# How do you store movies?



## scott

I have over 400 Movies and am wondering what it takes, as far as hard drives, to store them. Do I need to build a server to work with my PC? and what is the best media center to invest in?


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## tonyvdb

Most capture software wont let you copy movies onto your hard drive. But given a movie is usually 2hrs long and to capture at a quality thats as good as the original you need about 5gb of hard drive space per movie.


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## Blaser

Some use hard USB drives with PS3 and store their movies. It acts like a server. Not very sofisticated but it works. The movies can be ripped but I just forgot the name of the software. You'll find everything here http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...ver-media-server-preliminary-setup-tests.html


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## Mitch G

I use DVDfab (www.dvdfab.com) to back up my movies to my media server and watch them using SageTV. I only back up the main feature and as mentioned above that takes about 5GB of disk space. 


Mitch


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## scott

I don't have a PS3 and I already have DVDfab and all the other back up programs, I need to get the best way to put the on a hard disk for cataloging and playback, And keep in mind I have over 400.


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## Jarin

scott said:


> I don't have a PS3 and I already have DVDfab and all the other back up programs, I need to get the best way to put the on a hard disk for cataloging and playback, And keep in mind I have over 400.


Sounds like you need a fair bit of disk space. And you wouldn't want to lose that disk space. I have a Buffalo Terastation NAS, and I'm very happy with it. It's 2TB. 4 500G drives, RAID-5. I store all my media (28,000 MP3's, movies, pictures, etc) on it, and use a D-Link mediaplayer to access it over my LAN.

If you needed more than 2TB, just chain a couple together, or separately, etc. I wouldn't go for a standalone USB drive.

J


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## Blaser

Jarin,

This sounds like a fair bit of investment. How much did that cost you? Do you have a link?

Thank you


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## Jarin

blaser said:


> Jarin,
> 
> This sounds like a fair bit of investment. How much did that cost you? Do you have a link?
> 
> Thank you


Well, it's all about how valuable your media is. I don't want to lose all my wife's photography at any cost, so it's worth it to me. Just under 700$ about 18 months ago I think. You can Google and find current pricing. There's 3 and 4TB models too I believe. I have mine connected to my backbone GigE switch. Basically any computer on my lan can access it and use it, etc.

http://www.buffalotech.com/products/network-storage/

J


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## scott

Thanks jarin, I'll check this stuff out. I know I'll have more questions very soon so please keep checking this thread.

Scott


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## Blaser

Jarin,

But how do you play your movies in your HT?


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## Jarin

blaser said:


> Jarin,
> 
> But how do you play your movies in your HT?


I use DVDShrink or DVDFab to rip DVDs, then encode them as XVid with DVDFab. Works great. I keep the 5.1 soundtrack and use a 2Mb/s video encode rate. Excellent quality. Most DVDs end up between 2 and 3GB. I probably have 150 to 200 stored on the NAS. Never had an issue with any.

The D-Link DSM-320 plays those XVid's perfectly on my system:

http://www.silvren.com/hometheatershack/

J


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## basementjack

I've been using DVD fab too, great program!

personally, I don't think Xvid looks as good as the original DVD in a good upscaling dvd player - so I've used my server mainly for tv shows, kids movies, etc. 

my xvids play over the network to a number of devices - the xbox 360, the klegg media share, and I hear the PS3 works also, so long as your file size is below 2gb.

I have not tried a ps3 so I can't comment on that, but the klegg blows away the 360 for media playback. The klegg can play whole dvd's ripped to your hd as .iso files, as well as xvid files (and many others) I plan to add a sticky on the klegg when I have time to write it up properly. The klegg is available in the USA from frys - I have seen it on sale there twice for $129

as for storage, if you are good with PC's and have access to software, then building a small server is the cheapest/best way IMO. On the other hand, if you have no experience with that, or you don't have any OS you can use, and you would have to shell out $$$ for windows, then those stand alone network hard drives really begin to look attractive.

however you look at it, you'll need a backup - I use a combination of internal drives in the server, and external drives for backup.
Internal protection schemes like mirroring and raid 5 are not adequate as they don't protect your investment from accidental deletion or corruption.

For your needs, you'll probably want 2x 1 terabyte hard drives - one internal, and one external to backup the internal. you should be able to get roughly 500 movies on the drive if you use xvid.

if you build a small server, I'd suggest a small drive for the OS, and use the 1TB drive for storage.


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## Jarin

basementjack said:


> I've been using DVD fab too, great program!
> 
> personally, I don't think Xvid looks as good as the original DVD in a good upscaling dvd player - so I've used my server mainly for tv shows, kids movies, etc.
> 
> my xvids play over the network to a number of devices - the xbox 360, the klegg media share, and I hear the PS3 works also, so long as your file size is below 2gb.
> 
> I have not tried a ps3 so I can't comment on that, but the klegg blows away the 360 for media playback. The klegg can play whole dvd's ripped to your hd as .iso files, as well as xvid files (and many others) I plan to add a sticky on the klegg when I have time to write it up properly. The klegg is available in the USA from frys - I have seen it on sale there twice for $129
> 
> as for storage, if you are good with PC's and have access to software, then building a small server is the cheapest/best way IMO. On the other hand, if you have no experience with that, or you don't have any OS you can use, and you would have to shell out $$$ for windows, then those stand alone network hard drives really begin to look attractive.
> 
> however you look at it, you'll need a backup - I use a combination of internal drives in the server, and external drives for backup.
> Internal protection schemes like mirroring and raid 5 are not adequate as they don't protect your investment from accidental deletion or corruption.
> 
> For your needs, you'll probably want 2x 1 terabyte hard drives - one internal, and one external to backup the internal. you should be able to get roughly 500 movies on the drive if you use xvid.
> 
> if you build a small server, I'd suggest a small drive for the OS, and use the 1TB drive for storage.


Most definitely. It comes down to how much you're willing to shell out, and how valuable your data is. I use a combination of things myself. I have multiple servers and operating systems doing various things, but take this as example. My main Dell XP box has twin 160 Raptors in raid0 for performance reasons. This volume's backed up externally via USB to a 500G WD MyBook drive. That in turn gets copied to the Terastation NAS which I back up via Exabyte drive to tape. So not only can I rebuild/restore my main XP gaming/console PC at any point (via Norton Save & Restore), I also never lose any of my other collected data, which is all on tape.

You can easily build a standalone Linux box as your NAS, either using software raid, or getting a dedicated controller or two or three, etc. But, when you price out the parts, the Terastations come really close, and already run Linux and have a great feature set.

Anyways - it's just one way that's worked for me, and it's scalable.

J


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## wbassett

I agree with Basementjack, DVD Fab is a very nice program. I've used it and DVD Shrink and DVD Fab actually has more options and seems a bit more suited for archiving to a hard drive.


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## derekbannatyne

I use DVDShrink to conserve disk space (you can control how compressed you want the files). Won't work to backup all discs, but in can be used in conjunction with other programs to make it work. For example, you can use another program to rip the entire disc into an ISO, mount it, and then compress it.


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## nova

I store my movies in a DVD case that sits on a bookshelf :bigsmile: Little odd for a computer guy huh?


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## Jodean

nova said:


> I store my movies in a DVD case that sits on a bookshelf :bigsmile: Little odd for a computer guy huh?


LOL...ya whats wrong with simply grabbing the dvd and putting it in the drive?? No file corruption, no bad sectors, no backing up all the time, no raid issues, no thousand dollar investment.


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## basementjack

I too have questioned my actions when it comes to digitizing my collection of movies, just for the sake of a _small_ bit of convenience. 

With dvd players costing $35 - it's hard to justify the expense of the server and extenders.

Maybe we do it just because its cool?


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## tonyjover

Jodean said:


> LOL...ya whats wrong with simply grabbing the dvd and putting it in the drive?? No file corruption, no bad sectors, no backing up all the time, no raid issues, no thousand dollar investment.


I agree with you completely. We have our movies (nearly 1000 DVDs at last count) in large leather-type binders that take 250 disks per 'book'.

We have them loosely catagorized (comedy, drama, blockbuster, period drama etc) in the different folders.

One day I'll complete my promise to myself to catalogue the lot on PC ;-)

Regards,
Tony


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## Guest

:yay: i use My Movies plugin for media center pc and i copy all from the dvd to harddrives. not to mention the 750gb hd $145.00 tax included arount this time. so no excuses for crapy video.
or less $ http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10007193 $440.00 for 3TB's :unbelievable:


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## Guest

Jarin, 
i know I'm replying to an old post but i was referred to by it from another user. I just posted a message in the newbie welcome section titled *'Is there a HDD Movie storage device'*. 
Are you still running movies off an HDD. I'm looking for a suggestions for an HDD interface but am looking at a HUGE amount of storage space. Want to downscale the space these DVD's are taking up but also want to retain HD and Blu-Ray quality. 

Any suggestions would be welcome


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## tonyvdb

Chuck, This was posted in your welcome 


> for media playback, given your requirements, your probably best off with a popcorn hour or klegg mediashare device.
> 
> these will run you about $200 (US)
> 
> the system would work like this:
> 
> you copy your DVD's to one or more computers in your home.
> you connect the device to your computer network, and to your home theater.
> the device opens the dvds you've copied to your home network and you use the remote to navigate the DVD menus, just like you would if it was in a dvd player.
> 
> for storage, you could either have a small server with multiple drives, or you could have several machines - I assume you'd categorize them somehow to make it logical.
> 
> I personally own the Klegg device, and find it's as good as my ordinary dvd players.
> given the size of your movie investment, it's probably safe to purchase one for $200 and mess around with it to see if its something you'd be happy with.
> 
> you'll also need a copy of dvdfab (www.dvdfab.net) to be able to back up the movies to your hard drive. - That'll run you $50
> 
> - Jack


Just to clarify, this will work but it will not give you the desired results as the compression used will affect the video quality of the HD movies. It will cost substantialy more as you would need allot of hard drive space. DVfab I dont think will copy High Definition.
BluRay movies would require at least 15gb of space for each movie. More if you want the special features included.


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## Jarin

Lightwave said:


> Jarin,
> i know I'm replying to an old post but i was referred to by it from another user. I just posted a message in the newbie welcome section titled *'Is there a HDD Movie storage device'*.
> Are you still running movies off an HDD. I'm looking for a suggestions for an HDD interface but am looking at a HUGE amount of storage space. Want to downscale the space these DVD's are taking up but also want to retain HD and Blu-Ray quality.
> 
> Any suggestions would be welcome


Well, it's all about a) how much storage you need, b) network constraints, c) most importantly, your budget.

Are you talking TB? Or just GB? Like I said way up top, I use a Terastation 2TB, which sits on my network using GigE. My main XP computer is always on, always mounts the Terastation and always runs the media application for the D-Link media server, so it's an 'always on' situation. I just flip on the hometheatre system, and in a few seconds I can stream anything to the TV. For Blu-Ray I use a dedicated player. My media player is just for regular DVDs, MP3's, etc.

The D-Link is connected at FastE using a wired connection. The XP box/Terastation can stream to the DLink over FastE as fast as it can read from the RAID - (max read about 18MByte/s), which is more than enough for anything. My investment was under 850$ for the terastation/dlink.

I think they make Terastations at the 4TB level now, and you can easily chain them or buy multiples. You could build your own linux box using 1TB drives, etc and scale even higher with LVM etc... I mean, it's all about what you want to spend, that's almost always the limiting factor.

J


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## Guest

Definitely TB is what I’m thinking. Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll look into it.


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## basementjack

just to follow up to Tonyvdb's post, 
for Standard def movies, you really aren't loosing any quality if you are ripping dvd's 1:1 to your hard drives. The klegg device I have opens them up as regular dvd's full menus, sound options etc.. and the quality is the same.

It is certainly possible to compress them, or convert them into another file type - certainly an option for you, but not a requirement.

In my situation, I was going for convenience - I compressed all my kids movies down to about 2 gb a piece. The quality blows me away - even at that small file size - certainly good enough for kids movies!


