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Ogle Does CSS and DVD Menus

javilon noted that a new DVD Player for Linux has appeared, and this one supports CSS and is the first player to implement menus. It's called Ogle and is developed by a few students at Chalmers University of Technology ins Sweden. It's really exciting to see several different groups independently and together developing players. The only question is when will the MPAA give up?

158 comments

  1. That's right Taco ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    when willt he MPAA give up? Plants and flowers willt if you don't give them enough water.

  2. GNOME GUI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    unfortunately, the GUI uses GTK/GNOME, so you need yet more cruft installed on your system just to use it. ungh.

  3. What about China? Apex was disciplined... not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
    The non-Berne, non-WIPO signatory nations are the best choice. China is not a WIPO nation. This is not too useful since they're a closed communist state. But since the UN does not recognize Taiwan as a seperate nation, Taiwan CANNOT sign on to the Berne/WIPO treaties (China has to make that choice).

    Ha!

    So copying and reselling stuff (movies, games, CDs, etc.) is 100% legal there. Som May records makes a living selling lower priced copies of various media. Now if a web site in taiwant puts up local legal stuff for downloading on a global internet?...

  4. Re:The MPAA may be careful in who the go after. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    >More likely, the first sign of MPAA activity these students will lose computing priveledges, have their >dorm rooms searched, personal effects confiscated, and possibly have their academic futures sunk. > >Hopefully I'm wrong.

    Most probably you are wrong. From a copyright law point of view they don't have much of an case here in Sweden since this is about fair use which is quite liberally defined (at least for the moment). In January this year the swedish deputy minster of trad Ulrica Messing said in a newspaper interview that she had a) downloaded music from the net b) made a CD from this music and c) given it away. This of course irritated the hell out of the local recording industry bigwigs and an district attorney took a look at the case and decided that there wasn't even grounds for a preliminary investigation. Why? Because this was just a case of making a copy for personal use and not an act of distribution (i.e. it was not several copies and it was for private use). For those who can read Swedish see http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/nyheter/story/0,2789 ,24604,00.html

    That leaves the MPAA henchmen with the possibility of claiming that this is a part of their trade secrets but that they would have to prove in court. And I have a feeling that the standard of what's defined as trade secrets in Sweden is a little higher than just a few lines of code.

    As for what Chalmers will do only time can tell but I hardly think they will suspend their computing priviliges. Swedish universities are generally quite levelheaded when it comes to these things since they get their money from the state and don't risk the same kind of punitive damages here as in Sweden.

  5. who would play a dvd on a monitor instead of a TV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I for one would like to be able to play DVDs in my laptop when I'm travelling or otherwise away from areas with televisions.

  6. Re:cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    if you want sound you have to start ac3dec manually and point it at what looks like a fifo the program creates. Also, you have to quit the progam to play another movie. Basic menu features like pause and fast forward aren't implemented either.

    So its pretty much like every other Linux program, then?...

  7. Re:Exciting? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I agree. The fact that in so many areas of linux you can download 18 different packages to do something that all suck rather than having 1 that works well was basically what caused me to switch back to windows where, while software is far from perfect, at least lets me do what I want in a reasonably productive manner.

  8. Re:YES! by HeUnique · · Score: 2

    Any bets of time estimation untill those navigation features will be inside mplayer, Xine and other players?? ;))

    --
    Hetz (Heunique)
  9. Re:Media by HeUnique · · Score: 2

    No it's not...

    Start Windows and look for a program called "dvdplay" - run it - and you'll see it's missing 1 part - the DirectShow part with DVD encoding...

    That part needs to be purchased from one of the Windows DVD players companies around..

    --
    Hetz (Heunique)
  10. not all of us run linux... by pixel+fairy · · Score: 1

    even if thier is a valid claim that dvd players on linux is illigal, that says nothing for *bsd, atheos, macos-x, etc...

  11. Re:Commercial DVD by demon · · Score: 1

    IBM actually ships it with their Linux-based ThinkPad laptop (the T22, iirc). It's not very useful to many of us though, since it is only sold to integrators, and many of us build our own boxen. So, I think most Linux users that are interested in playing DVDs will be sticking with one of the assortment of free players. (wow, hard to believe there are 5 of them now...)
    _____

    Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."

    --

    Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."
    Max: "I'd be peeing my pants if I wore any!"
  12. Re:Hacker Effort by demon · · Score: 1

    There are already two commercial companies that sell DVD player software for Linux - but only to system integrators, not to end-users. And you definitely can't have an open-source DVD player that uses the DVD book specs - the license fees are outrageous, you must license AC3 from Dolby (more money), your code must be closed, measures must be taken to obfuscate the CSS key in the binary (and since it has to be binary, those on non-x86 archs can't even try to play their DVDs with this theoretical package), you must submit your code to regular checks by the DVD CCA, etc.

    There are a lot of stipulations, and then we're more or less where we were before - we have a DVD player, but it can't be extended or improved, it will probably only be available for Linux/x86, and interested people still can't learn how it works.

    How is this even an improvement?
    _____

    Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."

    --

    Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."
    Max: "I'd be peeing my pants if I wore any!"
  13. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by demon · · Score: 1

    I dunno, I haven't had problems with DVD rentals, surprisingly. My parents did rent "Space Cowboys" on DVD, and it had a slight problem, but it was just smudged where someone had touched the disc surface. A quick cleaning, and it was good again. And I haven't had any unwatchable rentals yet via Netflix.

    In short, I used to think that would be a big problem - but it hasn't been a problem anywhere near on the order I expected.
    _____

    Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."

    --

    Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."
    Max: "I'd be peeing my pants if I wore any!"
  14. Re:Port to Max OS X? by demon · · Score: 1

    Umm, I don't think it has anything to do with kernel-level decryption - the CD/DVD driver in OS X's kernel just needs to know how to broker the key exchange between the hardware and userspace, which it must not yet know how to do. That stuff has been added to Linux and FreeBSD kernels as well - the actual decryption work is done in userspace (by the likes of libcss).
    _____

    Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."

    --

    Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."
    Max: "I'd be peeing my pants if I wore any!"
  15. Re:heh by demon · · Score: 1

    Consider that those were Apple's highly-touted features of their next-generation OS, and it lacked some of these features (notably CD burning and DVD playback capabilities). I know I wouldn't have expected it, except for the fact that Apple used those features to draw attention to the new OS.

    i.e., don't claim it unless you're ready to provide.
    _____

    Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."

    --

    Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."
    Max: "I'd be peeing my pants if I wore any!"
  16. Re:Give Up? by demon · · Score: 1

    CSS sucked. Get over it. Even if Jon Johansen and whoever else hadn't reverse-engineered it, someone else would have. Besides, you still can't dupe a DVD to a DVD-{R,RW,RAM}. So what's the big deal?

    Besides, a serious pirating operation would just purchase a DVD duplicator and make their copies that way - it'd pay for itself quickly enough.
    _____

    Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."

    --

    Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."
    Max: "I'd be peeing my pants if I wore any!"
  17. Re:Exciting? by demon · · Score: 2

    I do agree that it would be nice to have one player that did everything - however, they're all making progress, and if they haven't already, eventually we'll likely see some cross-pollination among them (most, if not all, of them are borrowing stuff like libspudec, libmpeg2, libac3, and others that have been developed previously, either as part of OMS or other projects). It'll take time, but hell, Xine's already more stable for playing DVDs than the Windows software for my Creative Dxr3 card.

    Wasn't that long ago a guy e-mailed the OMS devel mailing list to say that he thought some high-profile Linux company should just license the DVD book specs because NAV support would take too long. Now look - players are actually starting to support DVD navigation, without the DVD book specs. So yeah, it's gonna take time, but as the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day.
    _____

    Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."

    --

    Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."
    Max: "I'd be peeing my pants if I wore any!"
  18. Re:Good for linux. by jedidiah · · Score: 1

    1) Then what's really wrong with them.

    2) What? Like $60-$100 inkjets?

    3) That's odd. They run well enough on my 400Mhz system. Although, the WHOLE enviroment is not strictly necessary.

    3) Again, then what's really wrong with them.

