Watching DVD's on Linux is ILLEGAL in the USA?

[Eric Oyen]

interesting. I wasn't aware of that happening in the background. still, it really is a pain to have to deal with big content telling us what we can or cannot do with the disks (physical media) that we purchase from the store. Since I am interested in playing my content on whatever works best for me and not sharing it with others, there shouldn't be a reason for the likes of Sony (and others) to have to pursue legal action. the fact that they do is an indication that they are not only greedy, but they seek such control that we can't do anything without their say-so.

There is one other issue:
big content has been attacking open source projects for a long time. This is because such projects don't pay them a royalty or license (unlike Microsoft or Apple or some media player vendors). 

Lastly, Being blind puts be in the back of the bus when it comes to content. If I want described video, I have to get it from somewhere other than the US. Again, it is big content saying that described video violates their copyrights. This is in direct contention with The USADA (initially passed in 1992 and amended as late as 2010) and the Accessibility in telecommunications act of 2010. So, if I want descriptive video, I either have to acquire it illegally or wait for it to be included in more recent features (which is hit or miss). so, I am stuck. either way I go, I would be criminalized (either for playing content on my linux system or downloading DVS tracks). 

anyway, I wasn't aware of the additional processes going on to get a dvd to play. It means that I need to take a closer look at what I have installed.

-eric

On Mar 2, 2013, at 5:41 PM, Richard Daggett wrote:

> VLC uses libdvdcss and libdvdcss does not use DeCSS (legal version of dvd encryption).  I am not saying its right or wrong, just pulling information out of the article.
> 
> libdvdcss
> Modern Linux machines don’t use DeCSS. However, through examining the DeCSS code, people realized that CSS was vulnerable to a brute-force attack.  CSS uses 40-bit encryption and doesn’t use every possible key, so it’s an extremely weak type of encryption. A modern computer can crack a DVD’s CSS encryption through brute force – that is, by trying every possible key and seeing which one works – in just a few seconds.
> 
> This is what libdvdcss does. With libdvdcss installed on Linux, after you insert a DVD into your computer’s DVD drive, your computer will brute-force its encryption in a few seconds. It may look like the DVD is just opening in VLC, but your computer is cracking the encryption key in the background to make it viewable.
> 
> If you don’t have libdvdcss or DeCSS installed, DVDs won’t play back at all.
> 
> 
> 
> On Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 1:26 PM, Eric Oyen <eric.oyen at gmail.com> wrote:
> I find this rather interesting as I haven't had to install any cracking software to view DVD's on linux. VLC can play any commercially available DVD without having to install DVDCSS or any ripping software. It also happens to be one of the few apps in linux that has labeled controls that work with ORCA (the screen reader for the blind). 
> 
> IMHO, anyone that states (as a matter of law) that viewing movies in linux is illegal should refer to the fair use portions of US Copyright law. I maintain that I have the right to view my purchased DVD's with whatever technology that allows me to do so. Simply labeling us as criminals because we use a non-supported OS to play our media just isn't justifiable. It also violates constitutional law (we are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law). 
> 
> Big content needs to get with the program. We are out here and we are not going away. Instead of trying to criminalize s, they should be marketing to us. it will make them more money and allow us to enjoy what we want.
> 
> -eric
> 
> On Mar 2, 2013, at 9:46 AM, Richard Daggett wrote:
> 
>> I would say its illegal to watch dvd's on a illegal copy of the player (using libdvdcss).  You can purchase legal dvd players for linux
>> 
>> Actually, Linux Has a Few Licensed DVD Players
>> It was once true that Linux users had to become criminals to watch commercial video DVDs (at least in the USA). However, there are now licensed DVD players available for Linux.
>> 
>> For example, Ubuntu’s Software Center offers the licensed Fluendo DVD Player. This DVD player will cost you $25, although you have probably already paid for licensed DVD-playback software that comes with your computer’s DVD drive in the first place. If you purchased the licensed Cyberlink DVD player, which was previously the only legal option for watching DVDs on Linux in the USA, you probably need to buy the Fluendo DVD Player to play DVDs on modern versions of Ubuntu.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 9:38 AM, Stephen <cryptworks at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Yep sure is... a very weakly enforced illegal until you start distributing media that you "cracked"
>> 
>> 
>> On Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 8:16 AM, Lyle Tuttle <l.tuttle at cox.net> wrote:
>> http://tinyurl.com/asaz2j4
>> 
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>> Stephen
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