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## Guest

i've looked into several systems since the post and the one i most favor would be the 4TB Terastation (max read about 35MByte/s). That gives me the storage space i need, and wow, i had no idea some of these HD and Blu-Ray's take up in excess of 20gig. That's a waste, I'll keep those on disk and play from a player, besides, i don't know of an interface that will play both formats off the HDD. 

Now it's just a matter of locating one. 

I


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## MatrixDweller

If you don't have a way of streaming it to your A/V receiver the best bet would be to build a small PC. I've priced out a few and could easily make one for under $600. It would have to use a motherboard with integrated graphics like the Asus M2A-VM which has a built in ATI adapter with DVI/HDMI. It also has gigabit networking, 5.1 sound and is MATX so it will fit into a really small case. There are some attractive slim desktop cases from Antec like the NSK1480 or Minuet 350. Slap in either a TB hard drive or a couple smaller drives and stripe them (combines their size and increases speed) and throw in either a Bluray or DVD drive and you're pretty much set. You only need a modest CPU so an Athlon X2 4000 or so should do and 2GB of RAM for Vista and 1GB for XP or Linux should do. If you need more room int he future you can always add another hard drive.


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## Guest

Just built a dual Seagate (10,000rpm) 2tb,with silver enclosure, works great! I rip with Dvdfab main movie only got only 50 so far. Love the set up getting a 65" soon with my new Klipsch SS. Also game with the harddrive, use comp (internals) hard drive for system data. 
Just not sure why I have such a hard time upscaling from hard drive-samsung DVD player-Yamaha receiver-Vizio lcd. The sound and video don't line up :hissyfit: Now all i need a 20tb server to start my blue-ray adventure LOL

heres a pic,


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## Aminbiz

Use the mymovies plugin for windows media center with any dvd running in the background this will allow you to make a full backup of you DVD with no quality loss. Also if you want to convert all of your standard DVD's to High Def just install another free program called FFD show..


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## JTDINVA

I use dvd shrink and dvd fab ... whatever works. Some of the newer movies are tough to rip and shrink won't work. I generally rip movie only and it takes anywhere from 4 to 6gb per movie without compression depending on the length of the film. (NOTE: Shrink won't allow a DTS soundtrack, I tried so many times)

I then convert them to an MPEG file, and store them on a 1tb HDD. I use a program called My Movies (nothing short of great interface) that catalogs and gives you your movie database with cover art and I stream it to my HT system using media center extender through the xbox360.

The result .... I access media center in my theater room through the xbox and select my movies. I then get to browse titles by cover art and when I select a title I get the synopsis including actors and director. All while using my universal remote, not the xbox xontroller.

This is one of my favorite little projects to date.

If anyone has any questions about it let me know.


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## Guest

I use DVDFab and Vista Media Center. I found a registry hack to turn back on the DVD Library that used to exist in previous media centers but somehow disappeared in Vista. I also use a program called DVD Library that catalogs all the movies and downloads the cover art and info via Amazon or IMDB. I love the setup, I can go to DVD Library anytime I want and surf through my collection.

I have 2 500gb drives that I figure will hold 200 - 250 movies. I only copy the main movie, not the extras.


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## Guest

Anyone have problems of sound a video lineing up during playback? I do sometimes and all the time if i try to upscale it. The problem is when i upscale its to a dvd play which is direct to tv it happens everytime i might sale my 2tb since I cant get it to work.


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## Aminbiz

its not your machine its your software integration, what are you using to playback DVDs and also what are you using to upscale them that is the source of your problem.Check and re-configure the playback settings


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## Guest

This is an ineresting thread. I use my PS3 right now with an external drive. Was thinking of using my pc as a media server but not sure what the benefit is over using the ps3. I have to say this my movie looks interesting


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## Aminbiz

using a pc based media server over a video game system Xbox/PS3,in my opinion there is no comparison with storage the ease of use and software integration the pc has the clear edge, as far as being more trendy give that to the PS3 !


Check it out !
http://www.mymovies.dk/screenshots/windows-vista-media-center.aspx


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## imbeaujp

Hello, I agree with "aminbiz", windows media center on a PC is the best way. I use my PC to run audio calibration tools like Room EQ wizard and many other things ! 

