"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."
