative answer like:

# xvinfo X-Video Extension version 2.2 screen #0 no adaptors present

then that means you don't have hardware overlay support. Seefor tips on how to get overlay support working.

Enabling DMA

DMA drive access is critical for DVD playback because it lowersthe CPU overhead of disc reading and leaves more of the CPU free forvideo playback. On most systems, enabling DMA support for the DVD drivemeans the difference between choppy playback and smooth playback.DMA drive access is critical for DVD playback because it lowers the CPU overhead of disc reading and leaves more of the CPU free for video playback. On most systems, enabling DMA support for the DVD drive means the difference between choppy playback and smooth playback.To see if you have DMA enabled, type (as root) thecommand# hdparm -d /dev/hdc(replacing /dev/hdc withyour DVD drive's actual device name). If DMA is already on, then you'redone.Otherwise, you should turn it on by typing hdparm -d 1/dev/hdc. You may want to add this command to a startupscript such as /etc/rc.d/rc.local to ensure thatthe DMA support is active every time your computer boots.To see if you have DMA enabled, type (as root) the command # hdparm -d /dev/hdc (replacing /dev/hdc

with

your DVD drive's actual device name). If DMA is already on, then you're done.Otherwise, you should turn it on by typing . You may want to add this command to a startup script such as /etc/rc.d/rc.local

to ensure that

the DMA support is active every time your computer boots. See thesectionif DMA won't turn on even after you've typed the command to turn iton.See thesection if DMA won't turn on even after you've typed the command to turn it on.

Software Installation

Here we cover the installation of the DVD playback software on variousLinux distributions. For each Linux distribution we indicate how toinstall MPlayer, Xine, Ogle, and VideoLAN onto the system. Theseare the four most popular software packages for DVD playback in Linux.Usage instructions for these programs will be given in the next section. Here we cover the installation of the DVD playback software on various Linux distributions. For each Linux distribution we indicate how to install [http://www.mplayerhq.hu/ MPlayer] MPlayer, [http://xine.sourceforge.net/ Xine] Xine, [http://www.dtek.chalmers.se/groups/dvd/ Ogle] Ogle, and [http://www.videolan.org/ VideoLAN] VideoLAN onto the system. These are the four most popular software packages for DVD playback in Linux. Usage instructions for these programs will be given in the next section. Read the section that corresponds to your Linux distribution. Allof the installation commands given below should be run as root. Read the section that corresponds to your Linux distribution. All of the installation commands given below should be run as root.

Red Hat / Fedora

If you run Red Hat Linux or Fedora, you can download all of theDVD playback software from the FreshRPMS package repository. Sincethere are so many packages needed for DVD playback, the easiest way toinstall all of them is to use apt-get. Here's howto do it: If you run Red Hat Linux or Fedora, you can download all of the DVD playback software from the [http://freshrpms.net/ FreshRPMS] FreshRPMS package repository. Since there are so many packages needed for DVD playback, the easiest way to install all of them is to use . Here's how to do it:

Special note about VideoLAN and Red Hat

The FreshRPMS repository contains thevideolan-client package for Red Hat 9 and Red Hat7.3, but not for Red Hat 8 or Fedora Core 1. If you want to installVideoLAN on Red Hat 9 or Red Hat 7.3, you can just typeapt-get install videolan-client and let the program take care of it for you. Fedora Core 1 users who want VideoLANwill need to visit the official VideoLANRed Hat page instead, and follow the instructions there. I do notrecommend that Fedora users install VideoLAN, since the VideoLANpackages interfere to a large degree with the FreshRPMS packages installed in the previous step.The FreshRPMS repository contains the

videolan-client

package for Red Hat 9 and Red Hat

7.3, but not for Red Hat 8 or Fedora Core 1. If you want to install VideoLAN on Red Hat 9 or Red Hat 7.3, you can just type

and let the

program take care of it for you. Fedora Core 1 users who want VideoLAN will need to visit the [http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-redhat.html official VideoLAN Red Hat page] official VideoLAN Red Hat page instead, and follow the instructions there. I do not recommend that Fedora users install VideoLAN, since the VideoLAN packages interfere to a large degree with the FreshRPMS packages installed in the previous step.There appears to be no easy way to install VideoLAN on Red Hat 8.There appears to be no easy way to install VideoLAN on Red Hat 8.

