Error when playing previously ripped videos

[pnanz]

Hi,
I'm new to Linuxmce and just started using 710. Having some teething problems and having searched the forums/wiki I still cannot resolve this issue.

I have a collection of VIDEO_TS folders containing previously ripped videos stored on an external hard drive. I have connected this to the core, chosen the Linuxmce folder structure and moved my media into the newly created /public/data/videos directory. After waiting for the media to sync, I can now see all my videos in Linuxmce. However, when I try to play these, I get the error "Cannot read DVD, disk is not readable or DVDCSS library is not installed". The DVDCSS library is installed, so this could not be the problem. I have also ripped some DVDs onto this drive using Linuxmce and these are playing without any problems. I have also tried to convert one of the VIDEO_TS to ISO, but this still gives the same error.

Sorry if I am making some simple mistake, but I am completely at a loss as to how to resolve this. Any advice is gratefully appreciated.

Many thanks
Paul

[tschak909]

Since you're running 0710, you need to make sure dvdcss2 was selected in the Add Software menu of the setup wizard.

-Thom

[pnanz]

Hi Thom,

Thanks for the reply. However, as I mentioned in the original post, DVDCSS2 is installed and seems to be working fine. as I am able to play DVDs and the video rips that have been created within linuxmce. My problem occurs when I try to play the VIDEO_TS and ISO files that were created previously, before I installed Linuxmce. These appear in the Videos database without problem, but I get the error when I try to play them. Could this be a permissions issue?

Thanks for your help

Paul

[totallymaxed]

Hi Thom,

Thanks for the reply. However, as I mentioned in the original post, DVDCSS2 is installed and seems to be working fine. as I am able to play DVDs and the video rips that have been created within linuxmce. My problem occurs when I try to play the VIDEO_TS and ISO files that were created previously, before I installed Linuxmce. These appear in the Videos database without problem, but I get the error when I try to play them. Could this be a permissions issue?

Thanks for your help

Paul

This sounds like copy protection to me...some DVD's are problematic and just will not play without being stripped of copy protection. This normally mean using one of several Windoze DVD ripping apps to do the job I'm afraid.

All the best

Andrew

[pnanz]

Hi Andrew

Thanks for your help. I don't think it is a copy protection issue, because these VIDEO_TS folders were playing fine on Ubuntu (which I was using to run swisscenter) but will not now play on my new Linuxmce core. I have tried ripping the same DVD directly in Linuxmce, and it works fine this way, so it couldn't be a copy protection problem.

Basically, all DVDs ripped directly within Linuxmce are working fine, but all DVDs ripped previously will not play.

I'm pulling my hair out over this (what's left of it!!) and hope someone can come up with a solution! The only solution I can see at the moment is to re-rip every DVD using Linuxmce. This would take forever. There must be something else I can do??

Cheers
Paul

[Dale_K]

When you convert them to .iso are you renaming the extension to .dvd?

[totallymaxed]

Hi Andrew

Thanks for your help. I don't think it is a copy protection issue, because these VIDEO_TS folders were playing fine on Ubuntu (which I was using to run swisscenter) but will not now play on my new Linuxmce core. I have tried ripping the same DVD directly in Linuxmce, and it works fine this way, so it couldn't be a copy protection problem.

Basically, all DVDs ripped directly within Linuxmce are working fine, but all DVDs ripped previously will not play.

I'm pulling my hair out over this (what's left of it!!) and hope someone can come up with a solution! The only solution I can see at the moment is to re-rip every DVD using Linuxmce. This would take forever. There must be something else I can do??

Cheers
Paul

Hmmm... ok just noticed you mention this content is on an 'external drive'....is the drive an external USB drive? This would indicate that UpdateMedia has lost track of the content...its visible in the Media Browser in the Orbiter but the drive may have sun down and is not spinning up quickly enough.

One test you could do is to open a console session and cd yourself into the the /home/public/data/videos/<sim link to your external drive>
Now ls once in that directory and make sure all of your ripped DVD files are there. Now with that console session open drop back into the Orbiter and try playing the files again that wont play...my guess is that they will play now.

