Playing DVDs
Most Linux users use their PCs to play DVDs. Ubuntu and Fedora distros include the Totem Movie Player application as standard to do this, but if you don't see it, search your Software Centre for it and install it:
However, the beauty of Linux and Open Source software is that there are many different applications out there for any given task – and DVD playing is no exception here. Again, if you find Totem Movie Player wanting, search your Software Centre for something that better meets your needs. The following example assumes that you are using Totem Movie Player.
In order to read most DVDs, you will need to ensure that a few extra libraries are installed: there are four and they can all be installed from the Ubuntu Software Centre:
Gstreamer ffmpeg video plug in
Gstreamer extra plug ins
Gstreamer plug-ins for mms, wavpak, quicktime, musepack
Gstreamer plug-ins for aac, xvid, mpeg2, faad
Once installed, insert your DVD into your DVD reader. Linux should read the disc and create an icon on the desktop for it:
Right click the icon and choose “Open with Movie Player“:
If all went well, the main menu of the disc should be displayed:
If not, then check that you installed all the required libraries in the initial step.
Like Ubuntu, you will need to install a few extra libraries in order to cope with various disc formats; in Fedora, this is best done from the command line:
$ sudo yum install libdvdread libdvdcss libdvdnav gstreamer-plugins-ugly gstreamer-plugins-bad
Once the above is installed, insert a DVD; Fedora will pop up a dialogue box asking you which application you want to open the DVD with. Choose "Movie Player" from the drop-down box and click the "OK" button:
Once "Movie Player" starts, the DVD will begin playing:
Outside of the "Movie Player", you can access, play and eject DVDs from the file manager, under the "Devices" heading: