[MPlayer-users] Re: Playing xcd image files

[Jonathan Rogers]

Martin Collins wrote:
> If memory serves, the problematic images I've downloaded tend to
> have no first track at all, but I've made XCDs with nothing in the
> ISO9660 part that work fine with mplayer. Perhaps mode2cdmaker or mplayer
> screw up when there is more than nothing but less than 1MB in track 1.

That would seem to be right. What I'm wondering at this point is why 
there has to be a special bridge filesystem at all. Why can't mplayer 
just read directly from a CD track, regardless of its type, mode, or 
format? I suspect it's just that the vcd:// input module expects 
VCDisms, which probably include the bridge filesystem and other details.

I have used cdrdao to write OGMs straight to Mode 2 CD tracks. MPlayer 
won't read them with vcd://2, but it can read them using the cdfs Linux 
driver. That is a filesytem driver that exposes raw CD tracks as files 
when one mounts a CD. It's not a standard part of the kernel, but it's 
mentioned on the mode2cdmaker page.

Perhaps it would be easy to copy the vcd:// input module and modify it 
to read CD tracks directly. I want to try this because it would obviate 
the need for mode2cdmaker. I could use mkisofs to make an ordinary 
ISO9660 filesystem, then write it to one track and the movie to a 
second, Mode 2 one. Then, it would be easy to make a bootable and self 
sufficient movie CD with eMovix or GeeXbox. Of course, only mplayer 
would read it.

Jonathan Rogers