[PhilNYC]

For Xmas, my wife bought me a multi-DVD set of Ultraman, an old Japanese sci-fi TV show from the 1970s which I loved watching on a local UHF channel when I was a kid.  Having young children of my own who scratched and destroyed many-a-DVD, my first thought was whether there was a way for me to rip these DVDs to a hard drive somewhere so I could make backups...and then started thinking about how to incorporate a computer or video server into my AV system.

Anyone able to comment on what is the latest/greatest for this kind of thing?  I'm ideally looking for a solution where I can connect a networked video source to my AV rig, using component video connections to my video switcher and digital audio to my DAC/processor...

[jqp]

The simple solution is to get a DVD-jukebox to keep them from getting scratched, yet store them all in one place, and accessible to the kids.

Issues for setting up a video server, as for audio, are storage space requirements and getting the content converted to a format on the harddrive that meets your needs. There is also the issues of appropriate cabling for the level of HD you want in your system, going from computer video card, through switchers, to the monitor solution you will use.

To me this is a no mans land right now, suitable for DIY technical hobbyists such as ourselves. The gaming console companies want to push us to their solutions (for example Windows media Center PC serving the XBox 360, or a Sony solution, or some Linux solution).

[SET Man]

For Xmas, my wife bought me a multi-DVD set of Ultraman, an old Japanese sci-fi TV show from the 1970s which I loved watching on a local UHF channel when I was a kid. 

Hey!



   Cool!  I used to watch these when I was very young back in Thailand. I don't remember much about it. My younger brother was really into it more than me. I still remembered that my younger brother like to do the Ultraman's pose

   But Ultraman is still popular today and still being make today. And yes it is still popular among young kids in Thailand.

   Phil, it must be fun watching Ultraman DVDs and your big plasma.

   My favorite Japanese cartoon when I was young is the "Doraemon" Phil, I'm pretty sure that you know about this one too And it still quiet popular in Thailand but definitely less now than before. Still.... I even have a boxer with "Doraemon" pictures on them I picked up when I was in Thailand in September

Take care,
Buddy

[Rob Babcock]

There was once a DVD server available, but I think DRM issues may have forced it off the market.  Unfortunately merely cracking the CSS on a DVD is a crime in and of itself, even if it's for legal personal use.

[PhilNYC]

Buddy...here's what my wife got me (both available on Amazon.com):



Haven't put them on yet, but I'm assuming they aren't widescreen...

Rob...any idea of who made that DVD server?

jqp...thanks for the info...will do more research regaring building a video PC...

[jqp]

and by video jukebox I mean a DVD player that holds e.g. 300 DVDs. Unfortunately may not be quality enough for your system but possibly practical for now.


http://www.nextag.com/Pioneer-DVF727-301-Disc-2325826/prices-html?nxtg=2ddf0a1c0508-E8738BB13B86AC39

[Rob Babcock]

The DVD server was called the "Kaleidescope", although I may be misspelling it.  I don't recall the mfg'r, but I recall George Lucas owns one and is a big fan.  Sad thing is, the company that made it paid liscencing fees for the studios only to be later sued by them!  The asserted that they paid for a liscence to essentially crack the copy protection while the studios kept asserting it was illegal.  I'm not sure how the case was resolved but I haven't really heard anything more about them since, so I assume they no longer make the peice.

You could probably make your own relatively easily.  The best software I know of is DVDDecrypter but it's not being updated/supported by the maker anymore.  Can you guess why?   Yeah, his home country finally fell to the lawyers of the MPAA & RIAA.  The software is still widely available, though.  And even tho there've been no new updates for over a year, it still cracks most every disc out there (some newer twists might elude it).  At any rate, if you use DVD Decrypter to crack 'em and DVD Shrink to compress them, and you strip out all the menues & extras, you can get a lot of DVDs onto a 400 GB drive.  You could then play them back via Windows Media Player, Nero, Roxio, etc etc.

[Rob Babcock]

BTW, the Kaleidescope was very expensive, I do recall that.

[SET Man]

Buddy...here's what my wife got me (both available on Amazon.com):



Haven't put them on yet, but I'm assuming they aren't widescreen...

Rob...any idea of who made that DVD server?

jqp...thanks for the info...will do more research regaring building a video PC...

Hey!

    Nice! Phil, I think I will get my brother this for his birthday in April I see there are many on Amazon. I will have to look for one from the late 70's to around mid 80's for my brother.

