DukeOfURL: DVD on Linux

Jun 05, 2001, 19:30 (1 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Patrick Mullen)

"Now that all the hype has died down from DeCSS, it's finally time to get going with DVD video on Linux. Today, there's a couple ways to get DVD done on Linux -- either software or hardware decoding.

Naturally, the software method is a bit slower, and you'll probably want to make sure you have at least 400 MHz of horsepower in your computer. On the other hand, if you have a supported DVD decoder, you can get by on a slower computer, and usually enjoy higher image quality. The two most widely used hardware decoders have to be the Sigma Designs EM8300 and the EM8400, more widely known as the REALMagic Plus and REALMagic NetStream 2000.

Sigma Designs doesn't support their EM8300 on Linux, but they have taken time to write drivers for their EM8400, but many features are still missing in their beta release of the EM8400 drivers such as analog overlay and OSD when using TV Out.

One other thing might catch you eye about these drivers -- they include source code! This is quite a bit different from the latest array of drivers out there. Many of the latest drivers produced by manufacturers are closed source and binary-only. Take for example Promise's FastTrak, High Point's HPT370, and the famous NVIDIA line of cards.

Of course, there are also a variety of other supported DVD decoder cards. These include the Matrox G200, Billionton PCMCIA decoder and Creative DXR2/DXR3.

With that said, let's get you up and going with DVD on Linux."

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