I use My Movies and this is a GREAT product for movies storage. To decrypt Standard DVD I got DVD Shrink and DVD43. I do not store my HD DVD or BlueRay on my PC, I keep them on disc. 

To store all my digital media, i have the HP MediaSmart Server with over 3 Terrabytes capacity. Got 300 DVD on it plus many photos, music and documents. Yhis is a GREAT product : http://www.mediasmarthome.com/


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## tbase1

If you have the movies already saved to a dvdr-/+ all you have to do is the below.

1. create a file folder the name of the movie
2. save as a jpeg of the cover to the folder and name the file FOLDER
3. if the movie is a copy of your store bought movie, copy and paste the contents of the dvd to the named folder
4. go to VMC in the settings area and setup VMC to look for the drive with the movies you've saved.


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## Guest

so where does one to learn more about these htpc I have built plenty of PC's for myself. None for my home theatre. Sounds like it's pretty slick


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## Aminbiz

A media server/HTPC is just a pc with specialized software.You can construct one that blends well with your Audio/Video gear by selecting a case that is designed specifically for that purpose,there are many sites and forums that discuss the issue of HTPC design.

here is a list to get you started !

www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=26

www.htpcforums.com

www.pcalchemy.com/index.php/cName/htpc-cases?osCsid=5e7d3c21564e9d2a2863202ff3bfd4b7

www.xoxide.com/hometheater.html

www.theatertek.com

www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=690&name=HTPC-Media-Center-Cases


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## Guest

Aminbiz

Thanks for the links. Looks like I got some reading to do


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## Guest

Real quick question to save me tons of reading. Is it possable to hook my bose acousimas 15 to a HTPC. How does one hook home speakers to a HTPC. I have a 2 core just waitin to be used


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## imbeaujp

Hello, If you do not want to use MyMovies and simply want to play your DVD Library from Media Center, here is a nice article:

http://apcmag.com/how_to_play_ripped_dvds_on_vista_media_center.htm

I did it on another Media Server Station and it works verry fine.



JP


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## KalaniP

One of the easier systems to use has not been discussed yet: A Mac. And possibly an AppleTV.

It's not the cheapest solution, but it's quite easy to use and very user-friendly. And if you own a Mac already, or were planning to purchase one already, all the better.

I keep an iMac in the living room anyway for an all-purpose surfing box. My big HDTV is simply a secondary display. The software to work with the movies is iTunes + Front Row, which come free with all Macs, along with the little remote control. It's a great combo!

Using the FREE (GPL) HandBrake software, I rip a DVD to a 1-to-3 gb (depends on the settings and the movie, and how much I care about it) file using h.264 compression. The resulting M4V file (a variant of MP4) drops right into iTunes. I have some inexpensive external hard drives plugged into the iMac, giving me 1.5 tb of data storage (I have two 750gb drives).

Additionally, we have an AppleTV connected to our upstairs master bedroom system. It's hooked into the wireless network.

To use either system, you sit down in front of the TV, pick up the Harmony universal remote, press a button, and the whole thing comes to life. Browse the movie you want using the simple Apple on-screen interface (I have about 100 of my 500+ library converted so far), and hit play. My wife LOVES it.

Something to consider rather than going through the hassle of building a Windows-based HTPC.


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## MatrixDweller

What about something like this
http://www.enviveit.com/pc-142-38-envive-theaterstation.aspx

The same company has a few other products, but they just look like media PCs in Silverstone cases. BTW this Silverstone case looks pretty wild. They are pretty pricey though.
http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=lc16m


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## dh2005

To the OP - I have 303 movies ripped (lossless) to two 1TB drives. So, if you want to rip over 400, sounds to me like you'd need 3TB.

I use a Popcorn Hour A-110, now. Not a very expensive piece of kit, and with excellent functionality. If you want to ask anything about it, drop me a private message.


DH.


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## KalaniP

dh2005 said:


> To the OP - I have 303 movies ripped (lossless) to two 1TB drives. So, if you want to rip over 400, sounds to me like you'd need 3TB.
> 
> I use a Popcorn Hour A-110, now. Not a very expensive piece of kit, and with excellent functionality. If you want to ask anything about it, drop me a private message.