Debian

These instructions are for Debian, stable only (3.0r1 as ofthis writing) -- it is assumed that if you run testing or unstable versions then you should already know what you are doing.These instructions are for Debian, stable only (3.0r1 as of this writing) -- it is assumed that if you run testing or unstable versions then you should already know what you are doing. Make sure the following lines are in your/etc/apt/sources.listfile:deb http://hpisi.nerim.net/ stable maindeb http://www.interq.or.jp/libra/oohara/debian-unofficial/ ./deb http://download.videolan.org/pub/videolan/debian woody main Make sure the following lines are in your

/etc/apt/sources.list

file: deb http://hpisi.nerim.net/ stable main deb http://www.interq.or.jp/libra/oohara/debian-unofficial/ ./ deb http://download.videolan.org/pub/videolan/debian woody main (The first line is for MPlayer, the second is for the Xine CSSplugins, and the third is for VideoLAN.) Then run thecommands:(The first line is for MPlayer, the second is for the Xine CSS plugins, and the third is for VideoLAN.) Then run the commands: # apt-get update# apt-get install mplayer-686 mplayer-fonts mplayer-doc ogle# /usr/share/doc/ogle/examples/install-css.sh# apt-get install xine-ui xine-d5d-plugin xine-d4d-plugin gnome-vlc libdvdcss2

Slackware

The best site for Slackware add-on packages is . You can use their searchengine to find and download the Ogle, Xine, MPlayer, libdvdcss,libdvdnav, libdvdread, lame, and a52dec packages from the web site. Putthe packages into a single directory and runpkgtool to install the packages onto yoursystem.The best site for Slackware add-on packages is [http://www.linuxpackages.net/ ] . You can use their search engine to find and download the Ogle, Xine, MPlayer, libdvdcss, libdvdnav, libdvdread, lame, and a52dec packages from the web site. Put the packages into a single directory and run

to install the packages onto your

system.For VideoLAN, you will have to build it fromsource since there is no precompiled package on the LinuxPackages website yet. To make matters worse, the version of mpeg2dec includedwith Slackware 9.1 is too old to be used with VideoLAN, so you have tocompile a newer version of mpeg2dec as well.For VideoLAN, you will have to build it from source since there is no precompiled package on the LinuxPackages web site yet. To make matters worse, the version of mpeg2dec included with Slackware 9.1 is too old to be used with VideoLAN, so you have to compile a newer version of mpeg2dec as well. That said, if you still want to installVideoLAN, then download the latest source packages for mpeg2dec and VideoLAN and run the followingcommands.Note that you have to disable ffmpeg support for the VideoLANbuild because the Slackware MPlayer packages omit some of the header filesneeded by ffmpeg.That said, if youwant to install VideoLAN, then download the latest source packages for [http://libmpeg2.sourceforge.net/ mpeg2dec] mpeg2dec and [http://www.videolan.org/ VideoLAN] VideoLAN and run the following commands.Note that you have to disable ffmpeg support for the VideoLAN build because the Slackware MPlayer packages omit some of the header files needed by ffmpeg. # tar xzvf mpeg2dec-0.4.0.tar.gz# cd mpeg2dec-0.4.0# ./configure# make# make install # cd ..# tar xzvf vlc-0.7.0.tar.gz# cd vlc-0.7.0# ./configure --disable-ffmpeg# make# make install

Mandrake

Mandrake users can get packages for all of the video programs fromthe Penguin Liberation Frontweb site. The fastest way is to visit the Easy Urpmi site and follow theinstructions to generate a listing of the commands you need to type forPLF access in urpmi. You should then type in the commands returned bythe web site to set up your system for PLF access.Mandrake users can get packages for all of the video programs from the [http://plf.zarb.org/ Penguin Liberation Front] Penguin Liberation Front web site. The fastest way is to visit the [http://urpmi.org/easyurpmi/ Easy Urpmi] Easy Urpmi site and follow the instructions to generate a listing of the commands you need to type for PLF access in urpmi. You should then type in the commands returned by the web site to set up your system for PLF access. After you have set up PLF access, type:# urpmi.update -a# urpmi mplayer libdvdcss2 xine-ui ogle ogle_gui vlcto install all the video programs.After you have set up PLF access, type:

