has anybody got this to work?

I can watch ripped dvds with the frontend/backend box & I can do everything else with the remote front end including listed to ripped music.

this means that I have everything set up OK, including following the NFS instructions so that the front end has access to the directories where the videos are kept, including the cover jps

but it won't work - the front end doesn't want to play the .vob files although it says they are there in video manager

anybody got this to work?

Can you view that the vob files are there with xterm while in the front end dvd player?

I'm wondering if the dvd player on that machine is having trouble reading the dvd.

What version of Knoppmyth and which player do you have defined?

I have it working in R5D1 on a "standard" frontend (boots from hard disk) as well as a diskless frontend (boots over network). No special configuration except to NFS-mount my media (which you mentioned you have already done).

Easiest way to troubleshoot if it's an access/permission problem is to call xine with the filename from an Xterm (eg. "xine /path/to/file/filename.vob", no quotes). This way you get to see the errors, if any.