DVDs on Linux

In a word, wow.

So one of the older Thinkpads I've got kicking around here--on which I've installed a Debian distro for bit bashery while on the road--has a DVD player. But I've never bothered before with DVDs on Linux, 'cause let's face it, I don't watch a lotta DVDs anyway, and somehow, I found myself thinking, it sounded like it might be painful.

But curiosity got the best of me. Got to thinking--can it be coerced? Seems to me if the player's there, the box can probably do it. Just a matter of getting bits from A to B fast enough.

And sure enough, can you ever do this! Took a little fiddling--the key seems to have been getting the right driver for the actually quite capable S3 Savage hidden somewhere under the hood so the XVideo stuff could pump the frames to the screen fast enough--but given that, I've got beautiful, jerk-free video right from the player. The Lord of the Rings--The Fellowship of the Ring--Extended Edition looks beautifully crisp on the LCD. Lovely.

I hereby heartily recommend Ogle for your DVD viewing pleasure. And hereby give a hearty thankya to Tim Roberts, the gent who wrote that beeyootiful Savage driver.