How to play Bluray on PureOS

Software PureOS
1

I tried to watch a bluray disc the other day and couldnt figure out how, I switched to Win10 and worked out I needed PowerDVD which I already had on my shelf. Is there a way to play a Bluray while using pureos? Im beginning to hate windows and I do not want to use it.

2

I can’t say I’m familiar with this combo, but check this site. I’m not sure if it’s up to date.

3

Looks like Lutris + Wine could do the trick if you’re up for it, though it appears a dedicated player + a TV/monitor would be easier if you’re not one to want to use Wine imo

4
  1. install the latest PureOS-10-Byzantium.
  2. install celluloid and VLC
  3. if it’s a BRay Disk you want to play then you need a player (internal or external - it depends on what you want/have/need)
  4. if it’s a remux or an encode then you shouldn’t have any problem with the two listed above.
  5. you can install mkvtoolnix and handbrake if you want to NOT mess around with physical disks …
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5

Thanks for that info guys, I’m using discs and an internal BDR player. I was trying to play a music disc on a TV while working on a monitor, last night I worked out I could just use the Xbox that’s on the TV but this solution (if its works) is the more efficient one. When was Byzantium released? I installed the latest release of pureos a month ago.

6

according to this > https://downloads.pureos.net/byzantium/ < the last update to the image was November 20 / 2020

7

It’s been several years since I have attempted to play a video disk from Linux. But I believe that the issue has to do with the required proprietary codecs. By intent of the content owners and hardware manufacturers, there is no codec that will allow anyone to run a DVD or Blu-ray under Linux. But that’s like waving a red flag in front of a bull. The geeks promptly cracked the cedec algorithm to make it work in Linux and even defeated the region code locks at the same time. But then there was the legal issue. Anyone who sees you playing a DVD (and probably blur-ray) now from Linux is obviously breaking the law. This was the state of this issue the last I knew. Notice I spoke of DVD codecs. Blue-ray hadn’t come out the last time I addressed this issue. It’s been quite a while since then. Has this environment changed since then?

8

There is nothing in the pure os store that allows for bluray playback, I think DVD is possible with vlc but I didn’t try it. Seems stupid not to allow it when everyone has a PC in their home.

9

Maybe do an apt search for dvd or bluray packages in the terminal and try the results that seem most likely. I know Linux Mint offers optional codecs for those.

I find these:
xxxxx@xxxxx ~ $ apt search bluray
i libbluray-bdj - Blu-ray Disc Java support library (BD-J li
v libbluray-bdj:i386 -
p libbluray-bin - Blu-ray disc playback support library (too
p libbluray-bin:i386 - Blu-ray disc playback support library (too
p libbluray-dev - Blu-ray disc playback support library (dev
p libbluray-dev:i386 - Blu-ray disc playback support library (dev
p libbluray-doc - Blu-ray disc playback support library (doc
i libbluray1 - Blu-ray disc playback support library (sha
p libbluray1:i386 - Blu-ray disc playback support library (sha

10

this is what results I get from that command

$ apt search bluray
Sorting… Done
Full Text Search… Done
libbluray-bdj/amber 1:1.1.0-1 all
Blu-ray Disc Java support library (BD-J library)

libbluray-bin/amber 1:1.1.0-1 amd64
Blu-ray disc playback support library (tools)

libbluray-dev/amber 1:1.1.0-1 amd64
Blu-ray disc playback support library (development files)

libbluray-doc/amber 1:1.1.0-1 all
Blu-ray disc playback support library (documentation)

libbluray2/amber,now 1:1.1.0-1 amd64 [installed,automatic]
Blu-ray disc playback support library (shared library)

any ideas?

11

I’m no expert, but maybe install all 5 packages in your list and see if it works. If you get any messages saying other packages are also required, install them, too. :slightly_smiling_face:

12

I’m afraid blurays are to be discarded. Consult this:
https://packages.debian.org/buster/libbluray2,

especially note:
NB: Most commercial Blu-Ray are restricted by AACS or BD+ technologies and this library is not enough to playback those discs.

After installing these bluray* packages, VLC might be able to play your discs.

If it does not play them, throw those discs away and never buy a bluray disc again…

13

Or transcode them. (So I’ve heard…)

14

i wouldnt know how to install them. Ill do some reading over the weekend.

Cheers guys

15

sudo apt install libbluray-bdj

And so on.

16

or if you have some BDs (BluRay-Disks) that you’d like to be able to re-play but don’t want to keep the disks themselves simply contact somebody that specializes in ripping/encoding and have them sort you out … or do it yourself from a separate box …

17

As far as I know it’s not illegal to play a bluray disk on linux. There are instructions on how to do this via makemkv (without ripping the disk) at https://www.maketecheasier.com/play-blu-ray-on-linux/.

makemkv is partially open source except for the actual bluray decompiling bits. If this program was illegal, I expect it would have been shut down years ago, as you can purchase it.

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18

will adding a repository to pureos to install makemkv cause me to get error messages once Ive completed the install? I triedt to install Signal Messenger and everytime I did a software update I would get hit with loads of error messages I couldnt get rid of, even after deleting the repo i still got errors. My linux skills are nothing compared to windows.

19

@StevenR it seems to be a legal gray area with many exceptions to rules that vary widely depending on jurisdiction. As for whether or not anyone will care or even attempt to enforce that part of the law on someone playing a DVD on a Linux computer, the chance is essentially zero.

20

I don’t know about the legality of the issues with cracking any blu-ray disks, or even if they are encrypted. But unless the law has changed in the US, cracking DVD lockouts is a criminal offense because of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). It has nothing to do with whether or not you have paid for the content. It has everything to do with the act of illegal cracking.

At my age (mid 50’s now), I reslize that it’s just easier to go by the rules. I may crack something just to prove to myself that it can be done. But somehow having a bunch of stolen/cracked software and entertainment on my PC isn’t much fun. We need an exclusive compressed video format that can only be used under open-source rules. These days, you don’t need to be the one in a million band or motion company that makes it big, to be a talented recording artist or executive producer. So the content providers should be willing if the technology is available to them.