     BTW.... your wife is cool. Well, I'm single but if I had a girlfriend and she got me something that I like back in my childhood I would be thrilled for sure.

Take care,
Buddy

[zybar]

BTW, the Kaleidescope was very expensive, I do recall that.

Over $25k for a starter system as of a year ago. I am not sure of current pricing.

FWIW, it was very slick and well designed.

George

[JohninCR]

I've been doing it for a few years now.  My actual DVD's are just emergency backups
in a box in the closet.  I run my PC monitor out to an A/B switch with a to my monitor
and B to my Zinwell video enhancer, which is my central hub for all video sources to send
to my projector.  Processor power and HD storage is cheap now, but I still compress video
where optimum definition isn't a priority and favorite I keep uncompressed (avg about 5 gigs ea). 
I keep a backup copy on a separate hard drive, just like I do with my music to greatly reduce
the potential of needing to rip everything again.  I have the advantage that one of my
employees is up on the latest tech stuff, so he keeps my PC up to date with all the ripping,
compression, and players, so I don't have to do much more than pop a DVD in.  It's the way
of the future as are computers as music servers, so this is a good reason for you to get
started.  At a minimum, learn how to backup your valued stuff to PC now, even if you don't
start using it as a source.

[ipy]

For Xmas, my wife bought me a multi-DVD set of Ultraman, an old Japanese sci-fi TV show from the 1970s which I loved watching on a local UHF channel when I was a kid. 

Hey!



   Cool!  I used to watch these when I was very young back in Thailand. I don't remember much about it. My younger brother was really into it more than me. I still remembered that my younger brother like to do the Ultraman's pose

   But Ultraman is still popular today and still being make today. And yes it is still popular among young kids in Thailand.

   Phil, it must be fun watching Ultraman DVDs and your big plasma.

   My favorite Japanese cartoon when I was young is the "Doraemon" Phil, I'm pretty sure that you know about this one too And it still quiet popular in Thailand but definitely less now than before. Still.... I even have a boxer with "Doraemon" pictures on them I picked up when I was in Thailand in September

Take care,
Buddy

Hey Phil & Buddy !!
Double cool  , I 'm glad I 'm not the loner here re: Ultraman.  Like you guys, it was one of THE series to watch when I was a kid in Malaysia & half the fun for many kids then was to imitate Ultraman  .  Other watched Japanese superheros then you might remember is Astro Boy

& you do know that Japan has an Astro Boy holiday in honour of him??     

[lonewolfny42]

Ultraman.......by the same creator of Godzilla.....Eiji Tsuburaya....

[jermmd]

The easiest way to back up DVD's onto a hard drive or onto blank DVD's is with Slysoft's AnyDVD and DVDShrink. AnyDVD removes all encryption and DVDShrink burns the DVD. With DVDShrink, you can compress the DVD to fit on a standard 4Gb disk and you can very easily edit out all the menus, extras, and superfluous stuff from the original.

I have my entire DVD collection backed up onto a server in the basement. My house is fully networked and I watch movies almost entirely via computer interface. I use Zoomplayer to play movies and the picture on my projector is outstanding.

[ctviggen]

Joe,

How many tvs can access the data on the server?  In other words, in your home theater room, you use a home theater computer to play the DVDs.  What about in other rooms of the house?  Do you have other computers to play the DVDs there, too? 

Copying the DVDs is a great idea, especially for kids' movies.  Who needs all that crap they put on the DVDs anyway? 

[jermmd]

Joe,

How many tvs can access the data on the server?  In other words, in your home theater room, you use a home theater computer to play the DVDs.  What about in other rooms of the house?  Do you have other computers to play the DVDs there, too? 

Copying the DVDs is a great idea, especially for kids' movies.  Who needs all that crap they put on the DVDs anyway? 

I have a laptop that can be connected to any TV. I really only watch movies on the projector though. We have 2 other computers in the house that have LCD screens and sound and can be used for TV/Movies. There's really only one regular TV in my house and we use Replay TV for that.

[ctviggen]

I definitely think you're on the way to what I think will be the house of the future.  I think many people will have computers that will also be TVs.  Most video cards now have at least S-video if not HDMI output ports. For instance, my new computer has HDMI and s-video, which means that it's a perfect candidate for a home theater computer.  Plus, after seeing what the squeezebox does for audio (no CDs; searchable database; instant access to any CD), I could see where you'd want that for video.