# urpmi.update -a# urpmi mplayer libdvdcss2 xine-ui ogle ogle_gui vlc to install all the video programs.

SuSE

The YaST package program included with SuSE works only withofficial packages, and there are no official packages that support DVD.Therefore you will have to install the packages for all of the DVDsoftware manually.The YaST package program included with SuSE works only with official packages, and there are no official packages that support DVD. Therefore you will have to install the packages for all of the DVD software manually.MPlayer and Xine packages for SuSE are available on the PackMan site.For MPlayer, you need the MPlayer, lzo, and xvid packages on thatpage as well as the additionally needed binary packages listedon the page for each package. SuSE 9.0 users should note that as of thiswriting the MPlayer package for SuSE 9.0 has a brokenlibsmbclient.so.0 dependency. You can work aroundthis problem with the commands# rpm -Uvh --nodeps MPlayer-1.0pre3-pm.1.i686.rpm# ln -s libsmbclient3.so.0 /usr/lib/libsmbclient.so.0MPlayer and Xine packages for SuSE are available on the [http://packman.links2linux.org/?action=index PackMan site] PackMan site. For MPlayer, you need the MPlayer, lzo, and xvid packages on that page as well as thelisted on the page for each package. SuSE 9.0 users should note that as of this writing the MPlayer package for SuSE 9.0 has a broken

libsmbclient.so.0

dependency. You can work around

this problem with the commands # rpm -Uvh --nodeps MPlayer-1.0pre3-pm.1.i686.rpm# ln -s libsmbclient3.so.0 /usr/lib/libsmbclient.so.0 To install Xine, you should download and install thelibxine1-dvd and xine-ui packages from PackMan.Encrypted DVD support in Xine also requires installing libdvdcss from the VideoLAN site.To install Xine, you should download and install the libxine1-dvd and xine-ui packages from [http://packman.links2linux.org/?action=index PackMan] PackMan. Encrypted DVD support in Xine also requires installing [http://download.videolan.org/pub/libdvdcss/1.2.8/rpm/redhat/ libdvdcss]

libdvdcss from the VideoLAN site.Ogle can be installed using the Red HatRPMs from the Ogle site. SuSE 9.0 users who want to install theOgle_gui package will also need to install orbit,gdk-pixbuf, gnome-libs, and libglade from SuSE 8.2.Ogle can be installed using the [http://www.dtek.chalmers.se/groups/dvd/redhat.shtml Red Hat RPMs] Red Hat RPMs from the Ogle site. SuSE 9.0 users who want to install the Ogle_gui package will also need to install [ftp://rpmfind.net/linux/SuSE-Linux/i386/8.2/suse/i586/orbit-0.5.17-116.i586.rpm orbit]

orbit,

[ftp://rpmfind.net/linux/SuSE-Linux/i386/8.2/suse/i586/gdk-pixbuf-0.18.0-248.i586.rpm gdk-pixbuf]

gdk-pixbuf, [ftp://rpmfind.net/linux/SuSE-Linux/i386/8.2/suse/i586/gnome-libs-1.4.1.7-273.i586.rpm gnome-libs]

gnome-libs, and [ftp://rpmfind.net/linux/SuSE-Linux/i386/8.2/suse/i586/libglade-0.16-1015.i586.rpm libglade]

libglade from SuSE 8.2.VideoLAN users will need to download the Red HatRPMs from the VideoLAN site and install them forcibly usingrpm --nodeps. The VideoLAN packages also requireXFree86-compat-libsand freetypefrom SuSE 8.2 in order to run.VideoLAN users will need to download the [http://download.videolan.org/vlc/download-redhat.html Red Hat RPMs] Red Hat RPMs from the VideoLAN site and install them forcibly using . The VideoLAN packages also require

[ftp://rpmfind.net/linux/SuSE-Linux/i386/8.2/suse/i586/XFree86-compat-libs-4.3.0-19.i586.rpm XFree86-compat-libs] XFree86-compat-libs and [ftp://rpmfind.net/linux/SuSE-Linux/i386/8.2/suse/i586/freetype-1.3.1-801.i586.rpm freetype] freetype from SuSE 8.2 in order to run.