    Really, you could have thought of a whole hell of a lot else if your issues are more real than rhetoric.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  19. Re:Is it just me... by jedidiah · · Score: 1

    Intervideo claims to have a DVD player for Linux that they won't actually sell to anyone. It's also strictly x86. Either way, you'll get a working DVD player with all of the frills faster through Free Software developers than through the work of "benevolent corporations".

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  20. Re:Hacker Effort by jedidiah · · Score: 1

    Bullshit.

    There is nothing "illegal" in a citizen choosing to decode their DVD under Linux. This is INFACT a legal use of DVD technology.

    It is no less legal than the "fair use" that photocopiers are often utilized for. It isn't even any less legal than using a photocopier to reproduce your own works.

    It is only made artificially illegal by a law that is itself illegal and was bought primarily to give publishers "rights" that they were never intended to have.

    The DMCA and the Copyright Act are not the extent of the law. Try and remember that when you are busy being a corporate bootlicker and turning yourself into a serf.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  21. Re:Media by jedidiah · · Score: 2

    That has NOTHING to do with it.

    DVD is one of those areas where a large corporation can come along and club you to death with a lawsuit. DeCSS has been litigated against since it was born.

    This is not the usual "volunteers" vs. "paid programmers" situation.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  22. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by Jeremy+Erwin · · Score: 2

    The Tower Records down the street has stopped renting Videotapes. They still sell tapes, but I expect the selction will diminish.
    They still group all the DVD stogether, which makes browsing difficult.

  23. Re:menus by Jeremy+Erwin · · Score: 2

    The menus essentially serve as a (fairly elaborate) interafce to all of the DVD's special features. For instance, "Shadow of the Vampire opens with a elaborate painted backdrop with four menu choices: Scenes, Bonus Materials, Languages, and Play. Meanwhile, an overture plays on my speakers.

    If I click on "Scenes," I am presented with thumnail images of 18 different chapter, ranging from "Main Titles" and "The Great Director" to "The final Frame" and "Credits." Clicking on any of those thumbnails allows me to jump to the appropriate scene in the movie.

    If I click on Bonus materials, I can view several interviews, featurettes and associated movie trailers.

    "Languages" allows me to select alternate soundtracks-- DTS, AC-3, Director's Commentary, or a French dub.

    Finally, clicking on "Play" simply plays the movie (preceeded, alas, by a 60 second montage of Universal's other DVD releases).

    Menus are simply a nice feature to have-- and are a userfriendly method of orgainizing a often bewildering array of special features and supplementary meterial. It is technically possible to access this material without menus--but it's difficult and cumbersome.

    The menu specifications also allow for simple games (e.g. Dragon's Lair).

  24. Re:menus by Jeremy+Erwin · · Score: 2

    I suppose it might be possible to keep the controls activated at all times-- some DVDs actually disable fast forward (so that you're forced to watch their commercials or the FBI warnings.) "Shadow of the Vampire" does not make use of this dubious "feature".

  25. LsDVD had these features a year ago. by mwarps · · Score: 3

    The guys from LSDVD had a presentation last month at RIT and showed us their player. It was completely fucntional, or at least as functional as you can get on Linux, since there is no media framework. It supported menus fully and was comparable to any wind-bloze player out there. Shame it's commercial, and the cash-mongers that bought the LSDVD guys, killed the project. The name of the company that has LSDVD is MGI. I believe it's www.mgisoft.com... Most of the LSDVD folks were pretty cool, but one was some sort of IP zealot. Oh well. Fully functional DVD player for linux killed because "There wasn't any interest for DVD on Linux." - Another fine example of why all software should be free.

  26. Re:Media by smoser · · Score: 1
    Oh, I see. You mean like the ability to play mp3 or ogg or DVD (see this artitcle although I still don't understand why people are so bent on seeing a dvd on their massive 21 inch monitor rather than their 36 inch tv).

    Or, were you looking for the ability to mix/create video or record video in one of many ways.

    or did you just want to play those MPEG-1 (there are several others) or MPEG-2 or or

    Basically the point I'm trying to make is that the multimedia stuff is there already. just use it.

    The one piece I know of thats missing is Sorenson (sp?) codec quicktime player. anyone doing this, or know of a project that is?

  27. Re:hmm by Jonathan · · Score: 1

    Personally, I find the 0.3 series more stable, but this site allows later versions:

    Complete Xine

  28. Re:I assume it works for somebody out there by Jonathan · · Score: 2

    I dunno. Xine and vlc are perfectly stable for me, although I use Debian and the packages are already compiled for it.

  29. Re:hmm by Jonathan · · Score: 2

    I don't know how to get CSS working in Xine

    See
    CSS for Xine

  30. Re:MPAA, Same power outside of US? by Rob+Kaper · · Score: 3
    Does anyone know if the MPAA has the same legal power over people using the CSS code in countries other than the United States?

    It all started when they harassed a Norwegian coder, so I'll take it that as yes.

  31. If Hague Convention goes through as is. by Apuleius · · Score: 2

    Which hopefully won't happen.

  32. Re:Dammit, I think I love your country! by JanneM · · Score: 1

    Yes, from a couple of years ago, you can have dual citicenship..

    Also, One of our ministers recvently downloaded a CD full of mp3 songs and challenged the ploice to arrest her for illegal copying. The local district attorney stated that she had done nothing wrong, and that only the ones supplying her with the songs could possibly be charged.

    /Janne

    --
    Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
  33. Re:When willt he MPAA give up? by sacherjj · · Score: 1

    I si tl egallya llowedf orm et od ecodey ourm essage? Id on otw antt og ot oj ailh ere!

  34. Re:The MPAA may be careful in who the go after. by c · · Score: 3

    ``What can the MPAA say about Chalmers? I know the University is not directly involved, but they are students there.''

    University students are typically fair game for cease-and-desist lawsuits, though. A university will certainly defend faculty, but I haven't seen many that won't bend over backwards to help anyone that looks like a lawyer.

    More likely, the first sign of MPAA activity these students will lose computing priveledges, have their dorm rooms searched, personal effects confiscated, and possibly have their academic futures sunk.

    Hopefully I'm wrong.

    c.

    --
    Log in or piss off.
  35. Re:The MPAA may be careful in who the go after. by Cederic · · Score: 1


    Laugh, I've used stuff running at Chalmers remotely - they have a truly enlightened view of computing services. Cheers guys.

    ~Cederic

  36. Re:The MPAA may be careful in who the go after. by viktor · · Score: 4
    Being the system administrator of the computer system where this player has been developed, I can guarantee that the authors will not lose any computing privileges. Knowing how the swedish police work, it is also higly unlikely that any confiscation, searches or similar will happen to them. And Chalmers would have a sincerely difficult time getting away with any form of academic punishments.

    At Chalmers we also have a rather nice lawyer, who actually defends Chalmers (and I want to be defended, it's "my" computer system the MPAA will be after). He also enjoys going to court, if we just get him on the right side. :-)

    The thing is that this player has been developed in Sweden. Sweden currently does not have software patents, or any equivalence to the DMCA, and the chance of making this development look like a criminal offence is very very small. Even for the MPAA.

    We also have something to use to bend Chalmers back the right way if they seem to mushy against the MPAA - PR. Chalmers gets lots and lots of good PR from this player, and that is an argument that the leadership here can certainly accept.

  37. Exciting? by Stiletto · · Score: 5

    It's really exciting to see several different groups independently and together developing players.

    Exciting? I've got a wheel for you to re-invent if you find that sort of thing exciting. I don't know about you, but I'd rather see ONE quality Linux DVD player than five unfinished ones, each in a different stage of brokenness.

    Mod me down, they're your points...

  38. Are any of them threaded? by Kludge · · Score: 1

    Are any of these players threaded? I have an older dual machine. MPTV is great about this. It's threaded, and runs great but I don't think it does DVDs.

  39. Re:Spelling by ethereal · · Score: 1

    Implausible - his spelling was like this before Andover came knocking.

    Caution: contents may be quarrelsome and meticulous!

