I have some DVDs I recorded. Over the air baseball games.
They will not play in the computer- Neither Ubuntu, nor windows will open them.

The DVD recorder does do IEEE94, and I have some tapes that I would like to put
on DVD. I NEED TO MAKE SURE THESE DVDs WILL BE PLAYABLE ANYWHERE!

Does anyone have a link to some codec that would let me view the dvds? The
players work, it's whatever Toshiba records in. I can put the dvds in a dvd/vcr
combo and record and play, so I think it's just a format type problem.

The recorder is new and quite different than VHS, the manual stinks - no index
per se - just headings.

I'm trying with the recorded DVDs as I have no movies, and I want to use the
recorder for the Handicam. I need to see what quality it would put out on a
computer player using IEEE1394. I can record to a memory stick, but the quality
isn't that great compared to using a HI8 tape.


Most of the tapes I would want to get on DVD are videos of pets my daughter
lost.

RE: Photoshop - Adobe and Quark were the big names in publishing. You learned
photo editing and page layout in those programs. Most used Macs, we had a couple
of Amigas, I used a PC. In fact we had a UNIX user in the class. You also had to
separate and use registration for the 4 color printing process. Soon after I
graduated, small print houses started to accept MS Word files for direct print.
Before - you gave them the file and someone would typeset your file in either
Pagemaker or Quark on a MAC, then print. I prefer to let PS control the
printing. I don't see that feature for color profiles in GIMP. I have the
printer profiles from Canon. I don't see any calibration programs for the
monitor profile, either.

If you are in business for yourself today with all the options available, you
can use what you like. Which is as it should be.

I don't need WINE. Just the separate windows hard drive for all Adobe products.
I boot in through Ubuntu. My computer, my preference.

I am a bit confused. Likely my problem. You mention DVDs and VHS. They are
different media formats, tape (analog) vs. disk (digital). I am assuming
that you are talking about different things but not sure where to draw the
lines. Just so we are sure. You want to record VHS videos onto disk but want
to make sure your DVD player is working because old videos of ball games
play on your player but not computer in either Windows or Linux.

What I am unsure of is, are we talking about a DVD recorder or a DVD player.
If it is a recorder then you likely did not finalise the DVD which means
they can only play on the recorder that made them until they are finalised.
They would not play on any computer or other DVD console. To finalise a DVD,
you need to go to the settings of the recorder and look for finalise. It
varies with manufacturer and machine. I have owned half a dozen over the
years of various makes. That will make it compatible with any computer or
DVD player. If it is not a recorder then I am stymied. I do not think that
it is a codec issue.

The GIMP supports CMYK, RGB, gray scale, LAB, HSV, colour and channel
separation (including alpha channels), GEGL, scripting, colour profiles and
filters (it can even use Photoshop ones). Its biggest problem is limited
colour depth (it supports 32 bit GEGL, but otherwise is limited to 24-bit).
If you want to get higher depth use Cinepaint (32 bit) which is a fork and
is used by professional studios.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMP

While there are features differences with PS, the GIMP is the hands down
feature for $ winner. Most people do not need the advanced features of PS or
even Elements. Only a professional would pay the outrageous price for PS. A
full version costs as much as many users' computers. At least with the GIMP
there is no need to pirate. Elements is okay, but it isn't PS either and it
costs much more than many people want to spend or need. I think the GIMP is
superior to Elements. I am an amateur photographer and artist and I used to
use PS and Illustrator (in my Windows days), but could not afford to buy it
so used pirated versions acquired from schools where I worked. I
rationalised it because every once in awhile I would do a project for the
school, but technically it was illegal. When I moved to Linux, I missed some
applications and PS was one of them. It took awhile for me to get used to
the GIMP, but once I did there was no going back. For an amateur who does
not use Windows it is perfect. I can use Cinepaint and higher end
applications or lower end solutions like Digikam or Krita, but the GIMP hits
that sweets spot where I can do small and big jobs with ease. Everybody has
to find what works best for them. This is only one user's opinion and not
gospel.

