Handbrake and protected DVDs

Thu, 02 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Ripping DVDs is a thing of the past, but occasionally I still need to do it. However, it happens so rarely that evertime I have either a new computer or a new Linux distribution and I need to install the necessary software. This time I am on Ubuntu 16.04. I usually use Handbrake and it is very comfortable, but handbrake sometimes fails to do the job. This time, I had to resort to MakeMKV . However MakeMKV only rips the video to an MKV container but it does not compress it. If you need the space reduction you should still push the file through a compressor. Here’s the whole chain of commands:I only have an Apple USB-Superdrive. Apple doesn’t want me to use it with any other computer but Macs. Therefore, in order to make it work under Linux, you needs to sens it a “Magic cookie” (see here: ):sg_raw /dev/sr0 EA 00 00 00 00 00 01If you have Handbrake installed from the default Ubuntu repository, you need to remove it (it’s crippled and you want to be able to use it also with encrypted DVDs):(sudo apt remove handbrake && sudo apt autoremove)Install this version:sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-releasessudo apt updatesudo apt install handbrake-gtk handbrake-cliInstall software to read encrypted DVDs:sudo apt-get install libdvd-pkgHowever, you have to execute some manual commands after the install is ready, but the installer instructs you during installation.Select as source the TS_Audio folder on the DVD. If the scan never finishes or you do not see any tracks after the scan finishes, you might need something like MakeMKV. I didn’t find any PPA or deb file, so I compiled it from source, which succeeded without any problems following the isntructions from here: http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=224 . Here the short version:wget http://www.makemkv.com/download/makemkv-bin-1.10.4.tar.gzwget http://www.makemkv.com/download/makemkv-oss-1.10.4.tar.gztar -xvzf makemkv-bin-1.10.4.tar.gztar -xvzf makemkv-oss-1.10.4.tar.gz cd makemkv-oss-1.10.4/./configuremakesudo make installcd ../makemkv-bin-1.10.4/makesudo make installThe executable is /usr/bin/makemkv

Suse Linux 9.2 and encrypted DVD playback (xine, libdvdcss2, libxine, hdparm, DMA)

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Although several linux video players (e.g. xine) do support playback of encrypted DVDs, Suse has crippled the libraries needed to do so. Thus none of the players/frontends included in Suse Linux 9.2 can play encrypted DVDs. What are encrypted DVDs? Essentially all commerical movies are released exclusively as encrypted DVDs. It is a pain in the ass, but actually can be cured. To play encrypted DVDs you need libdvdcss2. This is the famous hack, that was in the news and that obviously was not liked by the media industry. In some countries this software is illegal; in some others only the binaries are but the sourcecode is not. You can download a script that creates automatically an rpm for suse >= 9. Additionally you should replace or update the Suse Linux xinelib with the uncrippled version from Packman . Xine still opens a window that claims that it cannot play encrypted DVDs with a link to some site where you are supposed to read why not. This link is dead. Shame on you, Suse (or Novell); if you cripple your distro, please make sure that at least your explanatory links do work! Some DVD hardware is apparently additionally limited based on the country codes. The world has been split into eight regions and according to the will of the media industry the customer should only be allowed to watch DVDs released specifically for his region. There is a linux tool around with with you can switch your area code, but I don’t remember its name or URL as this was not necessary for my hardware.

Libdvdcss2 on Michael’s Domain

Handbrake and protected DVDs

Suse Linux 9.2 and encrypted DVD playback (xine, libdvdcss2, libxine, hdparm, DMA)