Passkey Newbie Sorta Lost but Peddling hard

[JukeBox3D]

I just ordered and installed the "all in one bonus" pack. I've read the user guide and a lot of the general postings on the forum. I'm very impressed by the capabilities, but I admit that I am sort of lost in the jargon and the details.

My need is pretty simple and straightforward (I think) ... I'm hoping that some gracious pro out there will help me cut thru the many options and give me a simple step-by-step. I'll try to provide enough detail here so you don't waste your time ;~)

My setup: I have two computers engaged in this - desktop with a new LG BluRay3D drive, and a Server that has a large RAID array and an HDMI connection to a 70" Sharp Aquos 3D TV. I have PowerDVD 12 Plus on the Server. The server's location (way up high in a closet) does not permit the BluRay3D drive to be mounted in it ... I set up that drive on the desktop as a shared drive on the network. It's a 1gb wired network.

My simple (and ONLY) need: to rip 3D BluRay disks (commercial grade and popular titles) onto the Server, without ANY compression (lossless), and play them back via PowerDVD 12 Plus on the TV (which uses active interlace 3D, not sidebyside red/green). Thus the Server is a "3D JukeBox" which I hope to have produce exactly the same quality in audio and video that I would have experienced by playing the original BD3D in a Sharp BD3D player. I'm using an infrared remote via WMC to control PowerDVD (not that it matters).

FIRST PROBLEM: after I purchased and installed the All-in-One DVDfab package onto my Server, I found out that it cannot "see" the shared optical drive that is (and must be) installed on my networked-desktop. So ... I have emailed Support with a request to move the license from the Server to the Desktop. My current thinking is to rip&unlock the BD3D onto the Desktop hard drive, then copy the ripped files over the network to the Server. A pain, but the program can't "see" the shared optical drive across the network. Hopefully, once I move the license, my guess is that problem is solved. Please tell me if I've missed something here.

SECOND PROBLEM (the main reason for this post): I've got sort of a sinking feeling that I spent a whole lot more money than I needed to, buying the all in one lifetime deal. It appears to me now that 95% of what that package does is completely outside my needs. I don't need to burn disks, nor do I need to convert to compressed formats for iPhone, etc. I just want to make a "clone" (unlocked) lossless copy to my monster RAID array and play it back to the TV via jukebox control. So - DID I BUY TOO MUCH? I'm beginning to think that all I needed to get is the "Passkey" product, then just copy everything off the disk to the HD, apply the Passkey, port it to the Server and that's it. Is it that simple?

Please forgive the length of this posting and the simplicity of the question. If I've not guessed the procedure correctly, please tell me what steps (and what PRODUCTS) I actually need to do, including all settings re formats and the like for the lossless 3D implementation. Thank you very much for your time!

[signals]

Re: FIRST PROBLEM:
You do not need to make any changes to your license, just install it on the second machine (which will now require internet access). Source optical drives cannot be networked due to the method and level of access the both DVDFab and Passkey require.

SECOND:
You may have overbought if you wanted a minimalist capability, but DVDFab's Copy options give much more user control. Passkey would probably have worked after a fashion. For instance, you may find that you really don't watch many of the "extras" that come on some discs and that the main title is all you need to store, which DVDFab Copy mode can do but Passkey can't. Both are completely lossless with the proper (BD50 output size) settings. In either case, the files you store from DVDFab or Passkey are completely decrypted and you do not need to run anything beyond your PDVD 12 to play them back. The Copy mode also seems to run faster at least on my machine than the same content handled by Passkey, but this may vary.

[JukeBox3D]

Passkey Clarification and Codec question

Thank you for your quick reply. I have a few simple followup questions - please pardon my ignorance - I've tried to google these things but just get buried in technical info without a clear answer ...

1. I understand BD50 is dual layer, 25gb per layer. Is that sufficient for all the newest commercial BR3D titles with long run times such as The Hobbit and Avatar? I thot maybe I read somewhere that 3-layer (BD75??) is also a contender?

2. I understand generally what codecs are all about ... familiar with AVI, MP4, WMV, and the like ... and also with "raw" video codecs like DV1 & DV2. It's my understanding that all but a few specialized codecs (like TSCC) do *some* compression beyond just keyframe+differencing kinds of stuff. So, to assure that the video is a lossless mirror of the original, do I "select" a codec like MKV or MP4 etc when doing a simple upload to my RAID jukebox? There are a lot of options listed. For the purposes I described (cloning), which choice should I select?