    --

    Your right to not believe: Americans United for Separation of Church and

  40. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by Robotech_Master · · Score: 2
    According to a piece in the Bits a few weeks back, DVD rentals are much more attractive to the rental chains, too, because of their more attractive pricing. There isn't a "priced for rental" DVD tier yet--instead of having to pay inflated prices per tape when they first come out, they can buy DVDs at the low retail price the same as the rest of us. More profit margin, there.

    The studios are making noises about changing this and instituting a rental-pricing tier, and the rental shops are fighting it tooth and nail. It'll probably happen sooner or later, though.
    --

    --
    Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
  41. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by Chelloveck · · Score: 2

    In terms of market share? Approximately 0.00% ± .
    Chelloveck

    --
    Chelloveck
    I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
  42. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by Chelloveck · · Score: 2

    Possibly true. But, out of the 2% of DVD's market that is comprised of Linux users, how many of them are satisfied with playing DVDs in other systems. I'm a Linux user, but I have absolutely no reason to watch a movie on my Linux box. I'd much rather pop it into my dedicated DVD player and watch it on my TV.
    Chelloveck

    --
    Chelloveck
    I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
  43. Re:Ogle? by Sloppy · · Score: 1

    I guess they'll have to rename it to "Butthead QuikTime Component."
    ---

    --
    As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
  44. Give up? by Sloppy · · Score: 5

    If MPAA ever "gives up" on keeping the lid on DVDs, it will be because they're abandoning DVD altogether. And it might make sense for them to do that pretty soon. If you have bought a lot of your favorite movies on DVD, then it's time for them to introduce a new format so they can sell them to you again.

    So when MPAA gives up, be afraid, because it means they're getting ready to ream you.


    ---
    --
    As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
    1. Re:Give up? by RobertAG · · Score: 1

      I think they're pretty much wedded to the DVD format for the long haul. Asking people to now throw away their players, is just going to make them more skittish about adopting the next generation of technology.

      I can see the zoning thing going away just because it'll soon become irrelevant in the face of pirate distribution (ie a would-be pirate in NY buys a legal copy, burns an image in his own DVD burner with the European zone, then distributes it). New technologies make the old business models as well as the old technologies obsolete.

      I can see them adopting the "sell cheaper, sell more" mentality in the future.

    2. Re:Give Up? by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

      GPL is bad not because of control per say but because someone can read the code and burn another dvd in a different region code and sell it on the black market. This is what scares the shit out of the MPAA. I remember reading this 5 or 6 years ago.

      Its not really price gouging or control of consumers like you mentioned above but its about control of the organized crime families in asia and in the USA. Its true you can copy a dvd with special equipment but with region encoding a criminal would have to buy several writers with several different versions of the same movie with different region encodings on each dvd. I believe computer dvd write drives can't write full movie dvd's for this reason. This would make it harder for them to pirate but not make it impossible.

      WIth fewer individuals copying movies, the FBI and local police can track them down easier make biger busts of pirated movies and destroy more pirated movies and bring demand back up. CSS was designed to make pirating only widespread with large crime families and not small individuals to make it easier to catch pirating operations. This was quite smart on the MPAA's part since they relised they can never fully stop it. With decss their dreams were shattered. Someone can read the code and rip one dvd and then record it in another region code. Now dvd's are like VHS tapes in which anyone can pirate them if they have the record equipment thanks to the secret css code released by some 16 year old kid. They jailed the 16 year old kid (forgot his name), because he let out the secret and now dvd's can be pirated like VHS tapes.

    3. Re:Give Up? by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

      If I steal a big hollywood movie, I would want to put it in region coding to prevent being caught. You can easily reproduce all the pictures, the booklets, and even the box with the right equipment. The only way to get caught is to have the disc non encoded. The FBI can then track where the discs are coming from and eventually apprehend you. The encoding can hide evidence. I am not refering to a causal user who may want to pirate a few copies to friends but oraginzed crime families and cartels. Many video's and software that look legitimate may be pirated without you even knowing. CSS was made to stop this. They can easily go after manufactors under trade treaties like they went after Jon so the issue is worth the mob or illegal bussinesses. I believe in the rights of hackers but I am just trying to show the other arguement which does raise some valid concerns. If I were the CEO of the MPAA, I would to go after decss. Not for being greeding but because it really is hurting bussiness by as much as %25. Thas almost 2 billion dollars of a 9 billion dollar industry and thats a shitload of money.I am aware it assumes most people would buy the disc and not steal it but as a CEo that would make me uncomfortable. Freesoftware is really great but not everything is free and if someone wants to charge money to play on their sandbox it is their right. You can't play if you don't pay. I read a paper in college showing that the movie industry lost billions because of the VCR. They are a bussiness and its their job to protect their assets. Life sucks but its that or end up geting fired.

      I view it as a clash of rights. Personal rights vs Corporate rights. Its a free country and hollywood does have some rights over its algorithms just as we have rights over our personal computers. The problem is they never patented css so it looks like we win in this round. I just like playing the devil's advocate on ocassion and I believe I accurately represent the idea's of the mpaa. They have never gone after a DVD manufactor and their case was about decrypting a disc and then re-encrypt to a different region code it and making multiple copies. They never put charges of theft agaisn't Jon because he never actually stole any cd's but they did use the region encoding arguement and the DMCA to jail him because the cat was out of the bad on their attempt to stop illegal copying. I believe if he didn't de-crypt it then someone else would and then that person would stand on trial.

    4. Re:Give Up? by mikethegeek · · Score: 2

      "With decss their dreams were shattered. Someone can read the code and rip one dvd and then record it in another region code"

      Actually, DeCSS has NOTHING to do with pirating DVD's, that is the BIGGEST misconception that was allowed to become "fact" in Kaplan's Kangaroo Kourt.

      DeCSS allows the DVD to be decrypted as in what a player does. True, it COULD be used to decrypt a DVD to allow it to be copied enencrypted, but I seriously doubt that is what most of the commercial "pirates" are doing (I hate that term, Does copying software or movies REALLY have the moral equivalency of hijacking a ship?).

      DVD's could be copied before DeCSS, and without DeCSS by simply making a bit-for-bit copy of the disc. This fact is what has doomed copy protection schemes since they were first tried in the 1980's.

      The ONLY practical application for DeCSS is to make a player. Which is what the MPAA cartel fears FAR more than "piracy". The DVD is a scheme that replaces the free, open VHS system with a "toll road" that only allows approved players, and restricts those they don't want from the market.

      --
      === The price of freedom is eternal vigilance
    5. Re:Give Up? by mikethegeek · · Score: 3

      " And the answer is the MPAA won't give up because there is simply nothing in it for them except a loss of control. The tiny handful of people who want to run DVDs on Linux is insignificant compared to the potential market for consumer DVD players.
      "

      Yep. A GPL'ed DVD player would undermine this cartel. Right now, not just ANYONE can make and sell a DVD player, as it is with VHS. Like Nintendo, (who has for years refused to make a CD-ROM based video game machine, solely because all the money they make off making software companies buy carts from them), they want to control who can enter their market, and WHAT they are "allowed" to do.

      --
      === The price of freedom is eternal vigilance
    6. Re:Give up? by discogravy · · Score: 1
      The MPAA isn't going to 'give up' on DVD any time soon...what they might do instead is change the specs.

      say you've got your dvd player. oh wait, here's 5.1 -- you say you've got that? wait, here's super extra hi-definition dvd, in 8.9 internal surround sound, including a speaker to shove up your ass so you can really feel the bass in your new copy of the stanley kubrick box set, the one with all his movies, the extras we didn't include in your first copy, and exclusive to this third reissuing of it, a newly discovered movie of his he shot when he was 17. now, only 150$ ...again.

      -d.


      --
      Slashdot: When News Breaks, We Give You The Pieces

  45. Re:Check Your Links CmdrTaco! by sharkey · · Score: 2

    Somebody should tell him that (H)andhelds comes before (P)HP in the English alphabet, too.

    --

    --

    --
    "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
  46. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by Ripp · · Score: 2

    Actually he's probably not too far from the mark. Go to your local Best Buy and try and find the VCR's. The last time I was in there were about 2 el-cheapo models and a beatup SVHS display model tucked away in a corner. It took me a little bit of time and "huh?" head-scratching to find them. Pretty soon: Can't buy VCR, can't rent tapes....cant' *buy* tapes...hm, guess I have to go DVD...