Gentoo

The basic command to use is:# emerge sync# USE="dvd mmx sse" emerge mplayer xine-ui vlc ogle-guiThe basic command to use is: # emerge sync# USE="dvd mmx sse" emerge mplayer xine-ui vlc ogle-gui If you have an AMD processor, you should type USE="dvdmmx 3dnow" instead of using the sse flag. Athlon XP owners can use the 3dnow and sse flags together. If you have an AMD processor, you should typeinstead of using theflag. Athlon XP owners can use theand

flags together.

Software Usage

Although I have tried very hard to keep this HOWTO focused on practicaladvice instead of abstract theory, it is necessary to have some minimalbackground in television video in order to understand how to get thebest possible video quality under Linux. Although I have tried very hard to keep this HOWTO focused on practical advice instead of abstract theory, it is necessary to have some minimal background in television video in order to understand how to get the best possible video quality under Linux.

General principles: deinterlacing, telecine, and framerates

Regular television video is interlaced, meaningthat the odd-numbered scanlines are recorded (and displayed) first,followed by the even numbered scanlines, then the odd ones again, thenthe even ones again, etc. Each individual line is displayed 30 times asecond (or 25, depending on where you live), but because of theinterlacing, the television image as a whole is refreshed 60 times asecond (or 50), with only half of the total lines being refreshed eachtime. Regular television video is , meaning that the odd-numbered scanlines are recorded (and displayed) first, followed by the even numbered scanlines, then the odd ones again, then the even ones again, etc. Each individual line is displayed 30 times a second (or 25, depending on where you live), but because of the interlacing, the television image as a whole is refreshed 60 times a second (or 50), with only half of the total lines being refreshed each time. In general, with interlaced motion pictures, there is no way toreconstruct any single video frame perfectly without artifacts. Thispoint is important enough to repeat: there is no way toperfectly reconstruct any single frame! The reason is thatthe odd-numbered lines are recorded onto the video tape with a timingskew of one half-frame relative to the even-numbered lines. If the videopicture is still, this timing skew is no problem, but for movingpictures it causes half the lines to be displaced from the other half.On a television screen, you can't see this displacement, since TVscreens (except for high-end HDTV monitors) are of such low quality thatthe artifacts aren't visible. However, on a computer screen, thisdisplacement is very visible and causes comb-like artifacts to appear inthe video.You can see screenshots of interlacing artifacts in theinterlacingsection of Luke's VideoGuide. In general, with interlaced motion pictures, there is no way to reconstruct any single video frame perfectly without artifacts. This point is important enough to repeat:The reason is that the odd-numbered lines are recorded onto the video tape with a timing skew of one half-frame relative to the even-numbered lines. If the video picture is still, this timing skew is no problem, but for moving pictures it causes half the lines to be displaced from the other half. On a television screen, you can't see this displacement, since TV screens (except for high-end HDTV monitors) are of such low quality that the artifacts aren't visible. However, on a computer screen, this displacement is very visible and causes comb-like artifacts to appear in the video.You can see screenshots of interlacing artifacts in the

[http://www.lukesvideo.com/interlacing.html interlacing section] interlacing section of [http://www.lukesvideo.com/ Luke's Video Guide] Luke's Video Guide.

