[Gllug] DVD video errors panic

[David L Neil Mailing list a/c]

When playing a DVD movie, if the system encounters a major error, the
hardware gets into a 'panic' and will not release/recover for an
extended period of time.

- I'm hoping this is one of those trivial set-up things, and that giving
me the correct terminology and a swift prescription of RTFM (but which
one/part?) will carry the day...

Am using SuSE Linux 10.1 64-bit, set up using the installers (YaST and
Smart). The DVD drive handles CD formats, DVD+R and +RW, DVD-R and -RW,
DVD-RAM and DVD movies. Movie software is Kaffeine 0.8.3 under Gnome
(but same effect when using other s/w, eg Gxine). I don't 'do' video at
all, thus watching movies or maybe some client/supplier's YouTube style
video, is 'it' - the machine is supposedly my server test-bed, so it is
only that the screen has built-in speakers that lend it to being my
poor-man's movie theater at all. I have done nothing beyond SuSE's
efforts to configure the hardware or software, and my 'SuSE Bible' makes
no mention of such a need.

If the drive hits a seriously bad (I assume) patch on the disk, first
the sound and/or picture degrades, then the picture freezes (maybe with
a jump for a frame or two), but then it seems to run out of options and
just gives up. Fine: application software can always be restarted!

However if the fault is bad enough (I assume), even with Kaffeine
terminated, the hardware seems to just keep plugging away, with the
drive light flashing on and off dementedly - possibly double-speed over
playback. Clicking on the Desktop DVD icon and commanding 'Eject' simply
times-out and reports failure. Pressing the front panel eject button
similarly has no effect. This behavior continues for varying periods of
time, five minutes, ten minutes, maybe even half-an-hour. At which point
the tray ejects and everyone can calm down/can try to watch the rest of
the movie. Alternatively I can reboot the entire machine to 'save time'.

Is there a setting I can correct to be able to tell the hardware to 'let
it go'? Should I be reading some 'watching video' guide to more properly
set up the machine?

Please advise,
=dn
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