Configuring media and DVD playback in Fedora 8

Bill Giannikos

This guide will help you install playback facilities for DVDs and media files which are not supported in Fedora 8. Due to legal issues Fedora does not include these functions so you will need to install this manually. This will install support for MP3, x264 as well as other files.

There are many legal issues associated with DVD playback and media files in regards to the patent on MPEG2 and the US DMCA law on decryption of the DVD which is why Fedora does not include this function. It is my understanding that it is totally fine and legal if you install the DVD playback functionality yourself, however I am not a lawyer so you may like to verify for yourself if following this guide is legal in your jurisdiction.

You should run a full update for your installation of Fedora to ensure you have all the latest packages installed.

In this guide we will be using GXine as our player of choice. Fedora includes GXine however they have removed DVD playback on encrypted discs as well as support for many media files. We will be using the Livna repository to install the required components.

1. Load up a terminal window if you are in the graphic interface.

2. Switch to the root user by entering the command “su -” (without the quotes) and typing in your root password

3. Edit the file /etc/yum.conf. Using nano we type the command “nano -w /etc/yum.conf”

4. If you have already configured yum to use the Livna repository then append “*libdvdcss* *xine* *vcdimager* *libmad* *libdca* *ffmpeg* *faad2* *lame* *faac* *xvidcore* *a52* *x264*” to the end of the “includepkgs” line and skip the next 2 steps. Otherwise continue on.

5. Add the following to the bottom of this file:

[livna]
name=Fedora $releasever - $basearch - Livna
baseurl=http://rpm.livna.org/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/
gpgkey=http://rpm.livna.org/RPM-LIVNA-GPG-KEY
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
exclude=*kmod*i586*
includepkgs=*libdvdcss* *xine* *vcdimager* *libmad* *libdca* *ffmpeg* *faad2* *lame* *faac* *xvidcore* *a52* *x264*

6. Save the file. In nano you press Ctrl-X, answer yes to the “Save modified buffer” question and then press enter on the file name to write.

7. If you have not previously setup Livna execute the following command:

rpm --import http://rpm.livna.org/RPM-LIVNA-GPG-KEY

8. Now execute the following command:

yum install libdvdcss gxine xine-lib-extras-nonfree

9. You can now start GXine from the Applications menu and load the file you wish to play or select DVD for DVD playback.