GNOME Documentation Project
gnome-doc-list@gnome.org
Ekaterina Gerasimova
kittykat3756@gmail.com
You might not have the right codecs installed, or the DVD might be
the wrong region.
Why won’t DVDs play?
If you insert a DVD into your computer and it doesn’t play, you may not
have the right DVD codecs installed, or the DVD might be from a
different region.
Installing the right codecs for DVD playback
In order to play DVDs, you need to have the right codecs
installed. A codec is a piece of software that allows applications to read a
video or audio format. If your movie player software doesn’t find the right
codecs, it may offer to install them for you. If not, you’ll have to install
the codecs manually — ask for help on how to do this, for example on your
Linux distribution’s support forums.
DVDs are also copy-protected using a system called CSS. This
prevents you from copying DVDs, but it also prevents you from playing them
unless you have extra software to handle the copy protection. This software
is available from a number of Linux distributions, but cannot be legally used
in all countries. You can buy a commercial DVD decoder that can handle copy
protection from
Fluendo.
It works with Linux and should be legal to use in all countries.
Checking the DVD region
DVDs have a region code, which tells you in which region of the
world they are allowed to be played. If the region of your computer’s DVD
player does not match the region of the DVD you are trying to play, you won’t
be able to play the DVD. For example, if you have a Region 1 DVD player, you
will only be allowed to play DVDs from North America.
It is often possible to change the region used by your DVD player, but it
can only be done a few times before it locks into one region permanently. To
change the DVD region of your computer’s DVD player, use regionset.
You can find
more information
about DVD region codes on Wikipedia.