How to fix interlacing artifacts

The process of removing interlacing artifacts is calleddeinterlacing. Unfortunately, all deinterlacingtechniques are imperfect to some extent, and there is no single methodwhich works best in all situations. It is therefore important toexperiment with all of the different possible deinterlace settings tosee which one works best for a particular disc.The process of removing interlacing artifacts is called . Unfortunately, all deinterlacing techniques are imperfect to some extent, and there is no single method which works best in all situations. It is therefore important to experiment with all of the different possible deinterlace settings to see which one works best for a particular disc.

users can get a list of deinterlacing optionsby typing mplayer -pphelp at the command line.Find the option that you want to use, and then use the -vfpp=<option> syntax to activate the option. For example,I usually use the lb option, which isdone with the command: mplayer -vf pp=lb, followed bywhatever other options you would normally use to play the DVD. users can get a list of deinterlacing options

by typingat the command line. Find the option that you want to use, and then use thesyntax to activate the option. For example, I usually use theoption, which is done with the command: , followed by whatever other options you would normally use to play the DVD.

users can right-click on the movie to get alist of deinterlacing options (under VideoSettings or Deinterlace,depending on the program version). users can right-click on the movie to get a

list of deinterlacing options (underor , depending on the program version).

has a list ofdeinterlacing options in the configuration panel; to get to it, right-click on the movie window, open theSettingsSetup dialog, set Configuration experience level toAdvanced, and then look for Software deinterlace method under the Video tab. has a list of

deinterlacing options in the configuration panel; to get to it, right-click on the movie window, open the

dialog, setto

, and then look forunder thetab. has no deinterlacing support, so it is notrecommended to use Ogle for watching interlaced video. has no deinterlacing support, so it is not recommended to use Ogle for watching interlaced video.

Telecined video

This section only applies to video in NTSC format (used in NorthAmerica, east Asia, and parts of Latin America) -- PAL users (the rest ofthe world) can skip ahead.This section only applies to video in NTSC format (used in North America, east Asia, and parts of Latin America) -- PAL users (the rest of the world) can skip ahead.The one exception to all of the above discussion about interlacing is in the case of telecined video. Briefly put, telecineis a special kind of interlacing that is done only to theatrical (i.e.cinematic) movies and some forms of hand-drawn animated shows. Thespecial thing about telecine is that it can usually be perfectly undone.The details are too complicated to explain here, but you can read aboutit in Luke'sVideo Guide or Bob Niland'sFAQs if you're curious. The one exception to all of the above discussion about interlacing is in the case of telecined video. Briefly put, is a special kind of interlacing that is done only to theatrical (i.e. cinematic) movies and some forms of hand-drawn animated shows. The special thing about telecine is that it can usually be perfectly undone. The details are too complicated to explain here, but you can read about it in [http://www.lukesvideo.com/telecining.html Luke's Video Guide] Luke's Video Guide or [http://www.access-one.com/rjn/laser/legacy/ld12.txt Bob Niland's FAQs] Bob Niland's FAQs if you're curious. The process of undoing the telecine artifacts is calledinverse telecine. The good news is that inversetelecine, done properly, fully restores the original video quality ofthe source video with no artifacts whatsoever. The bad news is that is the only player program in the world rightnow that can perform inverse telecine.The process of undoing the telecine artifacts is called . The good news is that inverse telecine, done properly, fully restores the original video quality of the source video with no artifacts whatsoever. The bad news is that

is the only player program in the world right

now that can perform inverse telecine.To perform inverse telecine in MPlayer, simply add the-vf ivtc option to the MPlayer command. Thisoption is the right one to use if you are watching a movie you knoworiginated as a theatrical release, or if you are watching animatedshows. Warning: this option is very CPU intensive. You need at least a 1 GHz processor to even think about doing it.To perform inverse telecine in MPlayer, simply add the

option to the MPlayer command. This

option is the right one to use if you are watching a movie you know originated as a theatrical release, or if you are watching animated shows. Warning: this option is very CPU intensive. You need at least a 1 GHz processor to even think about doing it.

How come Windows users don't have to deal with all this?

Windows DVD players hide most of the complexity of DVD playbackand fall back to the lowest common demoninator when playing DVDs. Theresult is that you get playback quality which is decent in a wide rangeof situations but not always the best that can be achieved in any givensituation. For example, no Windows DVD player in the world has aninverse telecine filter like MPlayer does, so telecined material alwayslooks dramatically worse in Windows than in MPlayer under Linux.Windows DVD players hide most of the complexity of DVD playback and fall back to the lowest common demoninator when playing DVDs. The result is that you get playback quality which is decent in a wide range of situations but not always the best that can be achieved in any given situation. For example, no Windows DVD player in the world has an inverse telecine filter like MPlayer does, so telecined material always looks dramatically worse in Windows than in MPlayer under Linux.

