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What Happened To Intervideo's Linux DVD Player?
A singular node from the Anonymous Coward Collective asks: "Several months ago when the storm first blew up about the cracked DVD code enabling Linux users to view DVDs on their chosen platform, Intervideo rode a wave of publicity drawing geeks worldwide to their site by announcing their upcoming 'legal' DVD player for Linux to be available in the second quarter 2000. June came and went and I contacted their sales people who informed me that it would be available at the end of July. It wasn't. I contacted their PR people and was told that it would be available at the end of August. No show. In the meantime, thousands of geeks have gone to their site to be entertained by the wonderful awards they have won for their Windows software. No mention of Linux. The press release has disappeared from their home page as well. Did this software really exist, or was it all just a pathetic publicity stunt? Does anyone out there know the answer?" I'd think quite a few uf us would like to know the answer to this one. What happened, Intervideo?
Yes, really, some promised software projects never materialize, they're called vaporware.
If thery were trying to forestall competition, like a certain company in Seattle, it would be called FUD.
Or maybe they decided all the geeks who wantd to watch DVD;s on the Linux boxes had DecSS, in which we would be to blame.
It doesn't matter anyhow, I'd rather watch a DVD on my TV, with a beer and a bong in my hand, usign a $129 DVD player, rather than mucking about in front of my 15 inch monitor.
That a question which only Intervideo can answer is being posted as a "Ask Slashdot"?
Ask Slashdot, if we don't know, we'll make something up.
Steven
-- I have marked myself unwilling to moderate-- I don't have other accounts to artificially inflate the karma of
I know that prior to the DeCSS case, part of the MPAA's attempt to spin everything their way was to claim that a Linux DVD player already existed, or was in the works, or something like that. Were they referring to Intervideo, another company, or was it a bald-faced lie?
Or ask for an interview! Get one of the high-ranking officials on the horn, and field some questions! If you call them up, and they say "A representative from Slashdot is on the phone", I doubt they'll blow you off. If they do, that adds fuel to our side of the argument. "They keep delaying the release, they pulled information from their pages, and they refused an interview." That would say a lot right there.
On the other hand, if they ACCEPT the interview, we'd get some answers as to what's going on.
I'm sorry, but posting this as an "Ask Slashdot" piece seems like a lazy way out. We'd get no answers to the question that can be held as proof - merely speculation as to what "Might have happened." (Unless an Interview Employee replies, but that's not very interactive/informative.)
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Please, consider calling such code "unlicensed" instead. The distinction is that all other DVD player software has a CSS license from DVD-CCA.
--
314-15-9265
Ok, I just went to the Intervideo site and checked their press releases. The LinDVD anouncement is still there. I guess this makes me look like a bit of a prick. Still, it makes the entire article rather irrelevant. all we have here is late software.
Yup, we've seen it. We were interested in co-developing the hardware decoding for our laptops... however, they are not interested in bringing in any outside developers.
:-)
The version we saw running on a Dell Inspiron 5000 was nearly fully functional. It was feature complete, and they had just added the ability to use the mouse cursor to control the on-screen DVD extra cool things.
We should be getting a beta version soon to test with our laptops. In the meantime, the rest of you will just have to wait.
Aparrently, it will be a software only player. However, they are investigating a plugin type API to allow third parties to write drivers for hardware decoders.
Anyway... just wanted to say that it is DEFINITELY not vapourware... though I still want an open source player to come to fruit.
Maybe SOME day we will have a commercial product.
Signatures are supposed to be funny?
My wife is pregnant and due very shortly. Naturally, we're both geeks and are always looking for ways to help the Open Source community. What would happen if we were to name our child using selected parts of the DeCSS source code? Admitedly, weddings and funerals might be a problem, but other than that, I'm sure we'd manage (After all, these should both be many years off). Would the local hospital records department end up getting sued?
after i emailed a question on Intervideo's support page in the last week or so, i rec'd a reply stating to the effect that "LinDVD has been sent to OEMs for evaluation, and I can't tell you much more than that."
so at least i got a reply, but that's not helping me with playing DVDs under Linux...
anyone have a simple, step-by-step procedure with software that works under 2.2.15, 2.2.16, or 2.2.17?
DVD-ROM drives made before Jan 1st were not required to do hardware enforcement of the region codes. Which drives had or didn't have region code enforcement can be found at places like www.dvdutils.com. At that time, the only region enforcement was in software, and of course patches have been written for every software player under the sun to disable this
New (RPC-2) DVD-ROM drives have "hardware" region code support (meaning the drive does it-- not just the software). Some of these drives can be "patched" with a modified firmware upgrade. Some can't.
