Installed a fresh copy of Knoppmyth R4V4 and had many problems. One that I have finally got working well is the DVD playback and encoding features in MythDVD module. I wanted to share my experiences to save you all some frustration

Of course, without libdvdcss, I wasn't going to get anywhere, so I downloaded & installed and viola...DVD playback and ripping....however, this was not to last.

Problem #1: Riping
I found every other DVD I tried had all sorts of errors...some titles would playback in the ripping module...others (mostly the main titles) would crash my system. Also, trying to rip any title that was viewable caused the ripper to start up and instantly quit...returning to the "No jobs to process..." message.

Problem #2: Playback
When trying to play a DVD, the MythModule would just hang in the beautiful MythTV menu and a flip (Ctrl-Alt-F1) to the console would reveal:
* I/O Error : cannot read from dev...etc....etc...
* This would lead to crash of system

Solution #1: download and install libdvdread

Install for newbies:
#wget http://www.dtek.chalmers.se/groups/dvd/ ... 9.4.tar.gz
#tar zxvf libdvdread-0.9.4.tar.gz
#cd libdvdread-0.9.4.tar.gz
#./configure
#make
#make install

Now, when I try to 'view' + rip DVDs I no longer get the I/O errors and system crash, but my console does reveal a nice little message that states that I have no de-css codec install (remind you that I had installed libdvdcss already!). But not to fret, the readme also provided a sloution.

Solution#2 (reinstall libdvdcss)

ls /usr/share/doc/libdvdread3/examples/<tab> | sh


Now I'm playing DVDs, backing them up to my storage, and transcoding to my heart's content.

Hope this helps...knoppmyth you rock...even though I still can't get my Hauppauge 350 to do anything but buzz!!!!

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HTPC: Asus A7N8X-E / Atlon XP Mobile +2500
512 DDR3200
Nvidia GForce 5200
Hauppauge PVR350
Silverstone Lascala VFD HTPC case

you do realize that libdvdread is already installed and that if anything a simple apt-get upgrade apt-get install packagename should upgrade it. generally there is no need to install source on a debian based system, that's why I love them so much.

Yes, in fact, the mplayer package should have both libraries installed (as per documentation), however the fact is that many users assume that the DVD functioning is installed with KnoppMyth (which it is) and functional (which it is not). Knowing what to update is the point of the post.

Considering that it was installed and not functioning on a fresh KnoppMyth R4V4 install...I consider any method that works valid. Besides, typing three extra lines of commands is much easier than all the time I spent scouring the forums for useful info. All I found were the same problems and no definitive answers other then..."you need libdvdcss...duh." I just wanted a working DVD module and to create a clear post that is helpful, not condescending.

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HTPC: Asus A7N8X-E / Atlon XP Mobile +2500
512 DDR3200
Nvidia GForce 5200
Hauppauge PVR350
Silverstone Lascala VFD HTPC case

well if all you want is working dvd playback all you have to issue is one of the commands that you listed. the one ending in .sh

however the reason it is not enabled by default and it's not easily found on the forums is because it is quite illegal where the distrobution is created, because of the DMCA.

Knoppmyth never claims to have encrypted dvd playback "out of the box" as a matter of fact one of the FAQ questions is all about the issue.

My god this post shoudl be stickied to every help thread in here.

I have spent 4 days fighting with my DVD player, I have flashed the firmware on it, replaced it with a brand new drive . I have gone through log after log I have read forum after forum with nothing but cryptic explanations and no real answers on why it wont work.

if someone would jsut bloody say "DVD playback is not supported but it is isntalled you just have to execute this command" whats so ahrd about that?

and since when is it illegal to playback DVD's that you own?!?!
even if it is illegal in some countries, is not in every country so why should the information be a secret?

Im glad the fix was simple, but for someone new to linux and desperatly trying to understand how things work, set backs like this are what drive people away from using good linux software like knoppmyth/mythtv.

Where you get it???

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Brabus Monoblock Ii

If you wish to enable DVD playback you need to run the following script:
/usr/share/doc/libdvdread3/examples/install-css.sh

(Disclaimer: it may or may not be illegal for you to do this, depending on your country's laws.)

No such script in current version of KnoppMyth? What happened?

The Debian package no longer included said script. Edit your sources.list.

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cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!