I urge users who want PS and are willing to pay for it to use it, but think
that dual boot or VM is the way to go and not Wine. For users who do not
want to dual boot or use a VM and need a powerful application to edit photos
and do graphics to consider the GIMP. It takes some getting used to, so
persist. I read lots of PS tutorials and have yet to find one that I cannot
duplicate in the GIMP, admittedly with a bit more work since I have to
translate PS-speak to GIMP-speak. If the GIMP is not powerful enough there
is Cinepaint which is powerful enough for big studios to use, Stuart Little
and Harry Potter used it to name a couple. If you want 3D then there is
Blender and for Ray tracing, POV-Ray. There are several HDR applications and
speciality programmes. I am not saying open source is better, just that you
get what what you pay for and when it is free that is excellent value,
provided it does what you want. In many cases, in non-free software you do
not get what you pay for and you have to pay every round of upgrades. I
shudder to think of money that I have spent on bad software or software that
cost too much because I was paying for features that I would never use.
Those days are long gone. :)

I know there's a difference in the way things work. Some radio stations are
trying to mess with signals so you cannot record digitally. You can still do
analog with a tape. I don't have cable, but assume that cable can prevent you
from taping. I'm using OTA signals and I don't think the RIAA/DMCA or whoever
has encoded anything to prevent making a copy OTA. Toshiba has.

Sony tried that at one time and got sued. Sony tried to make a purchased CD only
playable in one player. Which meant if you put it in your car CD player, it
would not play on your computer or external CD.

The DVD in question will play in any DVD player, except on a computer.
Windows sees the DVD, but will not play it - Ubuntu refuses to even SEE the DVD
player. I should think the DVD players would show up as drives like a floppy
whether they see the disc or not. And since I can't even read the DVD files, I
have no idea what format it's in.

I started searching for the recording format of Toshiba, and since the DVD is
only readable in standalone DVD players/recorders - Toshiba is using some format
to prevent a digital copy. I can make an analog.

There's articles on how to get dvds on the Toshiba Thrive (android?)
and it involves a format change. However, all this stuff is for Windows/Android.

There should be info somewhere. You can write and rewrite RW and RAM discs
before finalizing, and you could have stuff recorded that you wish to edit out
since the recorder takes other externals besides TV.

I'm not trying to pirate - I just want to experiment.

As to Photoshop - I've had it since V3, gone about as far as I want to go and
will update the computer for CS5. Since that's the computer's main purpose, the
extra drive with Ubuntu is just there for online and for newer stuff that XP
doesn't have. If 2K had worked with the new video card, I wouldn't even be
bothering with Ubuntu. You are not going to convince me to use GIMP or that it
is superior. In fact, I might just delete it now. Inkster is far more usable
since I have a program that lets me design my own cutouts for the Cricut. And
since the program for Cricut is Windows only, Inkster cross platforms very well.
That's all I've been using Gimp for anyway. I can create and print paper that
looks like fur, scales, fabric for making cards. I have to save the files and
print elsewhere. The only thing I've seen slower than Ubuntu is a big HP color
laser and vector files.

BTW - I worked in marketing and am impervious to hard sells. I'll investigate if
I'm interested, but all the selling in the world won't make me use a product
regardless if 99% think it's superior. If I don't want it, I don't want it.

There is no hard sell. I said that people should use what works best for
them even PS in Windows. I was just giving options.

My main point is that Linux has no shortage of options and all are free.
People can still use what they want. I am not one who advocates only one
way. If I hard sell anything it is that users own the machines and must have
freedom to choose. I only get on my when I feel that freedom and choice are
being threatened.

Linux does not show empty read only drives such as DVDs. It mounts drives on
demand. If you put an empty DVD in the drive then it will mount. An empty or
unreadable disk will not mount and be assigned a drive designation. Windows
will because it is set up to take ownership of any drive. Again, it is just
a different philosophy which makes Linux and Windows different.
You should troubleshoot your slow Ubuntu. It generally does not run slowly.

Can you tell us more about your unreadable disks? How were they recorded and
from what source and onto which media, including density, etc.? I am sure
that someone here may have an insight once they know some specifics. I may
be asking you to repeat yourself. If so, please forgive me because I am on
my Android phone and can't look back easily. Thanks.

Lets go the KISS method. Did you at all install the restricted CODECS?

If the DVD plays on a standard DVD player then yes it does appear to
be a Codec and/or protection problem. DVD's are encrypted and unless a
PC has the necessary decryption software then it isn't readable. In
Ubuntu this is a package called libdvdcss2 but you may need to enable
the Medibuntu repositories to get it ( www.medibuntu.org ). Medibuntu
also has the Codecs necessary for playback.

Windows also needs software to play encrypted DVD's which isn't
installed as standard - to get it on Windows usually means buying a
DVD playback program such as WinDVD or PowerDVD but some DVD players
have cut down versions ( missing some of the more advanced functions
but enabling playback of encrypted media ) of these supplied with
them.

