DVD Playback On Ubuntu
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Click to view LinDVD on desktop
One thing that I think many users of Windows and OS X take for granted is how easy DVD playback is. I know that back when I was using Windows full time, DVD playback was as easy as installing WinDVD that came with my DVD burner and boom, I was good to go.
In the Linux world however, nothing is as easy as it could be when it comes to mixing the proprietary with the non-proprietary. While a user can indeed install a variety of things to get their default video player to play most encrypted DVDs with legal concerns not taken into consideration, the fact remains that it was never really that great. The deal breaker for me came when I went to watch what was apparently a fairly beefy DVD and it kept skipping and freezing. Had I paid for this, I would have been pretty frustrated. Then I realized that I needed to stop skipping out and just pay for LinDVD (WinDVD’s sister application).
It’s true, I was crazy enough to fork over $50 for something that is bundled with DVD-Roms for free. But I was willing to do it as I had a suspicion that it was going to provide a vastly better experience than anything Totem or Xine was giving me. Turns out I was right times 10 over - wow, massively improved!
Now it has been a long time since I have used WinDVD, but I suspect the starting UI is roughly the same and LinDVD did provide all of the functionality I wanted. I could close the program, then restart it to have the DVD start up where it left off. Skip, fast-forward, same in reverse, all of the basics are covered. Now my screen capture did not catch the DVD controls, but it does give you an idea of how it presents a DVD menu.
Hellboy II on LinDVD
And as anyone would expect from a good video application, you can full screen your movie easily. Looks a little weird on dual-monitors, but setting my PC to a single monitor fixes that easily enough. Another thing to note is that you will be prompted (Ubuntu 8.10) as to which application to use to run the DVD when it is first installed. Just use the pull down menu to select “PCM” and then set it to do this from now on. That is all there is to it.
Now it should be said that while I found this to be very stable to use after testing this with a number of DVDs, there are some issues to be aware of. One, outside of Mandriva and Ubuntu, good luck finding LinDVD elsewhere. Apparently you must maintain cult status to reap the benefits of this software as it is not available for other distros to the best of my knowledge. If I am wrong, please send some links our way in the comments.
In addition to limited availability, there is the issue of price. Seriously, $50 is too much. $20, okay. But asking for the current asking price is going to turn off newbies and experienced users will likely revert back to using the age old methods for DVD watching that range from using VLC to installing various decoders via apt-get.
The final issue was the fact that I had to wander into the Canonical store to discover that someone finally was making LinDVD available again! How about a heads up to this fact? I realize that Ubuntu needs SERIOUS help with their marketing efforts to those that are not frequenting Linux user groups, but at least mention this option in the product tour. As fascinating as it is to see screen caps of old black and white movies, seeing a screen capture of a simple means of viewing DVDs that are from this century is a bit more compelling I am afraid.
Is this for you? Depends. If you are happy with however you are currently viewing DVDs, then no. But if you happen to use Ubuntu 8.04-8.10 32 bit (only) and are really ready to move beyond what Totem and VLC have to offer for something with a bit more polish to it, then yes, I highly recommend it.
5 Comments
kovacz
January 15th, 2009
at 5:33am
That is… So not true anymore!
Ubuntu 8.10! You add one command after install and updating and enabling your 3rd party graphics drivers, and dvd playback is all peachy! I just installed it yesterday on a ‘vista ready’ iQon lapturd that never really worked wether with vista nor xp! It’s flying through all tasks with 8.10 and dvd watching is suddenly a joy!!! Not counting the time it took to download the ubuntu iso, the whole install/update process took an hour!
That’s nothing if you consider the built-in features that you need to add to windows:
Windows blkind like themes. Phone connectivity that means you don t need a heavy nokia pc suite!
Network manager so simple… And yes: a much better dvd experience than on ms systems! (incl no regions!!!)
Ubuntu comes with some pretty good help files - not to mention the great online support! You should look at it next time before you fork out 50 bucks, which btw is still cheaper than what vista costs!
Slow day on the blogging front, eh?
Matt Hartley
January 15th, 2009
at 10:55am
kovacz:
I never said there was anything wrong with Ubuntu. The only statement I made that clearly was taken out of context was.
“In the Linux world however, nothing is as easy as it could be when it comes to mixing the proprietary with the non-proprietary.”
This is true and I would encourage you to ask Linux devs about this as they will generally agree. Debian has made this their mission - keep it separate at all costs. This does not mean there is anything wrong with Ubuntu as you believed I had said, rather mixing closed and open source code leads to problems in many cases. Again, a fact that serves only to educate Linux newbies. ;)
It was hardly a slow day blogging as you pointed out. Rather, it was me pointing out a discovery I made about an operating system I have used for years.
Matt Hartley
January 15th, 2009
at 10:58am
And before anyone else comes unglued here…understand that the great Fedora will not provide you access to restricted codecs so easily. Last time I checked, they give you the option of legally purchasing them from a web store. I believe Ubuntu ought to be doing the same, being they already sell them anyway.
Matt Hartley
January 15th, 2009
at 11:06am
And finally, as for DVD playback. I have done exhausted testing with and without LinDVD. Generally speaking, the differences were highlighted above, but I will add the following.
It appears that they both use much of the same back-end. Yet the LinDVD front end is VASTLY more effective in my eyes as it gives me a really slick UI that blows Totem and VLC UI’s out of the water. Don’t misquote me now, I love VLC for its abilities. However I also was intrigued by the LinDVD approach as no one apparently has a pair big enough to try something new that goes against the flow the community at large.
That and with VLC and Totem, two DVDs of mine were locking up while 99% of them ran fine. Using LinDVD, 100% worked…not a coder, so I am not going to speculate as to why. But I suspect it might have something to do with small changes made to encryption that older DVD playback methods might be slipping back on. Again, wild guess, likely mistaken, but the result is a fact.
Karl
January 15th, 2009
at 1:14pm
Ever since I had hoarty hedgehog from Ubuntu I never had a problem with my dvd players in my computer systems that I have here and that is including my laptops that have dvd drives in them. So long as you install in the codecs into them through Altamatic or ultramatix which is now called I believe. You should be fine with any player that is installed by default with ubuntu. Even with the ultimate edition of ubuntu which has them installed by default as well once you download the 4 gig ISO of ubuntu Ultimate edition. With the games that are installed by default and vd players that come with it I was completely surprise that it was great to play a dvd on my comuters over here.
One thing to not when using linux of any distro. Always update it and install the codecs first. So that you will not run into not being able to play and use the version in question. I’ve always been happy with ubuntu on many of my computer systems over here.
Karl