libdvdread provides the API other tools (dvdbackup, players) use to read DVD structures. By itself it cannot decrypt commercial (CSS-encrypted) discs; that needs the separate libdvdcss library.

Symptom¶

libdvdread: Encrypted DVD support unavailable.

Fix: install libdvdcss¶

Prefer your distribution's package if one exists (some repositories carry it, others omit it for legal reasons depending on your jurisdiction):

sudo dnf install libdvdcss          # if available (e.g. via RPM Fusion on Fedora)
sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2     # if available (e.g. via a VideoLAN-provided repo on Ubuntu/Debian)

If your distribution's repositories do not carry it, VideoLAN (the VLC project) publishes libdvdcss source and, on some platforms, an install script:

# Only if your distro provides no package — verify the source before running any installer script
wget https://download.videolan.org/pub/libdvdcss/last/libdvdcss-<version>.tar.bz2
tar -xjf libdvdcss-<version>.tar.bz2
cd libdvdcss-<version>/
./configure --prefix=/usr
make && sudo make install

Fetch the current version number from the VideoLAN download page rather than assuming an old version string still exists there. Whether decrypting a disc you own is lawful depends on your jurisdiction; check local law before doing this.