3. If I just use Passkey and return (possibly) the full package purchased 24 hrs ago ... you told me that I loose the capability to "strip out" extraneous material from the disk ... I take it that Passkey is WYSIWYG. Could you please mention any other things that Passkey canNOT do, which my simple goals would likely call for? I'm not asking you to read my mind ... please presume that what I wrote in the first post is ALL that I want to be able to do.

Thanks much for helping me through the forest :~)

[signals]

I am not aware of any commercial release on anything beyond 50GB DLs, but I don't have any recent titles in 3D so others may have to help you with that. I have also heard rumors of quad layer Blu-rays. You can use the Ripper module to place the original disc's files in another type of file container, such as MKV, but if you change the codec (which you can't do in the Copy module) it will not really be lossless and would never be superior to the original disc files in any event. Passkey is an on-the-fly decrypter and does not really manipulate the content at all. DVDFab's Copy module lets you choose to include only certain audio and video streams, select which video streams to include (e.g. the main title plus one of the extras), which languages for audio and subtitles, which episodes for TV program discs, remove, convert to 5.1 or retain the bulky HD audio streams and so on. All these powerful features are far beyond the purpose of Passkey and will let you make choices to personalize the disc and dramatically reduce its output size and complexity while retaining the image quality of the original (no video compression unless you want it).

You would need to contact the Support team via the link on the DVDFab website to see about converting your license from DVDFab to Passkey, I'm not sure if that could be done.

[JukeBox3D]

OK this is great - I'm following everything you are saying (I think ;~)

You're probably right about not being able to change the package ... no big deal. BUT, I would like to know what COMPONENT of the all in one I should be learning and utilizing, to accomplish my simple goal. Rephrasing my original question in a more focused way ...

If I want to do a lossless (unlocked) copy of the BD3D files from the original disk to my Raid array, such that PowerDVD 12 can play them back, AND if I want the option to strip out extraneous stuff and *maybe* elim some audio (I've got a killer 7.1+ system) ... if that's the total task ...
Do I need to use anything other than the "Blu-Ray Copy" tool?

If that's the case, your help has saved me a HUGE amount of fiddling-and-testing-and-learning-as-I-go time. Thanks again!

[signals]

You are welcome. I think I would concentrate in the Copy module first, then see if you are interested in anything Ripper can do, particularly for mobile/handheld devices. There are manuals/tutorials on the DVDFab website or you can ask other uers for help here.

[JukeBox3D]

One last time ... thank you. I now have a plan of action. Re the tutorials ... most if not all seem to be focused on the ripping plus compression side of things to get into limited devices ... I could not find a cookie-cutter video for a simple path like I am trying to take. Maybe someone could create one (hint :~). I'm sure that later on I will get adventurous and use the other stuff too. I've got a grandfathered unlimited data plan on my iPhone 5, after all, which I've never really pushed the limits on.

It's great to find a Forum where folks provide timely, helpful responses!

[GregiBoy]

You may need to adjust to Fab's terminology.

Copy Module = Copying the protected media to unprotected media (Disc or Hard Disk as ISO or folders). Most normal people refer to this as "Ripping", Fab doesn't. I still do and many others.

This is where my good friend Signals suggests that you focus your efforts and I'd try both ISO and Folders uncompressed to your hard disk and see which suits your needs best

Ripper Module = Taking either a disk or Hard Disk source and producing an unprotected file(s) playable on other devices, ie 'Transcoding"!!

[JukeBox3D]

Thanks, mate.

Yup the terminology can get confusing even when everyone AGREES what things mean. But when the same word means different things to different people in the same context, explanations like yours are a breath of fresh air.

Like "biscuits" and "cookies"
Or "sheilas" and "roos" (not that those are the same, eh? :~)

[GregiBoy]

Also like "being pissed"!!!

And if you'd used "sheilas" & "roots" I mighta agreed!

[JukeBox3D]

kiwi's and sheep ??

I have been to Oz a couple dozen times on business and walkabout and scuba. Great country! Real people! I'll never forget Uluru (or Ayers Rock as they called it back then). Or diving off Perth or Hamilton Island ... heh heh. And all the wierd and wonderful wines!

thanks again for the help. gotta stop myself.