Andrew

[pnanz]

Hi Dale,

Thanks. Yes, I tried the .iso and also the renamed .dvd format, but neither format worked. Although, from reading the forum, I don't think I should even need to convert to iso or .dvd - the VIDEO_TS should work - is that correct?

Hi Andrew,

Yes, this is a USB external HDD. I am not at home at the moment but I'll give that a go when I get back. However, I still don't think that is the problem either, because the .dvd files i created using linuxmce are also stored on the external drive, and these are working fine.

Thanks again for your input guys, if you can think of anything else that might work, let me know!

Paul

[colinjones]

.iso and .dvd are equivalent - if one works the other will and vice versa.

another approach (Andrew is referring to a particular known issue) would be to move the media onto the local HDD of the core to eliminate external drives/networks/etc. Start with the basics. Also, just because your Ubuntu machine worked fine doesn't mean that it isn't still copy protection... don't forget LMCE 0710 is an old version and this could have implications for the version of DVDCSS it is running and what it is capable of decrypting... either way DVDCSS isn't capable of decypting all copy protections... so a valuable approach would still be to eliminate the copy protection completely on Windows first, then try again... at least that way you will have a definitive answer on whether copy protection is even involved.

Others: do we know for sure whether DVDCSS is even used when attempting to play back VIDEO_TS folders rather than a true iso/dvd image? Perhaps a VIDEO_TS folder has to be unencrypted in the first place...?

[pnanz]

Hi Colin / Andrew

I have tried moving the media onto the local HDD - still not playing (except for the .dvd files that were created within Linuxmce, but these were playing fine from the external drive anyway).

I originally created all these VIDEO_TS folders using DVD Decrypter in Windows. I assume that this should have removed the encryption???

Thanks again for all replies - still hoping for a breakthrough 

As I mentioned before, these media were playing fine in Ubuntu Feisty. Do you think installing Linuxmce version 810 might help???

[colinjones]

Have you got the original media still? Perhaps try ripping one again using LMCE to see if it can handle that?

0810 may help, dunno if the dvdcss library has been updated or not.. but if it is a different form of encryption then it won't help, nor will the original media play either....

[totallymaxed]

Others: do we know for sure whether DVDCSS is even used when attempting to play back VIDEO_TS folders rather than a true iso/dvd image? Perhaps a VIDEO_TS folder has to be unencrypted in the first place...?

Yes it is.

Andrew

[pnanz]

Hi Colin / Andrew

Have you got the original media still? Perhaps try ripping one again using LinuxMCE to see if it can handle that?

0810 may help, dunno if the dvdcss library has been updated or not.. but if it is a different form of encryption then it won't help, nor will the original media play either....

I have tried this with a number of the original DVDs - if I rip using LinuxMCE, it works fine, but the previously ripped VIDEO_TS for the same media will not work at all.

Thanks again for the suggestions. I don't know where to go from here  Has noone else had this problem?

[totallymaxed]

Hi Colin / Andrew

Have you got the original media still? Perhaps try ripping one again using LinuxMCE to see if it can handle that?

0810 may help, dunno if the dvdcss library has been updated or not.. but if it is a different form of encryption then it won't help, nor will the original media play either....

I have tried this with a number of the original DVDs - if I rip using LinuxMCE, it works fine, but the previously ripped VIDEO_TS for the same media will not work at all.

Thanks again for the suggestions. I don't know where to go from here  Has noone else had this problem?

We always use full .iso or .dvd rips... so no we dont see that problem (that is not to deny its there though of course),

Andrew

[pnanz]

Hi Andrew

Yeah, I noticed that from reading the forums, that's why I thought converting the VIDEO_TS to ISO (using mkisofs) would help, but it still didn't work. So I am guessing it is not a problem with the format itself, but maybe some piece of information needed by LinuxMCE has been lost in the original rip.

I have gone back to trying these media file on Ubuntu Hardy again - I have found that the VIDEO_TS are working without problem when I use Xine, so I don't understand why the same media does not play in LinuxMCE, which also uses Xine.

Is there anyone out there who has succeeded in playing VIDEO_TS folders in LinuxMCE??