Sigma Designs (makers of the Hollywood+ DVD decoder cards) has released a driver for their NetStream 2000 card for Linux here. These drivers apparently include source code according to their FAQ. Of course, this is not a big deal because the "interesting" parts of a DVD player are implemented in hardware. Someone is also working on a DVD player application built around this driver, though it is not clear how far along that project is.
The problem with DVD player software is:
a) There is a fairly small market of people who want to watch a DVD sitting at their computer.
b) Even fewer of these people use Linux
c) Even fewer of THESE people are unwilling to dual boot.
d) Even fewer of THESE people are willing to pay for software to replace the software that runs under Windows that came with their comptuer and/or DVD drive.
e) Set top DVD players are very cheap these days.
Besides E, this is the same problem most Linux software faces. The sad truth is most Win32 software works perfectly fine for 99% of the people who use it. It's hard to justify wasting the time and money to cater to a *very* small market.
Thank you for seeing the real issue, Eric.
;-)
It still boggles my mind that writing one's own instructions for a device (DVD player) and sharing them with the world can be called "illegal" in the first place.
There was no instance of "trade secrets" being compromised, if there were and insider of one of the licensed vendors or the consortium would have been on trial instead of Eric aka Emmanuel and 2600 magazine.
There was no instance of copyright infringement, DeCSS is origonal work not a copy.
Calling DeCSS "illegal" is nonsense, just as saying that a "licensed" program is "legal".
If the MPAA can find a pirated and cracked copy of it's own software then they have a point, but until then they are just blowing crap (along with that Amish* judge that they rented).
*no offense to any Amish folk reading or hearing about this post
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Eve Fairbanks says I drive a hybrid!LOL
The irony is there isn't a sigmadesigns.com and InterVideo is still trying to roll out their LICENSED, LEGAL Linux-based DVD player, meanwhile anyone with the mind to can use DeCSS to do it now. One would think the MPAA would have a vested interest in speeding the production of a Linux based DVD player just to quell this argument.
Listen, Sigmund, we'll discuss it in the morning.
Check it out: http://intervideo.com/news/ 28/InterVideoLinDVDFinal.htm
Geez, check these things out for yourselves. (it is only 2 clicks off the front page!)
So just because the words "deCSS", DVD, Linux & Commercial appear together in an article, the conspiracy theorists start frothing at the mouth.
Perhaps they are just ironing the bugs out before they release it? One of the criticisms levelled commercial software is that it is all too often rushed to market without proper testing. Maybe these people aren't like that.
After all, this is the reason Linux 2.4 is still awaiting full release, even though it was promised for April. I don't hear Linus Torvalds being accused of having hidden agendas (not that I'm doing that, I just think people are being a bit unfair here.)
If my call is important, why am I talking to a recording?
OKAY, DeCSS is not a full player, it is just a critical piece that you need to make a functional player.
Here is the full HOWTO for Linux:
http://helo.org/dvd/howto/DVD-Playing-HOWTO
and for FreeBSD:
http://www.opendvd.org/fbsddvd.php3
Thank you all for correcting my memory loss during my fit of babbling.
Visit DC2600
Eve Fairbanks says I drive a hybrid!LOL
The judge and MPAA can say a dog has 5 legs all they want, but the dog still has only 4, DeCSS is not a violation of any law.
The MPAA can say the sky is orange and we can all ignore them. But when the old folks in the robes say something, even stupid things, it matters. In America we have a long and complicated process to review legal rulings so that no one judge or even one court can decide something by themselves. But a judges job description basically say, "given these laws and this constitution and these case facts, decide what's legal and what's not." If we don't agree with that ruling, we have options like writing/calling/stalking our congrespeople. And after that, civil disobedience is in the arsenal if you have the guts. But ignoring a ruling and deciding something is legal because you believe it won't fly.
-B
So since lots of people have the DeCSS source code, why not start a project to create a patch to it much the same way as LAME did with the Fraunhaufer MP3 encoder?
I'm not into the type of programming required for this but the way LAME morphed from being a patch to being a full fledged independent program was pretty interesting to say the least.
Perhaps this would be a way to develop and open source DVD player for Linux - while legal battles are happening, people still code. When it all blows over you'll either still have the patch that lets you play DVDs, or (hopefully) be able to turn the patch into an independent program.
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If he is still saying "not enough," it is because he does not feel that he should be expected to be grateful for the halting, and inadequate attempts of his society to catch up with the basic rights he ought to have inherited automatically ... by virtue of his membership in the human family and his American birthright.
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