Rip and Play DVDs on Linux: Quick and Easy Methods

Alright, so you wanna play them there DVDs on your Linux thingamajig, huh? Don’t you worry none, it ain’t rocket science. I’ll tell ya how, even though I ain’t no fancy computer person. We’ll keep it simple, like churnin’ butter.

First off, you gotta get yourself some programs. Think of ’em like tools, ya know? Like a hammer and nails, but for computin’. One fella calls it “ubuntu-restricted-extras”. Sounds fancy, but it just means extra stuff. Get that, and then get these too: “mencoder”, “melt”, “ffmpeg”, “libdvdcss2”, and “dvd95”. Don’t ask me what they do, but they gotta be there, or it won’t work. It’s like makin’ a cake, gotta have all the fixin’s.

Now, some folks like to “rip” DVDs. That just means copyin’ the movie from the disc to your computer. It’s like takin’ the corn off the cob, I guess. There’s this thing called “MakeMKV”. People say it’s the best for rippin’. You might need to download it from that “software manager” thingy on your Linux. My grandson showed me once, it looked like a store for computer programs.

But listen here, if you just wanna watch the movie, no need to rip it right away. There’s this program called “VLC Media Player”. Everyone uses it, says it plays just about anything. It’s like that old radio that played all kinds of music. You just stick the DVD in, open VLC, and it should play. Easy peasy.

• Step 1: Get those extra programs. Remember, like gettin’ all the ingredients before bakin’.
• Step 2: Think about rippin’ or just watchin’. Rippin’ is like preservin’ food for later, watchin’ is like eatin’ it right then.
• Step 3: If rippin’, try “MakeMKV”. If watchin’, use “VLC”. Simple as that.

If you’re one of them fancy folks who likes typin’ stuff into the computer, there’s somethin’ called “mpv”. It lets you play DVDs from that black screen with all the letters. My nephew, he loves that stuff. Says it’s faster. I don’t get it, but you might. You can even control the movie with the keyboard, like fast forwardin’ and rewindin’. It’s like usin’ the buttons on that there fancy remote control, but with letters instead.

Another program is called “dvd::rip”. It’s got a lot of bells and whistles, they say. Lets you control all sorts of things when you’re rippin’ the DVD. Has somethin’ called a “GUI”. That just means it’s got pictures and buttons, so you ain’t gotta type so much. Like drivin’ a car with automatic instead of stick shift, I reckon.

Now, some DVDs, they got them menus, ya know? Like, you can pick which scene to watch or turn on the subtitles. If you wanna keep them menus when you rip the DVD, that’s a whole ‘nother story. It ain’t as simple as just copyin’ the movie. You gotta use somethin’ that keeps the menus. I ain’t sure how to do that exactly, but I heard tell you can if you look around online.

So there ya have it. Playin’ DVDs on Linux ain’t so hard after all. Just get the right programs and decide if you wanna rip or just watch. And if you get stuck, ask your grandkids. They always seem to know these things.

Remember, it’s all about tryin’ things out. Don’t be afraid to click around, you ain’t gonna break nothin’… probably. And if you do, well, that’s what the grandkids are for, right? They can fix anything these days. Now go on and watch your movie, I got chores to do.

And another thing, this “libdvdcss2” thing? It’s important. Helps with them encrypted DVDs, you know, the ones that don’t want you copyin’ them. It’s like havin’ a special key to open a locked box. Just make sure it’s legal where you live, I don’t want you gettin’ in trouble with the law.

Tags: [DVD, Linux, Rip DVD, VLC, MakeMKV, mpv, dvd::rip, libdvdcss2, Ubuntu, multimedia, movie playback]