[-Matt-]

I have just spent several hours searching online to try to establish the current status of BluRay playback (for legally purchased discs) on linux. There seems to have been several alternative methods developed over the years which makes for a very confusing picture for any newcomer who just wants to get this working with the minimum hassle.

Rather than just posting the question: How can I make bluray playback work? I'd like to suggest that this thread is made sticky and the following information is kept up to date to reflect the current recommended procedure for playing blurays. Hopefully this is something that a lot of users will find helpful.



Method 1. Rip BluRay content using makemkv:
Due to the lack of a simple method for bluray playback (direct from the disc) many linux users feel forced into ripping their blurays. This has the advantage of providing you with a backup in the event that your disc becomes damaged but uses very large amounts of storage (~30GB per movie) unless subsequent compression is added (which will not be discussed here).

The current version of makemkv is 1.9.2. this is free whilst in beta testing, a license key is available here (although this will expire at the end of May 2015).

Installation instructions for makemkv can be found here (using apt-get) or here (using an install script).

Thanks to bigfoost for the following step by step guide for installing makemkv on systems with apt-get (updated for the current version):

Here is a step by step way to make BluRay-playback work for me with my kodi (14.1) on Ubuntu 14.04.2:

The main features for makemkv are taken from the makemkv-forum (http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=224 + http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7009)

1.
Install required components for makemkv:

Code:

sudo apt-get install build-essential pkg-config libc6-dev libssl-dev libexpat1-dev libavcodec-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libqt4-dev

2.
Get and unzip makemkv:

Code:

cd /usr/src

sudo wget http://www.makemkv.com/download/makemkv-bin-1.9.2.tar.gz

sudo wget http://www.makemkv.com/download/makemkv-oss-1.9.2.tar.gz

sudo tar xf makemkv-oss-1.9.2.tar.gz

sudo tar xf makemkv-bin-1.9.2.tar.gz

3.
Install makemkv in your system:

Part I:

Code:

cd makemkv-oss-1.9.2 # we are in /usr/src

sudo ./configure

sudo make # takes a while

sudo make install

Part II:

Code:

cd makemkv-bin-1.9.2 # we are in /usr/src

sudo make # accept the conditions for makemkv

sudo make install

4.
From here makemkv should work fine.

You can test it (only if you want), by starting the GUI "makemkv" on your desktop or if you have only a kodi-xserver without desktop, on a separate xserver but without window-manager for a simple look that makemkv is correctly installed now.

Code:

xinit makemkv -- :1 # starts xserver on display 1 with makemkv GUI

Method 2. Use libaacs or libbdplus to decrypt content on the fly:
A good explanation can be found here: BluRay - ArchWiki

First install makemkv by following method 1 then carry out the following steps (thanks again to bigfoost):

5.
Now we have to manage kodi to speak with makemkv when a BluRay disc is inserted which is decrypted.

kodi comes by default with the libaacs library, so this library will be installed by default if you run "sudo apt-get install kodi".
The way now is, to look for all "libaacs.*" libraries on your system and kill them.

So type:

Code:

sudo find / -name libaacs.*

Delete now all founded "libaacs.so.*"-libraries which lays under a lib-path.

Code:

sudo rm <path to your libs>libaacs.*

Thats sounds hard, but was the only way for me (at the moment) to kill the dependency between kodi and this lib.
If you wanna get back the killed library, you can type "sudo apt-get --reinstall install libaacs0" and nothing is happend.

6.
Now I hope, the kodi-libaacs isn´t anymore on your system.
We create now a "virtual" libaacs library and a libbdplus library that communicates with makemkv if kodi want to access these libraries.

Code:

cd /usr/lib

sudo ln -s libmmbd.so.0 libaacs.so.0 # for AACS decryption

sudo ln -s libmmbd.so.0 libbdplus.so.0 # for BD+

If you get errors by creating these links, the library-modules are not deleted on your system. You have to kill them before repeating this step again.

7.
et voilla.
Insert a BluRay disc to your linux based kodi, go to "Play disc", select it and enjoy your work.
bigfoost

Method 3. Use makemkv and vlc to create a bluray stream:
Posted on the makemkv forum this post seems to explain how to get this working.
However, it would be great if someone could provide a step-by-step guide of how to get this integrated with kodi.
Details to follow.


I am not an expert in any of this and don't currently have a system to test with so I'm relying on help from the knowledgeable users on this forum. Please help by posting the steps that you have taken to get each of these methods working. I will duplicate this information in this first post and hopefully keep it up to date and in a format that is easy for everyone to folllow.

(Hopefully a moderator will think this thread is a useful concept and will help me keep the info up to date).

[-Matt-]

Reserved.

