Enable Full DVD Playback in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
Though installing the restricted extras package will solve most of your problems, you may not be able to play dual layer dvds yet in your Ubuntu. Most commercial DVDs are encrypted with CSS (the Content Scrambling System), which attempts to restrict the software that can play a DVD.
Why is either process necessary? Well, like it or not, DVDs are protected. When you buy Windows or a Mac, the people who created the DVD standard get paid. Ubuntu is free, meaning they aren’t paying anyone for the right to play DVDs. Hence the need to jump through hoops or buy a compatible player.
To play DVDs, you also need to install libdvdcss2 by opening a terminal and entering the following in addition to installing the restricted extras package:
Installing libdvdcss
Install the libdvdread4 package (no need to add third party repositories) via Synaptic or command line:
sudo apt-get install libdvdread4
Then open a terminal window and execute:
sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh
Rebooting may be necessary.
After this, VLC will automatically use it. Some programs may need recompilation.
By installing the libdvdcss2 package you can play encrypted DVDs with:
If after doing all this, you still get messages about not being able to play DVDs, check that the DVD drive has a region set and follow the steps below
Setting DVD Region Codes
If your DVD player regularly locks up when you try to play back a DVD, your DVD player probably does not match the DVD’s Region Code. Region Codes are a form of vendor lock-in. For example, you cannot play a DVD published in Japan (Region 2) on a DVD player in the United States (Region 1) without changing the Region Code of the DVD player (unless you own a region free DVD player). You can view or modify the Region Code of your DVD drive with the regionset tool.
To change the Region Code of your DVD player, insert a DVD from your region in the DVD player, and do the following:
Install the regionset package from the Universe repositories. Or simply type the following command
sudo apt-get install regionset
To launch regionset, issue the command
sudo regionset