[NBLUG/talk] playing dvd's in debian stable

[Andrew]

Mr. Jan Hearthstone wrote on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 15:31:45 -0800
(PST):

> --- Andrew <argonaut at gmx.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> > I just looked up the Plextor PX-230A. Sorry, Jan,
> > but what
> > you've got there is a CD-RW drive, not a DVD drive.
> > It won't
> > play DVDs. You'll have to get an actual DVD drive in
> > order to be
> > able to read DVD disks.
> 
> How very embarasing!
> I was sure I was ordering DVD-RW!
> Should I get SATA, IDE drive?
> Would you know of any Linux compatible sources for DVD
> drives?

Not a problem. We've all made mistakes. Not long ago, I saw
someone scratch their head for ten minutes, trying to fdisk a
drive. He just couldn't get it to work. Then someone else looked
over his shoulder and said "Hold on. You need to be root to do
that." I chuckled, but not much, because I've made that *exact*
same mistake myself. More than once. Sometimes it's all too easy
to overlook the obvious.

As for SATA vs. IDE(PATA), it doesn't matter really. Linux can
recognize both. The only important thing is what does your
motherboard support? Linux will work with most drive models, so
all you really need to worry about is finding one that's not
shoddily made. Check hardware review sites and consumer forums
(no matter if they're Windows- or Linux-oriented). Or just buy
one from a store with a good return policy and take your chances.

Good luck.

A.