One of the few issues I’ve ran into over the years using openSUSE Tumbleweed is with codecs and media. I like to backup my DVDs to files so I can store them and play them over my network. Discs don’t last forever, so it’s nice to have a backup. It’s also nice to be able to play a DVD video on my computer every once in a while. For a while, I had used a virtual machine with a distro that played DVDs. I finally figured out how to play DVDs in openSUSE.

I use openSUSE Tumbleweed, so the links will be for it. If you use a different version, this is the parent folder for the videolan library below.

First, you need to install codecs. The easiest way is to use OPI and install them from Packman:

opi codecs

Next go to the videolan download site and download libdvdcss2-[version].rpm

Next, right click on the RPM downloaded above and open with YaST Software. Finally, install the RPM. If there is an error for an integrity check, just click ignore and the installation will complete.

That’s it. Now you should be able to play DVDs in your media player. If you don’t have a media player, you can install VLC from Packman:

opi vlc

If you are looking for software to backup your DVDs, give Handbrake a try. You can also install it with OPI.