As for recording DVD's from your VHS player - again the correct
software is needed but also a video capture card ( standard video
cards don't usually have this functionality ). This applies to both
Windows and Ubuntu.

I did enable Medibuntu and that other codec you mentioned, doesn't work.
Since I have a 2 HD dual boot, I checked the DVD in XP also. Usually windows
will show some kind of information, even if it can't open the file. XP saw the
disc, but no file info.

I might have to check out video cards if that's the problem.

The Toshiba does have formats for recording from a camera, but that doesn't mean
you will always get the format you want.

I have read only and read/write DVD drives internally on the computer. If Ubuntu
sees the floppy, why don't these show up?
They only show up if there's a DVD in them. XP shows them as drives whether or
not there is a disc in there - Grub sees them on boot (2 boot from cd commands)

Since this is a Linux Group I've been quiet mostly.

(I'm so new to "Linux"I have to check the spelling each time. )

Since you dual boot and keep mentioning Windows,
try the video Convertor atFreeMake.com
It sometimes can't do VERY proprietary encoding/decoding,
but it is a VERY capable program.
Worth a shot?
I think it uses embedded codecs.

Must be some weird kind of format if it doesn't show up in either
Ubuntu or Windows - unless the files are hidden ??? However since the
DVD's play on a standard DVD player the format isn't too esoteric,
it's just a case of finding out what it is ( easier said than done ).

Did you install the libdvdcss2 package ? That's the one that allows
access to encrypted DVD's.

Ubuntu only shows a floppy or CD/DVD drive when there is readable media present - just a different way of doing it to Windows, and how annoying to see the DVD drive but get the 'not ready' message trying to open it. Far better to not have the drive visible if there's nothing to open ??

If it does not work in both Windows or Linux then it is unlikely to be a
codec issue. It is more likely a disk issue or recording issue, IMO. Media
varies widely in my experience and some recorded disks do not work well in
some machines. My Panasonic (oldest of three recorders) likes one brand and
is finicky about others and it only supports -R. My Samsung which is newer
does not care what disk or format (+R, -R, etc). My Lite On likes a
different brand from the Panasonic. As a result I buy name brand + and -R
disks and have them beside the machine they work best with. Like you I have
a stack on disks that will not work in all machines. I have another stack
made in machines that have gone to the scrap yard and will not work in my
existing machines. Some will work on my computer and some will not.

This is just my thoughts. You can chase around after codecs if you want but
think that it won't matter in the end. It is your time. I would try to
experiment a bit with different media. Disks are cheap. Use re-recordable
ones if you want to save money. Make sure you finalise or close the session
so that it can play on all machines.

I've finally found an answer. The recorder file is proprietary. It's coded to
play in DVD players, but not computers. I've checked every type of help forum -
Ubuntu, Windows, Video and the consensus is there is no codec.

I find that strange - you can get all kinds of codecs to copy movies from a DVD,
but nothing recorded OTA.

The only other way is a TV card (or I saw some kind of USB stick TV device) and
record directly onto computer.

Does anyone have experience with either?

Suspected you were dealing with proprietary formats and when that's
the case you really are up against the wall :-( Same with the blocking
of recording channels that are protected from recording - though if
you have composite output that can be taken to a video capture card
but the quality will be much lower.

Not much help I know, but you can be assured it's not an Ubuntu ( or
Windows ) fault as such - that old DRM bogey man at work :-(

I finally got through the whole manual for the Toshiba. There are encoded places
on the tuner or channel that forbid something like CPRM.
That's usually cable - movies and premium channels.

The recorder will state that it cannot record. There are workarounds.

Most of the manual deals with titling and subtitling whatever you are recording
which doesn't interest me. I usually do a whole football or baseball game and it
doesn't need a title. That's why it was hard to find exactly which menu had the
finalize command. The manual has NO index.

Now that I figured out how to get the dvds to play - I'll try to take the files
from the Handicam in MP4. Record the disc, send it to daughter and let her edit
it on her computer (she has Pinnacle) and she can resave to her taste. I would
probably do the same. Just record, and use one of the movie editors in Ubuntu
then save and write a final dvd as I see fit.

This whole exercise is because I don't trust Sony. They get too outlandish with
DRM and have been sued. The Handicam is a Sony. It should be old enough to avoid
hassles, but-----