Specific usage instructions

Here we give specific instructions for launching basic DVDplayback in the various player programs. These commands only cover thebasic steps of operating each program. You are encouraged to refer tothe man pages of each program for further instructions.Here we give specific instructions for launching basic DVD playback in the various player programs. These commands only cover the basic steps of operating each program. You are encouraged to refer to the man pages of each program for further instructions.Put the DVD that you want to play into your drive beforeattempting playback.Put the DVD that you want to play into your drive before attempting playback.

MPlayer

Type mplayer dvd://1 to begin playing title#1 on the disc. To play other title numbers, substitute the appropriatenumber in place of 1.Typeto begin playing title #1 on the disc. To play other title numbers, substitute the appropriate number in place of . Old versions of MPlayer, such as the one used in Debian, requirethe command mplayer -dvd 1 instead. In some casesyou also have to explicitly add the option -vo xvin order to make MPlayer use the hardware video overlay port.Old versions of MPlayer, such as the one used in Debian, require the commandinstead. In some cases you also have to explicitly add the option in order to make MPlayer use the hardware video overlay port.Subtitle and audio options for MPlayer have to be specified on thecommand line. The format is -alang NN or-slang NN where NN is the two-letter language code of the language you want. For example, to play backJapanese audio with English subtitles, type:# mplayer dvd://1 -alang ja -slang enon the command line.Subtitle and audio options for MPlayer have to be specified on the command line. The format isor

whereis the two-letter

language code of the language you want. For example, to play back Japanese audio with English subtitles, type: # mplayer dvd://1 -alang ja -slang en

on the command line.

Xine

Simply type xine at the command prompt tostart the program.Simply typeat the command prompt to start the program.The first time you start the program, it will display aconfiguration screen with a bunch of options. In most cases you canleave all of the options at the defaults.The first time you start the program, it will display a configuration screen with a bunch of options. In most cases you can leave all of the options at the defaults.The program has a graphical console with a row of labeled buttonsalong the bottom. Press the DVD button to start playing the DVD. (However, ifyour version of Xine has a D5D button, use that instead.)The program has a graphical console with a row of labeled buttons along the bottom. Press the DVD button to start playing the DVD. (However, if your version of Xine has a D5D button, use that instead.)Xine supports DVD menus, so you can set language or subtitlingoptions as you normally would via the disc's own menu.Xine supports DVD menus, so you can set language or subtitling options as you normally would via the disc's own menu.

Ogle

Type ogle to start the program. Depending onwhich version of the program you have, it may start playing the DVDautomatically. If it doesn't, then click on the Filemenu and select Open Disc to begin readingthe disc.Typeto start the program. Depending on which version of the program you have, it may start playing the DVD automatically. If it doesn't, then click on the menu and selectto begin reading the disc.Ogle, like Xine, supports DVD menus for setting the language orsubtitling options.Ogle, like Xine, supports DVD menus for setting the language or subtitling options.

VideoLAN

Use the vlc command to bring up the VideoLANGUI and click on the disc icon to open the disc and start playing.Right click the playback window to bring up the options menu, whichincludes deinterlacing, audio, and subtitle options.Use thecommand to bring up the VideoLAN GUI and click on the disc icon to open the disc and start playing. Right click the playback window to bring up the options menu, which includes deinterlacing, audio, and subtitle options.

Troubleshooting

Further Information

DagWieers' overview of the Linux DVD playback programs [http://dag.wieers.com/howto/dvd/ Dag Wieers' overview] Dag Wieers' overview of the Linux DVD playback programsMoritzBunkus's DVD ripping guide for Linux [http://www.bunkus.org/dvdripping4linux/en/separate/index.html Moritz Bunkus's DVD ripping guide] Moritz Bunkus's DVD ripping guide for Linux