is libdvdcss2 installed? You can do this from the add software screen
yep, got it installed. from the kde desktop i played a dvd just to make sure I could, use xine i think? had to go into its config and change it from dev\cdrom to dev\scd0 went into the admin website and found the disk drive entry, it was set to dev\cdrom also, changed it and rebooted, still nothing.
edit: the log for the cd drive is just stacked with "could not determine disc type: Doing nothing!" errors... and I've tried multiple brand new dvd's, nothing strange, no imports\out of region\bootleg\scratched