1. Introduction

1.1 Goal

The purpose of this is to provide step by step instructions on getting DVD movies to play in Linux. I will try to be as clear as possible, but if something is confusing or incorrect, please tell me about it and I'll fix it. If you have any questions, you can subscribe to the livid-user mailing list by sending a blank email to .

1.2 New Versions

This howto is available in many formats, including html and tex. The newest version can always be retrieved from http://www.linuxvideo.org/docs/Linux-DVD-HOWTO/. It is highly recommended that you get the most recent version, as this howto is being updated quite often.

1.3 Copyrights and Trademarks

This manual may be reproduced in whole or in part, without fee, subject to the following restrictions:

• The copyright notice above and this permission notice must be preserved complete on all complete or partial copies.
• Any translation or derived work must be approved by the author in writing before distribution.
• If you distribute this work in part, instructions for obtaining the complete version of this manual must be included, and a means for obtaining a complete version provided.
• Small portions may be reproduced as illustrations for reviews or quotes in other works without this permission notice if proper citation is given.

Exceptions to these rules may be granted for acedemic purposes: Write to the author and ask. These restrictions are here to protect us as authors, not to restrict you as learners and educators. Any souce code (aside from the SGML this document was written in) in this document is placed under the GNU General Public License, available via anonymous FTP from the GNU archive.

1.4 Thanks

Thanks to Nathan Rowlan for starting and maintaining this document in the early days. It has now been taken over by the LiViD support team.

Thanks to the authors of OMS and the rest of the LiViD developers, who have given the project much of their time and work, and also to those individuals who have given feedback to make this HOWTO better.

Much of the layout of this HOWTO was gotten from the HOWTO-HOWTO, written by Mark F. Komarinski. It can be found at http://www.linuxdoc.org/.

1.5 Translations

Translations of this document can be found at http://www.linuxvideo.org/docs/Linux-DVD-HOWTO/. If you would like to translate this howto, please contact the LiViD development mailing list.