Solution (?)
Check mplayer's man page.
Now this may sound trivial and silly, but mplayer is a featureful piece of software.
For example, there is this (for DVD):
-dvd-speed <factor or speed in KB/s> (DVD only)
Try to limit DVD speed (default: 0, no change). DVD base speed
is about 1350KB/s, so a 8x drive can read at speeds up to
10800KB/s. Slower speeds make the drive more quiet, for watchâ
ing DVDs 2700KB/s should be quiet and fast enough. MPlayer reâ
sets the speed to the drive default value on close. Values less
than 100 mean multiples of 1350KB/s, i.e. -dvd-speed 8 selects
10800KB/s.
NOTE: You need write access to the DVD device to change the
speed.
And then the same for CDDA:
-cdda <option1:option2> (CDDA only)
This option can be used to tune the CD Audio reading feature of
MPlayer.
Available options are:
speed=<value>
Set CD spin speed.
Workarounds
- You could try mplayer and cache the video file.
But don't do this, as this would eat up all the memory you have.
- You could just rip or read in the disc before watching it.
If the noise bothers you even at this period, reading the disc gives you the option to specify read speed. If I recall correctly, K3B had this option included.
- Get an external HDD or DVD. HDD is a better investment.
You can store enough movies for your lifetime on a HDD nowadays.
Disclaimer
I have no DVD or CD drive connected, so I could not test these out.