    This *will* happen with TV also when HD becomes the standard, encryption crap and all. No TV's to buy? *Have* to buy our super duper HD set (with encryption of course)....

    --
    Blech. Signatures.
  47. I assume it works for somebody out there by JabberWokky · · Score: 2
    .
    I haven't had much luck with DVD players on Linux. I've got a dual 700/PIII, 128 megs, SuSE 7.1, and I've tried (in the past few days) vlc (VideoLan), xmovie, xine (about three weeks ago), and just now, olga.

    Most don't do anything, vlc runs for a few minutes and dies. I've got the latest stable releases of just about everything (kernel, XFree, etc), and 'it just don't work'. I'm not a newbie here - everything seems to compile, libraries are found, watching stdout dosen't show anything obvious, I've tried different DVDs... Either I've got an oddball system, or it's not quite ready for prime time (although watching the opening Owl sequence of Labrynth is nice).

    Hopefully it's just a matter of waiting a few months for things to get a bit more stable, but for right now, I have to use my $120 hardware decoder - an Apex 600A one shelf above my workstation.

    --
    Evan

    --
    "$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
    1. Re:I assume it works for somebody out there by ywwg · · Score: 2

      If I remember correctly, xine has the best performance, but can't do subtitles very well, and the interface isn't great. Videolan has very very strange audio artfacts (audio slows down, speeds up) last time I checked, and nearly as good video.

      This new one, ogle, has menu support, but seems to suck otherwise.

      nothing does multiple angles well that I've seen. a lot of titles use it now (like the Matrix) and if they aren't dealt with you get funny things happening. A perfect disc to try out a player is Princess Monononononoke: it is 16x9, has subs, and is multi angle all in the first 30 seconds. it's a very good test.

    2. Re:I assume it works for somebody out there by Cardhore · · Score: 2

      I've had a similar experience. None of the software is stable enough yet, and it makes me wonder how people without hardware acceleration are watching their movies.

  48. menus by ywwg · · Score: 2

    the menu stuff is amazing. I never thought that would get done. Is there any information on how it was achieved?

  49. heh by keepper · · Score: 1

    it's funny how the complains about MacOS X are complains that would hold agains't any OS.

    When was the last time windows ,or any other os for that matter, was EXPECTED to ship with a dvd player, a cd recorder, an mp3 player, and many other things that are third party in all other OS's

    Do you guys not see the double standard here?

    1. Re:heh by Cryptnotic · · Score: 1
      I think Mac OS X is being compared to the average Linux distribution, which comes with gigabytes and gigabytes of free, useful programs.

      Cryptnotic

      --
      My other first post is car post.
  50. Is it just me... by Flower · · Score: 5
    Or have I seen 3 open source dvd players but not one of promised commercial players for linux available here and now?

    And the MPAA thinks there is no reason for hacking CSS. Go fig.

    --
    I don't want knowledge. I want certainty. - Law, David Bowie
    1. Re:Is it just me... by kNIGits · · Score: 1

      Or have I seen 3 open source dvd players but not one of promised commercial players for linux available here and now?

      I keep reading this type of comment, and I'm wondering... haven't any of you heard of LinDVD? Sure, the site says that they don't deal directly with consumers at this stage, but they're definately getting their product out there. Take a look at this spec sheet from IBM.

    2. Re:Is it just me... by Trepalium · · Score: 1

      Cyberlink was also developing a Linux version of their PowerDVD software, which eventually turned into something for use with embeded systems, only, too. If I believed in conspiracy theories, I would think something was going on here.

      --
      I used up all my sick days, so I'm calling in dead.
    3. Re:Is it just me... by Jetifi · · Score: 1

      You are absolutely correct. At the DeCSS trial, the MPAA lawyers said that a licensed DVD player for Linux was in the works, and therefore people needn't have the CSS algorithm.

      Since then, it seems to have quietly disapeared(sp?), while there are, as the editorial points out, three OSS/GPL'ed DVD players, none of which would not have happened without DeCSS.

      There is much pointage to be had here when debating the merits of various development methodologies, but I'm sure they're obvious to your average slashdot reader.

    4. Re:Is it just me... by linuxpng · · Score: 2

      because on their website they state it is mainly for set-top boxes and the like. Not your computer.

      From intervideo's website...
      br> Linux users should be aware that we are engaged with top computer, Internet appliance, and set-top box manufacturers to provide the highest qualilty DVD playback for their devices.

      This sounds to me like someone scrambled to make confusion about a legitimate desktop dvd player for linux versus some complete product which is NOT my computer.

    5. Re:Is it just me... by blang · · Score: 1
      In order to make a player, the developer would have to get a licence, plus agree to pay some insane amount if the CSS "secret" keys end up in the public domain. Now that the cat is out of the bag, and their stupid scheme inevitably failed, they should abandon the whole idea, and admit that they goofed.

      The way they made it impossible for customers to play legally purchased copies of films, I don't think they will ever have a legel leg to stand on, in any country except the US.

      I'm not sure a Linux shop could afford to sign a licence for the CSS stuff. The biggest player is Red Hat, but they do all their work open source as far as I now, so they would not be able to get a license.

      How many commercial DVD players for windows are out there now, except Microsofts, and that crappy player that's included on some of the DVD's? (can't remember the name)

      --
      -- Another senseless waste of fine bytes.
  51. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by jfunk · · Score: 2

    Ok, then buy an Entertainment Anywhere from X-10. I bought my brother one for Christmas and he uses is constantly, but mostly for MP3. Now he wants another one so he doesn't have to move it between the room with the computer and the room with the DVD player, etc.

    The signal quality is really good, but it sometimes take a little time getting the right orientation of the antennas. It's really worth it though and it's surprisingly cheap.

    The remote that comes with it is really good, too. It's similar to the MouseRemote which I have, and love.

  52. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by generic-man · · Score: 1

    I don't know about DVD's being sturdier. The other night, I rented a movie on DVD. When it started, t-he m-otio-n w-as ver-y j-er-ky and it was unwatchable. After ejecting it from the drive, I noticed all sorts of scratches on it. I ended up returning to the store and getting the VHS copy. The quality wasn't as good as the DVD, but it played just fine without any cleaning.

    DVD's are fine for collections, but I wouldn't trust a rental one now.

    --
    For more information, click here.
  53. Diversity is good for survial by IIH · · Score: 3
    I don't know about you, but I'd rather see ONE quality Linux DVD player than five unfinished ones, each in a different stage of brokenness

    In an ideal world, one good player would be a better situation, but in the current case of dvd players, I don't think so. One player made by one company/group means one single point of failure, and single point to be closed down/intimidated.

    Whack-A-Mole is a very easy game to play if there is only one mole, you know.
    --

    --
    Exigo spamos et dona ferentes
  54. Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by Russ+Nelson · · Score: 1

    Now that there's Linux support, I might start buying DVD's. I wonder how big a market we are?
    -russ

    --
    Don't piss off The Angry Economist
    1. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by toast0 · · Score: 1

      "I do not wish to watch DVD's on my computer monitor."

      Why not? In my experience, VGA is much better looking than TV (of course that may be because i don't watch tv enough to spend much on a tv, but then again, most of the monitors i get are second hand and cheap cheap cheap)

    2. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by jmv · · Score: 2

      I just bought a DVD player, downloader omi (www.linuxvideo.org) and it worked without any problem. Note, however that it was using 80% CPU on my new Athlon 1.4 GHz.

    3. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by benploni · · Score: 1

      NO! Do *not* buy DVDs. These players are still illegal in America. Until you don't have to skulk around illegally using linux to play DVDs, buying one is just funding your loss of freedom. Send the money to the EFF instead.

    4. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by _xeno_ · · Score: 2
      Actually, I think that this probably is a result of consumer demand.

      DVDs do indeed offer signifigant benifits over VHS - you never need to rewind a DVD, they are much sturdier, and last longer. People are moving to DVDs - if I'm going to buy a movie, it better be on DVD, since I don't have a VCR!