Lossless? I assume you're removing extras and are only including the main film, otherwise, at roughly 4-8 gb per movie, I'd really like to know how you're cramming 303 of them onto a mere 2 TB. 6 gb (avg) x 303 = 1,818, which is awfully close to the actual formatted capacity of two 1TB drives.


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## dh2005

Yeah, exactly. The drives are full. 1,862GB of space, occupied by something like 1858GB of rips.

I've ripped complete discs, so that when I run the files they behave exactly as the discs would. Everything that's on _the same disc as the movie_ is included in my rips - menus, extras, audio tracks, subtitles etc. But when it comes to 2-disc sets, I've not ripped the second disc, on account of not having enough capacity.

By "lossless", I meant "uncompressed".


EDIT: Are you concerned about running movies from a HDD when it's full? Because that's really never been a problem for me.

Now that I think about it, MPEG-2 video peaks at around 10 megabits per second, which amounts to 1.25 mega*bytes* per second. Let's say for the sake of argument that the audio might require the same (which it wouldn't...) - it would still only be necessary to read from the hard drive at 2.5MB/s. Even a full hard drive can manage *that*.

Not sure how it would fare with Blu-ray rips.


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## KalaniP

dh2005 said:


> Yeah, exactly. The drives are full. 1,862GB of space, occupied by something like 1858GB of rips.
> 
> I've ripped complete discs, so that when I run the files they behave exactly as the discs would. Everything that's on _the same disc as the movie_ is included in my rips - menus, extras, audio tracks, subtitles etc. But when it comes to 2-disc sets, I've not ripped the second disc, on account of not having enough capacity.
> 
> By "lossless", I meant "uncompressed".
> 
> EDIT: Are you concerned about running movies from a HDD when it's full? Because that's really never been a problem for me.
> 
> Now that I think about it, MPEG-2 video peaks at around 10 megabits per second, which amounts to 1.25 mega*bytes* per second. Let's say for the sake of argument that the audio might require the same (which it wouldn't...) - it would still only be necessary to read from the hard drive at 2.5MB/s. Even a full hard drive can manage *that*.
> 
> Not sure how it would fare with Blu-ray rips.


Not worried about the drives being full, just overall capacity since you were right on the edge, using average figures... wouldn't take too many above-average movies to put you over, clearly.

If the drives were being written to at all, next to no free space could be a concern... most experts place the rule of thumb as 10% of total space should be kept free for best performance, but for read only (your situation), as long as you've thoroughly defragged the files, I don't see why you can't you can't get them pretty close to maxed out without an issue. Read performance on large, contiguous files should remain decent.

The speed of a hard drive when compared to any optical disk, even blu ray, is pretty much a non-issue. The only risk in the speed area is if you are funneling the datastream over a USB cable (which likely shares a bus with other devices) as opposed to direct-attach storage, unless you're set up with eSATA, or the drives are internal (you didn't specify, actually). Still, for a single stream even over USB I wouldn't think there would be a problem, even with Blu-Ray rips. SD absolutely no problem, BD, probably still no problem. The latter may be more of an issue if the drive is networked and you're trying to pull data over the network (esp wireless), but a local USB connection shouldn't have an issue.

Did you rip ISO images or straight video_ts folders? What software are you managing them with?


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## dh2005

I'm using video_ts folders within folders bearing the movies' names. For example:

G:\Directors, A\Annie Hall\Video_TS\blahblah.vob etc.

Currently, I'm using only the A-110's basic GUI to manage my files. They're grouped alphabetically by director's surname (Abrams to Landis on the first drive, Lee to Zucker on the second drive), and I've been using this system for several years with my physical discs, so it's not difficult for me to remember where everything is.

It was my intention (and it remains so, though not for a while...) to use Yet Another Movie Jukebox, which looks rather dandy. But I've run into problems... you see, even though they're both USB drives, they're not compatible with the A-110 (quite a few aren't), so I'm still working on how best to have these movies available at the touch of a button. The simplest solution is to buy two more 1TB drives that are proven to work with the A-110, but that would necessitate ditching two otherwise excellent external hard drives, and dropping another £200 on this project.

