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I just installed Ubuntu 12.04 on a Dell Inspiron 6400 and tried to enable playing of encrypted DVD's, I made sure libdvdread4is installed and got myself regionset via apt. When I try running it however it tells me

regionset version 0.1 -- reads/sets region code on DVD drives ERROR: Could not open disc "(null)"! Please ensure there is a readable CD or DVD in the drive.

I tried this as root, as non-root, with an actual encrypted DVD and also with a "normal" cd with some pictures on it. They both get automatically mounted.

tannerli
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3 Answers3

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You might need libdvdcss - and you can get that easily. Just follow the instructions here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats/PlayingDVDs

Or, add the Medibuntu repos and install it from there:

sudo -E wget --output-document=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/$(lsb_release -cs).list && sudo apt-get --quiet update && sudo apt-get --yes --quiet --allow-unauthenticated install medibuntu-keyring libdvdcss && sudo apt-get --quiet update

Richard
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    Thanks for the answer, I checked, libdvdcss was and is installed and the newest version. The problem persists – tannerli May 09 '12 at 17:06
  • Had the same problem once... can't remember what I did to get it to work, though. The only other advice I can give you is that you might try installing the ubuntu-restricted-extras package, and remember that not all DVD's work with libdvdcss. – Richard May 18 '12 at 02:00
  • That actually did it, well kinda... regionset still fails, but DVD works now so.. problem solved :) Thanks – tannerli May 19 '12 at 11:35
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I know I'm a a couple years late, but I just had this exact problem. In my case that error meant regionset couldn't find the DVD drive. The solution is to tell it where to look.

On my computer that was:

sudo regionset /dev/sr0
Tim
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frederickf
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0

For what it's worth, I don't think regionset works on some DVDs.

Initially I installed the libdvd-pkg on this laptop, and I had perfect luck playing a PAL regionless. So I decided to order a PAL Region 2 from the UK.

I first tried playing the new disc without installing anything, but nothing loaded. I then ran regionset and set it to region 2. I fully expected it to play. Instead I got a staggered audio and a menu that was not displaying properly. I then went into the VLC Media option and clicked on the disc and tried opening the movie by bypassing the disc menus. The thing started playing, but was extremely distorted.

I spent most of an evening trying various ways to reformat and filter, but no luck.

I then found that my recently deceased dad had a SATA/IDE to USB adapter and tons of DVD players sitting around. So I plugged another DVD drive into the computer. Once again, the PAL regionless played perfectly, and the PAL region 2 DVD did not.

I then figured out that this drive was being called /dev/sr1 (as opposed to the other drive that was sr0), so I ran regionset for that drive and set it to Region 2 as well. Same problem.

So personally I think regionset is not properly resetting region 2 for all DVD movies. The industry has probably intentionally screwed with the CODEC to make it harder to use with regionset; that's my guess. I wish I knew another program for resetting the CSS info or CODEC or whatever it is that is messing this thing up. And geez, I would not have bought it from the UK in region 2 if this movie had been available in region 1. It's not like anyone has lost money off my buying it from another country. They don't sell dry humor movies to the American market. We're all supposed to be too stupid for that sort of humor.

The only other explanation I can think of why this hasn't worked is that I was sent a defective DVD. FWIW, it was "Brothers In Law." At least with this SATA to USB adapter, I can try this experiment on a few DVD drives before I give up entirely. Looks to me like no one bothers to set the regions to start with, and it comes with 4. Sigh.

This may not exactly answer the question here. I just mean the answer may well be that the application simply does work for all DVDs. But I think I will also try it on another computer as well. Maybe it's not the drives at. You never can tell till you try multiple combinations, eh?

Sheryl Zettner
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