      DVDs themselves often come with "extras" that VHS doesn't - like behind the scenes stuff, extra audio tracks, "Dolby Surround," and other things that make them more valuable to customers than a VHS tape. Simply put, I'll bet you that DVDs are winning on actual market merit, rather than being forced down consumers throats.

      Especially since the average American consumer doesn't give a rat's tail about the rest of the world, and could care less about region coding, especially because most of the movies that they'd want are released in Region 1. So DVDs are probably going to take over VHS, because DVDs are a product who's time has come. They have the right features at the right price and are convenient to the consumer - a winning product in the marketplace.

      --

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
    5. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by jchristopher · · Score: 1

      If "here" is the US, all region players are not illegal. Just hard to find.

    6. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by jchristopher · · Score: 1

      Are you suggesting that it's illegal to buy a region free player in the United States? Sorry but you are wrong. Hard to get is not = illegal.

    7. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by jchristopher · · Score: 1

      You are mistaken. There is no law that prevents the selling of region free players in the USA. They may not be in the Circuit City ad (due to the DVD cartel), but they are out there. And you certainly aren't commiting a crime by buying or selling one.

    8. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by jchristopher · · Score: 1

      As I said above, you WON'T find them in the Circuit City or Best Buy ad due to the influence of the DVD cartel. That doesn't mean they aren't available, and it doesn't make them illegal, either.

    9. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by Technician · · Score: 2

      For most people in the US, living on the big island is an OK way of life. However, I have lived in other countries. I have driver licenses in three countries. One for driving on the right and two for driving on the left. I do not wish to start over each time I move and risk sombody's customs office removing my player or library. NTSC, SECAM, PAL are enough of a problem without throwing in Macrovision and Region coding. Adjustable voltage stuff is a way of life except in the US so it's not a problem unless you got it in the USA. Most of my stuff runs on 100, 120, 210, or 240 volt. Most US stuff is 120 only.

      --
      The truth shall set you free!
    10. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by Technician · · Score: 2
      2. buy a video card with TV out.

      I have one. I don't wish to move the tv & stereo into the office, move the office to the living room, or run long wires all over the place. Computer speakers are not high fidelity.

      --
      The truth shall set you free!
    11. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by Technician · · Score: 2

      Can you really not buy them in the US? Sad but true. It is impossible to buy a non region one player off the shelf legally. The service menu information and chipping players is a hot underground activity.

      --
      The truth shall set you free!
    12. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by Technician · · Score: 2

      I doubt they will make a lot of noise until the damage is done to the VHS end. I expect it will happen just like Microsoft looked the other way on software piracy until it became the standard. Now they have the Business Software Alliance to make everyone shake in their boots. Unfortunately for them it promotes GPL. I am waiting for Pinewood Studios or some other non US studio to start releasing region free DVD's to sell into all markets thus giving the competition fits as market forces show who is king. The US film market needs serious competion in order for this to happen. If Amazon could carry quality region free films for under $10 US including shipping, they could do an end run past the MPAA.

      --
      The truth shall set you free!
    13. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by Technician · · Score: 2

      Actually I'm saying it is illegal to sell them in the US. Why do you think they are hard to find? Only region one standalone players are permitted to be imported into the USA.

      --
      The truth shall set you free!
    14. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by Technician · · Score: 2

      I'll be sure to check the flyers in the paper for the store that has them for sale. I'll let you know when I find a region free player on a mainstream US retailers flyer. If you find one, post it indicating store chain, make and model. It would be a nice feature to have in a player.

      --
      The truth shall set you free!
    15. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by Technician · · Score: 5

      You might not have a choice. I went to rent a videotape last night. The major chain had moved all the video tape into 1/4 of the floor space with just the edges of the boxes showing. They also bunched them all together. They were no longer seperated by classics, comedy, drama, action, family, etc.. Anybody else notice this trend? However the few DVD's they did have filled up 3/4 of the floor space. Several shelves were filled with the same title showing the full front of the box 1 deep on the shelf. This is a bold move to herd people to the DVD's and away from the videotapes. The change happened over the last 2 weeks. The title I went to rent was out. They had reduced inventory to one copy. It is not on DVD. I do not wish to watch DVD's on my computer monitor. I refuse to buy a DVD player until either DVD's are released region free, or all-region players are legally on sale here. I can change the region on my computer DVD drive, but it is not part of my living room home entertainment system. My entire DVD library now consists of one computer program on DVD ROM (phone book) and one movie I bought in a second hand store.

      --
      The truth shall set you free!
    16. Re:Gee, I might buy some DVD's now. by compuserf · · Score: 1

      Region free and auto-setting consumer grade players are readily available in the UK. Mine was £150 (about US$250), plays everything so far. Can you really not buy them in the US?

  55. Re:Media by MadAhab · · Score: 3
    A lot of poeple are assed to pay someone to develop free software. And not half-assed, either. IBM, Yahoo, etc DO pay for Apache development. They pay for features they need. I bet some porn site operator paid for someone to develop mod_referer, which you can use to prevent deep-linking to your pics. And Linux andthe *BSDs had USB quite early on, and well supported.

    What free software developers can't be assed to do is polish their software for use by mere mortals. Not many people have the motive to do it, because that last 25% of the work just doesn't look like it's there to a developer. And if you pay the developer, who cares about the documentation? You can save money and just ask the developer if you have questions.

    Boss of nothin. Big deal.
    Son, go get daddy's hard plastic eyes.

    --
    Expanding a vast wasteland since 1996.
  56. So does this mean... by Jestrzcap · · Score: 1

    That now we have the code to set up menu navigation in players like xine or vlc? IANA coder (much) but it seems to me that since it's open source it would be fairly easy to grab the relevent bits of code, or probably a nicer way to do it would be to ask the developers to help out, but it would mean that our favorite players would have the small bit of functionality that we crave right now.

    --
    "I have great faith in fools: Self confidence my friends call it." ~Edgar Allan Poe
  57. Re:Port to Max OS X? by bnenning · · Score: 2

    I thought it couldn't play encrypted DVDs, which apparently need features in Darwin that aren't available yet. I'm really hoping they can make it work; even if Apple does release an "official" player it will almost certainly be crippled to appease the MPAA.

    --
    How to solve most of our problems: 1.Lots of nuclear plants. 2.Cure aging.
  58. Re:YES! by pipeb0mb · · Score: 2

    Actually, the more I think about it, a combination of CSS within the menus is not so far fetched.
    Imagine having multiple styles on a DVD, then applying a CSS to them. The user could then customize the appearance of the menus.
    This would be really cool for consumer DVDs like wedding videos, or anything that was created for an individual or specific entity.
    Just a thought...

  59. YES! by pipeb0mb · · Score: 4

    FINALLY! A DVD player that supports Cascading Style Sheets!
    Whoohoo!
    What? Oh..ok. I see. OK.
    Nevermind.

    1. Re:YES! by tomzyk · · Score: 1
      FINALLY! A DVD player that supports Cascading Style Sheets!

      Heh. Exactly what I was thinking...

      But seriously, what's the deal with the "features" section in there? It "Supports DVD menus and navigation" (big whoop) and yet "Basic video controls like pause, fast forward are not implemented".

      ?!?

      --
      Karma: NaN
    2. Re:YES! by duber007 · · Score: 1

      just browsing the mailing list archives for Xine - seems as if their 0.5 development releases are starting to have some support for menu navigation....haven't tried yet, but we might get lucky, right?

  60. Re:Media by treke · · Score: 2

    although I still don't understand why people are so bent on seeing a dvd on their massive 21 inch monitor rather than their 36 inch tv)

    Because not all of us have either a tv or a need for one? If the Software DVD player does an adequate job, then why buy a tv?

    The one piece I know of thats missing is Sorenson (sp?) codec quicktime player. anyone doing this, or know of a project that is?

    There was talk on the xine mailing list of trying to get Quicktime working in a similar manner to the windows media codecs. The FAQ for mplayer seems to indicate that the mplayer authors looked into doing it, but weren't capable of getting it to work

  61. LinDVD is available on Thinkpads by Nailer · · Score: 3

    You don't mean commercial. You mean proprietary. VideoLAN is produced for partially commercial reasons, and its Open Source. Just like Red Hat Linux.