[sigh]

And thanks for your comments regarding reading from my drives. Once I've finished filling the second drive (I have around 20 movies still to rip...), I'll defrag them both.


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## Guest

I use mediaportal..works pretty good..rip .iso's to harddrive and play them w/media portal & mdaemon..has a front end and can be used as a pvr...although I don't use it for that...hard drives are cheap and being able to go thru all your movies and select which one you want to watch without getting off the couch...to load the dvd player...is quite nice

I have an athlon 4000 x2 and a video card w/hdmi out and a nice looking case..it upscales and plays dvd's nicely


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## dh2005

Yeah - running movies without getting off my **** was *my *plan, too!

More work for me to do, sadly...


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## Guest

media portal is easy to setup and they have for lack of a better work...extensive guides and how-to's 
I loaded it on my spare computer and played with it for a month or so before I started using it in the media room


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## dh2005

Thank you for your advice.

Sadly, the room I watch movies in is tiny. It's basically a viewing room. I'd rather have my PC out of the equation. And had the two external drives I own been compatible with the A-110, there would've been no problem...

... sucks to be me.


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## KalaniP

dh2005 said:


> Thank you for your advice.
> 
> Sadly, the room I watch movies in is tiny. It's basically a viewing room. I'd rather have my PC out of the equation. And had the two external drives I own been compatible with the A-110, there would've been no problem...
> 
> ... sucks to be me.


If you're only doing SD at this point (not HD), and you have a wireless network you can use to access the drives while connected to your main PC, it may be worth checking out AppleTV and installing the Boxee mod. If it doesn't work out for you, use the restore function to wipe the Boxee experiment, and return it.  Cheap 40gb refurbs are usually available for $200... if you're streaming everything, the internal HD size is irrelevant. You'll definitely need software other than the built-in Apple stuff to access video_ts folders, though.


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## dh2005

Thank you for your thoughts, but the Apple TV's a deal more expensive over here. Plus, I've read that it's very restrictive and DRM'd up the yin-yang. Can't really be bothered with something like that.

But thanks, anyway.


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## KalaniP

dh2005 said:


> Thank you for your thoughts, but the Apple TV's a deal more expensive over here. Plus, I've read that it's very restrictive and DRM'd up the yin-yang. Can't really be bothered with something like that.
> 
> But thanks, anyway.


The only files with DRM are ones you buy from the iTunes store (entirely optional). I don't own a single DRM'd file... all of the movies and TV shows on my AppleTV came from DVD rips and internet downloads. Beyond that, it's the native Apple front end that's relatively restrictive as to content... the alternate front end I discussed has NOTHING to do with any DRM. Read up on Boxee and XBMC for more info.

Can't help you with the price, though, if it's too much.


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## dh2005

I see.

Thank you again for your thoughts. But, having invested in the PCH A-110, I'll probably try to make do for now.


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## Jaminschipper

lol just buy a few tb external hd's thats what I would do.


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## davidburn

I use both DVDShrink and DVDFab and I think that shrink is a little better for what you want to do. As for Hard drives I would stick with no more that 1 TB as they become alittle unstable the bigger they get, and add on as you fill it. I thing to remember is you should format the drive when you first buy it and they dont like to be man handled, treat it like a baby and will last for a very long time. It will hold about 210 movies at 4.4 gb each, this will take you a while to backup at 25 30 minutes a movie.


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## zephyrwinter

Why don't you just use Nero make image file and store it in external harddisk.
When you want to watch it again just use Image Drive to run virtual DVD and mount the image file to virtual drive.
Or just burn DVD


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## dh2005

Just to update everyone...

... I bought three 1TB WD Elements external USB drives and filled them, and I've used my other "incompatible" drives to back them up. Because, as anyone who's ripped 3TB of DVDs will tell you, it takes a long, long, _long _time. I've no interest in ever doing it again.

I say "incompatible" because my old drives are probably fine - it's the formatting that crocked them, most likely. I discovered (and since alerted the Popcorn Hour community...!) that using Vista to convert a FAT32-formatted drive to NTFS renders the PCH A-110 unable to read it.


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