How to Enable Encrypted DVD Playback in Ubuntu Linux

One of the major complaints regarding Linux is its multimedia support. Ubuntu Linux in particular, since it has - over the past three years - become the most popular form of Linux. In today's computing world, people expect an operating system to be able to play DVDs purchased from a store, and Ubuntu is unable to do that out of the box.

In reality, there are a few alternate ways of enabling that ability in Ubuntu. I will go over the quicker way, via the terminal, which involves a lot of typing and may be uncomfortable for some people, but in the end (at least for me), is quite a bit easier, as all the work happens in the same place, without me needing to use a web browser, the Add/Remove program and more. Besides, this is Linux... as much as people like to say that Linux is getting more and more user-friendly (and that is true), there are still certain things that in most Linux distributions can only be done via the Terminal, so it's a good skill to have.

Note: In some jurisdictions, it is illegal to use anything other than a licensed DVD player to play encrypted DVDs. If you are using most versions of Linux (such as Ubuntu), then - with the exception of a few commercial distributions and Freespire - chances are good that you do not have the proper license. Also, different parts of the world have different laws, so before you follow this tutorial, make sure you won't get in trouble with the authorities!

Now, without further ado, here is how to enable playback of encrypted DVDs in Ubuntu:

1. Open up a terminal - the terminal can be found in Gnome by navigating to Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal, or if using Kubuntu, by navigating to the KMenu -> System -> Konsole.

2. Type: sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list - this will open up gedit (a text editor), with your software repositories source list opened as root. You may be asked for a password at this point.

3. Scroll to the end of your sources list and add the following line:

deb http://medibuntu.sos-sts.com/repo/feisty free non-free

4. Save your modified sources list and return to the Terminal

5. Type in the following, which will download the medibuntu verification/encryption key and add it to your list of approved repositories:

wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -

6. Now type in the following three lines of text, in order:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2

7. Wait for the libdvdcss2 library to download and install. When it is finished, try out an encrypted DVD via the Totem Movie Player, and you should be all set!