    Its odd people continue to get this wrong when its one of the few things the Open Source and Free Software foundation people unanimously agree upon.

    Anyway, LinDVD is available as OEM deal, with Caldera OpenLinux eDesktop 2.4 and LinDVD, on the A20 series, IIRC. GIYF.

    But yes, they should be more widely available. Why not send a message to Intervideo asking them for a release date if you'd like to buy a license?

    Its probably the only player asides from PowerDVD for Linux (embedded only) that can play film at full quality on a Celeron 300.

    1. Re:LinDVD is available on Thinkpads by Tetsujin28 · · Score: 1
      You don't mean commercial. You mean proprietary. VideoLAN is produced for partially commercial reasons, and its Open Source. Just like Red Hat Linux.

      The MPAA does mean "commercial." As in, "You have no choice but the watch the commercials."



      --------------------
      WWW.TETSUJIN.ORG

      --
      - - - -
      The real Tetsujin 28 is a giant robot.
  62. Re:Port to Max OS X? by TMB · · Score: 3

    VideoLAN has been reported to work on OS X.

    [TMB]

  63. Re:Port to Max OS X? by larkost · · Score: 1

    Actually, they need to write a KEXT (kernal extension) for MacOS X, and don't have the requisite knowledge. They are waiting for someone who does to join the team. Basically what they are looking for is a DVD device driver that does all the CSS work, and hands over a decrypted data stream. Apple is in no position to do this legally.

  64. It is Exciting! by barneyfoo · · Score: 1

    Developing software is fun!

    Developing Free software is even more fun! (assuming one isn't getting berated by the likes of you)

    sheesh.

  65. mpaa? by rash · · Score: 1

    The MPAA doesnt have annything to do with this. Sinse it is made in Sweden, a country that puts the right of the end user higher then the corporations there isnt anny law against this.

  66. SMOG(tm) brand processed air by Speare · · Score: 5

    From: Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
    To: Slashdot Readership Re: Use of the SMOG trademark

    The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce has worked hard to provide our visitors with the premium SMOG brand of processed air particles, and we feel it is a unique product in the world today. Thus, we must protect our unique product image with a trademark on the term SMOG.

    We do not object to use of the slang term "smog" to describe unsolicited commercial air particles, although we do object to the use of our product image in association with that term. Also, if the term is to be used, it should be in all lowercase letters to distinguish it from our trademark SMOG, which should be used with all uppercase letters.

    Sincerely,
    The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
    www.lachamber.net

    --
    [ .sig file not found ]
    1. Re:SMOG(tm) brand processed air by rjkimble · · Score: 1

      OK. How about the fire-breathing-dragon version then: SMAUG??

      All Your Base Are Belong To Us!!!

      --

      Guns don't kill people -- people kill people.
      But the guns seem to help a bit. (apologies to Eddie Izzard)
  67. Re:Good for linux. by RevRigel · · Score: 1

    Excellent. Start coding.

  68. cool by lunatik17 · · Score: 5
    This looks neat, but it's still very rough. According to their website, if you want sound you have to start ac3dec manually and point it at what looks like a fifo the program creates. Also, you have to quit the progam to play another movie. Basic menu features like pause and fast forward aren't implemented either.

    In short, this looks like it will be really neat but it is definately not ready for widespread use yet.

    --

    Here's my DeCSS mirror, where's yours?

  69. Re:The MPAA will give up when... by lunatik17 · · Score: 5
    2. All lawyers die.

    It's not nice to tease people.

    --

    Here's my DeCSS mirror, where's yours?

  70. Re:Good to see... by Tom7 · · Score: 1

    Maybe if they also fixed his spelling mistakes it would be worth it. =)

  71. Re:Media by -brazil- · · Score: 1
    And Linux and the *BSDs had USB quite early on, and well supported.

    For sufficiently small values of "well supported". As of 2.4.5, two of the 3 USB devices I own are still near unusable because the drivers randomly go into deadlock.

    --

    The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.
    --Henry Kissinger

  72. Re:Good for linux. by -brazil- · · Score: 1

    For 1), Mozilla is getting better all the time, and the latest version 0.9.1 is pretty close to being ready for prime time. 0.9 crashed and took down the X server oocasionally, but I haven't had that happen with 0.9.1 yet, in over a week of heavy usage.

    --

    The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.
    --Henry Kissinger

  73. Re:Hacker Effort by -brazil- · · Score: 1

    It's not about free movies and music, it's about not being allowed to use movies you have legally purchased in a way the industry doesn't like, and that's not OK at all. You paid for it, it's yours and you can do withit whatever you like, as long as it's not illegal. And since the MPAA can't make things like watching a DVD bought in the US on a player bought in Europe illegal because it would be too obviously a violation of civil rights, they're trying to make the tools for doing so illegal through strawman arguments.

    --

    The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.
    --Henry Kissinger

  74. Re:Hacker Effort by swordgeek · · Score: 2

    OK, read what I said:

    "As long as the MPAA thinks they can make people pay for the rights to develop software..."

    Now look at what you wrote:

    "They don't. They think they can make people pay for the rights to develop software..."

    You can argue that I cut off your qualifier. I am arguing that the qualifier doesn't make any difference. For one specific purpose and one only, they're restricting your ability to develop software. That's one purpose too many.

    If it infringed their copyright somehow, then I could see them restricting the _use_ of such work. Not the development, the distribution, or the discussion of it. Are photocopiers illegal? No. Are photocopier schematics illegal? No. Are photocopier sales illegal? No. Is using a photocopier illegal? In some cases yes, but that doesn't make the rest of the chain illegal.

    As for your other point; "What confuses me most is why people think we have some inalienable right to free movies and music, and the RIAA and MPAA are evil because they make you pay for the product they find, fund, distribute, and market."

    1) This has nothing to do with free movies and music. Never has. It's all about letting me watch movies that I HAVE LEGALLY PURCHASED (yes, for real money, from the store) without having to run Windows. Nobody ever told me I couldn't build a VCR out of rusty tin cans and earwax or at least that I wasn't allowed to :-), and nobody should be able to tell me that I can't build my own DVD player.

    As for the RIAA, I pesonally consider them to be entirely evil because they charge large sums of money for music and then keep it, instead of distributing it to the artists. Musicians get a pittance, and the RIAA makes gobs, which is not how things should be.


    --

    "People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
  75. Re:Hacker Effort by swordgeek · · Score: 5

    "Does a DVD player for Linux have to be a subversive mission against the MPAA?"

    Yep! It sure does.

    Hold on a second here, I'm not actually being facetious. Consider this:

    There are no licensed DVD players for any linux (not to mention all the Unices, OS/2, etc. etc.) In fact, no Linux (etc.) developers have licences to produce one, as far as we know. Thus, ANY DVD PLAYER DEVELOPMENT on Linux is a de facto 'line in the sand' against the MPAA. There's no way for it not to be.

    And for that matter, that's the way it should be. As long as the MPAA thinks they can make people pay for the rights to develop software, we should agressively ignore their decrees and do everything in our power to defeat them.

    Remember: They are selling you the right to develop your own software. That's simply unconscionable.

    --

    "People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
  76. Too bad Indrema went bust by Animats · · Score: 2

    Needed now is a supplier of generic, open set-top boxes, into which anyone can put software. Then this can be packaged up as a consumer product, providing DVD play and personal video recorder capability. Somebody with good manufacturing connections in the pacific rim needs to get to work on this. The opportunity exists to flood the world with cheap, open-source set-top boxes and make lots of money.

  77. Taiwan would get its packets dropped. by yerricde · · Score: 1

    Now if a web site in Taiwan puts up local legal stuff for downloading on a global internet?

    If neither the ISP nor the government of China would give in, the U.S. and all other Butt-WIPO parties would simply drop all packets from *.tw at the border.

    --
    Will I retire or break 10K?
  78. The first DVD I ever rented was scratched BAD by yerricde · · Score: 1

    The first DVD I ever rented was "Disney's Pinocchio" from Blockbuster, and it was scratched so bad that the winbox I was playing it on (through a card with TV out) crashed in the middle of "Give a Little Whistle".