[bigfoost]

Matt you´re right.

No complete and functional guide for getting bluray-playback to work within kodi under linux.

I read a thread on this forum that it should work with a makemkv addon and an installed makemkv. I try it but it doesn´t work. I follow exactly the instructions, install makemkv and then the addon doesn´t run under helix 14.1. From now I am very disappointed to miss this elementary HTPC function on a linux-based kodi system.

I hope someone else read your post and can help and give us a way to get it work.

[Wozza_au]

I havent upgrade to kodi yet but have found that if your having trouble with makemkv streaming/working, you can use xming on a windows pc (on the same network) to remotely run makemkv gui.This will give you real time error messages and help with sorting out what the issues are..Have a look here for more info on xming http://sourceforge.net/projects/xming/

[bigfoost]

And it runs...but only by makemkv (for thirty days):

Here is a step by step way to make BluRay-playback work for me with my kodi (14.1) on Ubuntu 14.04.2:

The main features for makemkv are taken from the makemkv-forum (http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=224 + http://www.makemkv.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7009)

1.
Install required components for makemkv:

Code:

sudo apt-get install build-essential pkg-config libc6-dev libssl-dev libexpat1-dev libavcodec-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libqt4-dev

2.
Get and unzip makemkv:

Code:

cd /usr/src

sudo wget http://www.makemkv.com/download/makemkv-bin-1.9.1.tar.gz

sudo wget http://www.makemkv.com/download/makemkv-oss-1.9.1.tar.gz

sudo tar xf makemkv-oss-1.9.1.tar.gz

sudo tar xf makemkv-bin-1.9.1.tar.gz

3.
Install makemkv in your system:

Part I:

Code:

cd makemkv-oss-1.9.1 # we are in /usr/src

sudo ./configure

sudo make # takes a while

sudo make install

Part II:

Code:

cd makemkv-bin-1.9.1 # we are in /usr/src

sudo make # accept the conditions for makemkv

sudo make install

4.
From here makemkv should work fine.

You can test it (only if you want), by starting the GUI "makemkv" on your desktop or if you have only a kodi-xserver without desktop, on a separate xserver but without window-manager for a simple look that makemkv is correctly installed now.

Code:

xinit makemkv -- :1 # starts xserver on display 1 with makemkv GUI

5.
Now we have to manage kodi to speak with makemkv when a BluRay disc is inserted which is decrypted.

kodi comes by default with the libaacs library, so this library will be installed by default if you run "sudo apt-get install kodi".
The way now is, to look for all "libaacs.*" libraries on your system and kill them.

So type:

Code:

sudo find / -name libaacs.*

Delete now all founded "libaacs.so.*"-libraries which lays under a lib-path.

Code:

sudo rm <path to your libs>libaacs.*

Thats sounds hard, but was the only way for me (at the moment) to kill the dependency between kodi and this lib.
If you wanna get back the killed library, you can type "sudo apt-get --reinstall install libaacs0" and nothing is happend.

6.
Now I hope, the kodi-libaacs isn´t anymore on your system.
We create now a "virtual" libaacs library and a libbdplus library that communicates with makemkv if kodi want to access these libraries.

Code:

cd /usr/lib

sudo ln -s libmmbd.so.0 libaacs.so.0 # for AACS decryption

sudo ln -s libmmbd.so.0 libbdplus.so.0 # for BD+

If you get errors by creating these links, the library-modules are not deleted on your system. You have to kill them before repeating this step again.

7.
et voilla.
Insert a BluRay disc to your linux based kodi, go to "Play disc", select it and enjoy your work.

I hope it helps anybody else and extends Matt´s first BluRay-Point.

bigfoost

[-Matt-]

Thanks for this bigfoost - I have incorporated this info into the first post.

I have now bought a usb bluray player (Samsung SE-506CB) so I will test this procedure soon.

Cheers,
Matt


EDIT:
I've tried it and can confirm that I can play a bluray direct from the BD drive plugged into my kodi box.

It takes a while to start playing (~1 minute).
Lip sync is a bit off (probably due to playback settings - disabling hardware decoding has helped a bit).
The BD drive is much quieter than my old fat PS3.

[bigfoost]

Sounds good, Matt

Yes, it takes a while for loading BluRay discs by the drive, but i think its normal.

A simple BluRay player which comes out of the box is faster than a pc-bluray-drive, but this one can only show BluRays nothing more

Greetings, bigfoost

[pettergulbra]

Hi

I also may think of buying this Samsung SE-506CB, to use with my ChromeBox with KodiBuntu on.

Will this work, if I use the solution mention in the first post?

Or do you need this anymore, haven`t Kodi starting to read blu-rays, if it is decrypted?