[H-GEN] dvd reccomendations?

[Tony Nugent]

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On Sat Jan 04 2003 at 11:59, "3 Blokes" wrote:

> From: "Matthew Taylor"
> 
> > any reccomendations/experiences others want to pass on?
> 
> I use a Lg Dvd at home, it was cheap, only costing me $76 wholesale, but I
> have never had a problem with it, and it out performs any expectations I
> had, overall a nice drive. As for linux support I havn't tried yet, so I
> can't help you unfortunatly :).

"If they work with windows, then they are likely to work with linux" :-)

They work just like cdrom drives.  I've had experience with several
dvd players, cheap to expensive.  They all worked with linux, no
problems (they all should - as long as they are true atapi devices).
There is cheapish one in a box I have here that is an ide dvd/cdrom
burner combo (samsung), and it even works well using it with the
ide-scsi driver for both dvd data discs and for playing movies.

If you find that you can safely enable DMA (in /etc/modules.conf
with "options ide-cd dma=1") then you'll get better performance
playing movies (much less "jerk", almost smooth as silk - even on
something like a piii-500.  Don't bother trying it on anything less
than a P-III, the p-IIs and below just can't do multimedia very well
at all).

You'll need to use the libdvd and libcss libraries to play movies
(do searches at sourceforce, freshrpms and/or freshmeat for all the
good stuff).  "ln -s hdc /dev/dvd" (hdc in this case being the dvd)
helps with lots of applications (eg, xine and other players).  

If you have a video card with tv-out, then big bonus! -- if you have
the tv-out working with linux (the nvidia drivers can do this), then
you will have a way to play dvd movies on your computer and watch
them on your tv (or record them on your vcr).  (Unlike the windows
players, they refuse to play dvds if tv-out is enabled - linux
doesn't give a... care :-)

>    Joe Skilton

Cheers
Tony

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