    --
    Will I retire or break 10K?
  79. How to emulate interlace by yerricde · · Score: 1

    Why not = interlaced content playing back on a progressive display with a different framerate.

    On almost all video cards, 640x480 can run at 60 Hz, which is nearly an integer multiple of the 29.97 Hz that NTSC DVDs are encoded at. Many cards can drive 800x600 at 75 Hz, which fits nicely into the 25 Hz PAL standard. Emulate interlacing by darkening half of the scanlines and changing odd/even every other frame.

    --
    Will I retire or break 10K?
  80. Re:Good to see... by pallex · · Score: 1

    "I have a +1 bonus. How the hell did I pull that off?"

    Welcome to the group. You are one of us now. You are free to leave at any time. But i dont think you`ll want to.
    Walk this way...

  81. The MPAA will give up when... by brood · · Score: 2

    1. They run out of money
    Not going to happen since they have a strangle hold on the mindless masses.

    2. All lawyers die.
    Ha!

    3. When the bad publicity from their trying to take away our rights becomes enough so that it has the potential to hit them in their pocketbooks.
    As long as the MPAA is referred to as the "MPAA", a faceless entity, that's not going to happen either. Sure I have a vague notion that Sony, et. all is in there, but I usually don't make the connection right off and neither do the masses.

    Conclusion: Dig yourself a trench, it's going to be a long haul.

  82. Re:Media by NumberSyx · · Score: 2

    DVD (see this artitcle although I still don't understand why people are so bent on seeing a dvd on their massive 21 inch monitor rather than their 36 inch tv).

    Its not my 21 inch monitor, at home, I want to watch DvD's on, it is my Dell Inspirion 3800 Portable running RedHat 7.1, on airplanes and motel rooms, that I want to play DvD's on. Also some of us use computers as all-in-one entertainment centers and have them hooked up to our 36 inch TV's.


    Jesus died for sombodies sins, but not mine.

    --

    "Our products just aren't engineered for security,"
    -Brian Valentine,VP in charge of MS Windows Development

  83. The MPAA may be careful in who the go after. by www.sorehands.com · · Score: 5
    It's easy for the MPAA to go after 2600 and Corley since they can villify him by labeling him a hacker. The RIAA shot themselfs by going after Felton. Not only is he a boyscout (figuratively), but he looks like one (quoting one of his attorneys). And what can they say against Princeton?

    What can the MPAA say about Chalmers? I know the University is not directly involved, but they are students there.

    It should be the message, not the messenger that should be looked at.

  84. Re:Oh no! by Bren · · Score: 1

    You forgot Pac-man.

  85. Re:Good for linux. by laserjet · · Score: 1

    Please don't get me wrong - I am not putting down linux or the mass of programmer's that make it possible. I am not complaining, just making an observation. If i didn't like the programs that run on linux, i wouldn't use linux. I like the programs, and I think it will be exciting in the future to see more developement in these areas.

    --
    Moon Macrosystems. Sun's biggest competitor.
  86. Re:Spelling by SnapShot · · Score: 1

    Andover.net executive: Dammit, CT, the comment counts on slashdot are way down. Advertising revenue is your primary action item. Think outside the box and reprioritize your status objectives and get us some comments!!!

    CmdrTaco: I know, I'll intentially misspell words which will easily double our comment count as all the bored people berate me for my spelling and grammer!

    --
    Waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex Bud.
  87. Re:Media by vektor_sigma · · Score: 1
    I still don't understand why people are so bent on seeing a dvd on their massive 21 inch monitor rather than their 36 inch tv

    Quality. A north american TV runs at approximately 60hz interlaced, so each of those 60 frames is at half vertical resolution. With DVDs, you have the possibility (with a good software player) of watching a movie at the original 24 progressive frames per second, which means each frame gets the full resolution.

    Also, if you have a projector which takes in VGA input, you get those full progressive frames on a big screen.

  88. What will Linux distros do? by JCCyC · · Score: 2
    Now it seems we have a respectable number of DVD players that decrypt CSS discs without asking permission from the RIAA (and now one with menus too! Yay!). I wonder what will happen if a high-profile non-US-based Linux distro (Mandrake, Conectiva, SuSE) include it in the main package. I'm not counting Red Hat, they're from the USA and would probably be burnt to the ground by the courts at the request of country co-owner MPAA.

    But then again, Red Hat might already have passed the threshold of "can survive nasty litigation". They're profitable now, remember. Would be fun to watch.

  89. Re:Spelling by Alien54 · · Score: 2
    "not independantly."

    It actually refers to a type of special magical charm

    Inde =Azure, a bright blue color. Note the relation to the word "Indigo"

    Pendant = a variety of common meanings, including an ornament worn on a necklace, etc.

    Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip

    --
    "It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
  90. MPAA can't do anything by MSisNOT4Sale · · Score: 2

    Because sweden is neutral.

    --

    When death looks you in the eye, smile. Someone needs to cheer him up.
    1. Re:MPAA can't do anything by msebast · · Score: 1

      Why is this one liner "Score:3,Insightful?"

      In what way is Sweden neutral?

      What does that neutrality have to do with the MPAA?

      Are you confused between Sweden and Switzerland? Switzerland is militarily neutral, but that has nothing to do with this discussion. I'm sure both Sweden and Switzerland participate in international copyright and patent agreements.

      If the MPAA can go after someone in Norway, they can probably go after someone in Sweden too.

  91. Great work by geoffrey+crawford · · Score: 1

    When was the last time you saw something full-featured and bug-free when you first heard of it? I'm was very excited when I saw this DVD player, it shows a lot of promise.. expecially with that GTK+ GUI... :-) Even right now it's usuable, give them some time, and this could very well be the best damn DVD player for Linux.

  92. Re:Yay Chalmers! by K45 · · Score: 1

    Oh come on, who moderated the parent down as offtopic??

    The original post mentions that the software was "developed by a few students at Chalmers University of Technology ins Sweden", and the same is true for Genesis.

    Just watch, this post will get "offtopic" *and* "flamebait".

    Karma be damned, I'm still coloring outside the lines. But it would be nice if you'd save the "offtopic" for hot grits and such.

    K45.

    --
    This signature has eleven vowels.
  93. Re:Port to Max OS X? by pjdepasq · · Score: 1

    Ignorance really is bliss, eh? I'm a hard core UNIX type that just bought his first Mac because of the OS. It's not perfect, but it was good enough to start using.

  94. Port to Max OS X? by pjdepasq · · Score: 3

    I wonder if these dudes can port this thing to Mac OS X so I can finally use my damned DVD player on my TiBook. I can't believe it's taking Apple so long to get theirs out the door.... the technology will change before Apple's player is released!

  95. woooooo hooooo by mr_exit · · Score: 1

    if you want to know why i'm excited about this, just check out my email address,
    because my name is...... dum dum dum...... James Ogle. hehehee

    YAY its nice to have a dvd player as a younger brother,

    and yes i'm offering email fowarding to the project :)

    -------
    Drink Coffee - Do Stupid Things Faster And With More Energy!

    --

    -------
    Drink Coffee - Do Stupid Things Faster And With More Energy!
  96. hmm by Cardhore · · Score: 2

    I'm using Rock Linux, and they crash quite frequently, although Xine (0.4.3) seems more stable, but I don't know how to get CSS working in Xine. Video Lan doesn't save its settings which makes it pretty unusable.

    1. Re:hmm by Cardhore · · Score: 2

      I need one for 0.4.3. Captain only has through 0.3.7.

  97. Re:Ridiculous... Stop! Please, Stop! by ackthpt · · Score: 1
    ROFLMAOF Oh! I laughed so hard I've nearly soiled my shorts! Geez, that one made my day. =D

    --
    All your .sig are belong to us!

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  98. Re:MPAA, Same power outside of US? by ackthpt · · Score: 1
    Does anyone know if the MPAA has the same legal power over people using the CSS code in countries

    Only through treaties as the result of dimplomatic arm twisting. On paper that is, enforcement is another matter.

    --
    All your .sig are belong to us!

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  99. MPAA give up? by ackthpt · · Score: 2
    The only question is when willt he MPAA give up?

    Anyone remember Milquetoast, the Bloom County/Outland cockroach? How he'd plant subliminal messages by whispering in ears at night... This is how I visualize it:

    Milquetoast into the ears of RIAA and MPAA executives: Sue everyone, fear the future, keep your lawyers on the gravy train, leave out a bag of stale cheese puffs.

    --
    All your .sig are belong to us!

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  100. Re: your sig by The+Troll+Catcher · · Score: 1

    I like your sig -- except shouldn't that be "proscripti" instead of "proscript"?

    For those who don't know Latin, it is supposed to say "When catapults are outlawed, only outlaws will have catapults."

  101. Re:Spelling by The+Troll+Catcher · · Score: 1

    That's what they WANT you to think....

  102. Opensource rocks/libcss by graystar · · Score: 1

    How awesome is it that with opensource, within two minutes of a new program, you can check out what is under the hood. I had to see what they were using for the CSS encryption. They are using a library called libcss-0.1.0 The MPAA has no chance, check out the README:

    This source package does two things. a) It contains code to perform the css authentication protocol,allowing locked sectors on the DVD disc to be accessed.This also allows us to read the disc key and title keys. b) It contains an implementation of the css decryption algorithm,so that we can watch DVD's.

    All we want to do is watch a DVD.

    --
    -- Cheer, Cheer, The Red and the White.
  103. When willt he MPAA give up? by James+Foster · · Score: 4

    Ig uesst heyw illg iveu pw hent heyr ealizet hatt heirs ituationi sf utile.

  104. Re:Good to see... by Xibby · · Score: 3

    Your livid link is wrong linuxvideo.org
    that is all.

    --
    I'm going to go back in my box and will think within the limits of my box: MS Sucks Linux Good I read too much Slashdot.
  105. Check Your Links CmdrTaco! by V50 · · Score: 5

    Dude! The LiViD link links to the wrong place! You should check your linksto make sure they go to the right place.

    Perhaps someonecould write an open source Perl script that checks links and put it in Slashcode so that CmdrTaco never links to the wrong place again.

    Or perhaps Microsoft just put some smart tag code in Slash.



    Yes I know is is somewhat offtopic, but CmdrTaco did link to the wrong place with the LiViD link. www.livid.org goes to someguy's homepage while www.linuxvideo.orrg goes to LiViD. So this is ontopic. And it makes fun of Smart Tags.

    --Volrath50

  106. Re:Ogle? by J'raxis · · Score: 1
    Macintosh creator codes are nothing like the "8.3" filenames of DOS. Macintosh filenames can be up to 31 characters (HFS+ supports up to 255; the pre-OSX "Finder," the Macintosh GUI "shell" per se, does not).

    The creator code, and the filetype, are four characters apiece, and essentially hidden to normal users. Allowing four characters from the full 255-char range instead of just printable ASCII means there are virtually no conflicts between codes for example, the *.css extension which is now registered for Cascading Stylesheets was also used for some kind of archaic presentation program's "Continuous Slide Shows." Since the Mac codes are hidden, it doesn't matter if a creator code looks meaningless, as long as it is unique. The Marathon game used a creator code of '26.2', since obvious things like 'MARA' or 'MTHN' were taken.

    Also, having both a creator code and a filetype allow you have, say, a text file (type: 'TEXT') owned by SimpleText (creator: 'ttxt'), and another owned by Netscape (creator: 'MOSS'). On Windows the single extension maps all files of its type to the same application. All your textfiles belong to NOTEPAD.EXE.

    As compared to DOS "8.3" filenames, Mac files could be called "31.8" or even "255.8" if it weren't for the Finder's limitations. How is this inferior?

  107. Ogle? by J'raxis · · Score: 2

    Cant wait to see Apples sue-happy legal department go after them, too ogle is the creator code for the one of the QuickTime components.

  108. Re:Media by hack0rama · · Score: 1

    I like the ability to play matrix/starwars/etc on a side window while I am surfing/coding/ apt-getting/etc
    OGLE and mplayer, two more to try out. anybody using these, getting good frame rate like xine ? And I hope these are more stable.

  109. Re:MPAA, Same power outside of US? by mikethegeek · · Score: 5

    "Does anyone know if the MPAA has the same legal power over people using the CSS code in countries other than the United States?"

    Theoretically, NONE. However, this did not stop them from having the author of DeCSS arrested and his PC confiscated.

    This is another case that would make them look horrible, if they go after authors CLEARLY just trying to make a player. Such a shot to one foot, along with the other shot the RIAA administered by threatening Felten, COULD finally destroy the DMCA.

    --
    === The price of freedom is eternal vigilance
  110. Commercial DVD by Whatever+Fits · · Score: 2

    Many posts are saying that DVD players on Linux have to be an attack on the DMCA and no commercial players exist.

    Check out Intervideo for their Linux based player. They don't sell it to consumers, it is an integration package. Expect some distro's to start carrying it some time in the future.

    --
    My name fits again.
  111. Hacker Effort by Greenisus · · Score: 2
    Does a DVD player for Linux have to be a subversive mission against the MPAA?

    If writing one without permission violates the DMCA, why won't someone (I dunno, Redhat has money now) just write a DVD player and pay the license fee. Free OS + Free Software + $30 DVD Player Software still makes for a pretty inexpensive package.

    After all, it's DVD, so why settle for less than 100% faithful reproduction in playback?

  112. Give Up? by nanojath · · Score: 1
    >The only question is when willt he MPAA give up?

    And the answer is the MPAA won't give up because there is simply nothing in it for them except a loss of control. The tiny handful of people who want to run DVDs on Linux is insignificant compared to the potential market for consumer DVD players.

    --

    It Is the Nature of Information to Transgress Artificial Boundaries

  113. Good to see... by flakac · · Score: 4

    It's really exciting to see several different groups independantly and together...

    See, SmartTags(tm) aren't so bad after all.

  114. Download the entire website! by jdun · · Score: 1

    Download the entire website! Make copy of the website so even if the MPAA shut it down we can still share it with the rest of the world!

  115. Re:Oh no! by WolfDeusEx · · Score: 1

    Pac-man will eat all the SMOG, then die so everything will be alright in the end.

    --
    Shoot me
  116. LiViD's page by acrhemeied · · Score: 1

    ...is at http://linuxvideo.org/, not livid.org as linked.

  117. Re:Media by TikkaMassala · · Score: 1
    That's the drawback of 'free' software - no-one can be assed to pay anyone to develop it. Microsoft paid someone to make a DVD player for Windows, and so Windows users have had professional ones for years.

    This happens every time new technology appears for PCs (USB for another example).

  118. Re:Oh no! by then,+it+was+nigh · · Score: 2

    dont forget communist ;)

    Not necessary; that's covered automatically by the fact that they're using DeCSS (or some other CSS-decryption algorithm), which immediately makes them Evil Anti-Capitalist Thieving Pirates, just like those damn Napster users...

    [this article is Smiley Captioned for the sarcasm-impaired]
    --
    #/usr/bin/perl
    require 6.0;

    --
    sed 's/In Soviet Russia/In NSA America/g' < yakov-smirnoff-jokes.txt
  119. Spelling by WhamJack · · Score: 2

    Independently, CmdrTaco, not independantly.
    Sorry, I'm bored at work.
    ----------
    If there were gods, how could I bear to be no god?

    --
    ----------
    If there were gods, how could I bear to be no god?
    Consequently there are no gods.
  120. Oh no! by return+42 · · Score: 5

    It's GPLed! Cancer! Infection! Death and destruction! Killer rabbits! SMOG!

  121. Re:Media by Lost+Engineer · · Score: 1

    You can also do that with a tv with a VGA input (there aren't many of them out there) or with a tv that takes progressive scan input from a set-top DVD player that can output progressive scan. These are easier to find but are usually pretty expensive as they are videophile-type stuff.

  122. MPAA, Same power outside of US? by RadioheadKid · · Score: 2

    Does anyone know if the MPAA has the same legal power over people using the CSS code in countries other than the United States?

    --
    "Karma can only be portioned out by the cosmos." -Homer Simpson