Other Need Advice to Transfer to Hardrives

[childer]

I enjoy reading postings in this forum, one of the best--often instant responses with generous and knowledgeable support.

I am planning to convert all my DVDs and Blurays to Harddrives and in need of advice and help. My questions might have been asked before.

Goals: to convert DVDs and Blurays to hard drives of a home server preserving the menus and the best video and audio with subtitles in White color for play back through a media player, and, if possible, for burning back to DVDs or Blurays, at a later day.

Which DVDFAB Programs: Please advise which DVDFAB programs can accomplish my goals.

What Steps: What steps that I should follow for DVD or Bluray conversions to achieve the intended goals?

Which Media Player: I need a media player (wired) to retrieve from the converted ones from my home server. Need advice and recommendation of a good media player for such purposes. A netflix plus media player is better. Some suggested Viewsonic VMP-75. Is that a good model?

Anything Else: Have I left out anything?

My hearty thanks in advance.

[IPopov50]

Goals: to convert DVDs and Blurays to hard drives of a home server preserving the menus and the best video and audio with subtitles in White color for play back through a media player, and, if possible, for burning back to DVDs or Blurays, at a later day.

Absolute bit-to-bit copy you will get if copy your BD/DVDs to an ISO using either "Clone" or "Full Disc" options in "DVD to DVD" and "BD to BD" modes. This will work best if size of files (storage capacity) isn't concern. Please remember that average DVD is around 8 GB and BD - 35 GB. For an example, my modest collection of movies, if I would follow this route, would of require about 8 TB of storage.
There are other option involved compression (or not) is MKV container. This is by far best container available.

Which DVDFAB Programs: Please advise which DVDFAB programs can accomplish my goals.

If just copying DVD/BDs to ISO, all you need is "DVD to DVD" and "Blu-ray to Blu-ray". If you decide to compress and convert your content, I would recommend full package (I'm not sure about "File Mover" though - I found it useless) with Lifetime subscription - it's best value, and with 20% discount often available on website, not as scarry.

What Steps: What steps that I should follow for DVD or Bluray conversions to achieve the intended goals?

Please read manuals and tutorials first (you will find them on website - they are great, with pictures). If there are still questions - come back here.

Which Media Player: I need a media player (wired) to retrieve from the converted ones from my home server. Need advice and recommendation of a good media player for such purposes. A netflix plus media player is better. Some suggested Viewsonic VMP-75. Is that a good model?

Geeez, this is a tough one. Depends on your decision on file format, you should look the capabilities (ISO reading capability is a must). By far best expert on this forum in this subject is GregiBoy. Look for him or send him a PM. He usually here in late anfternoons (he's on another side of the world, in Oz. If you look at the globe, you will notice that there in Aussie they are upside down, but they don't know it.... don't tell him please

[childer]

Thanks for the help.

The FullDisc creates a lot of files. The only useable ones are usually 1 or 2 in the Stream folder. Can a Mediaplayer locate the right subfolder and revert it to a BD or DVD with menus and subtitles? I just wonder that a mediaplayer will get lost searching for the right folder and subfolder and sub subfolders to open and PLAY. Are my questions stupid?

[IPopov50]

Are my questions stupid?

No it's not stupid, but naive. Question of a person who has no clue. And I would suggest you to stay that way - less you know, better sleep.
Take my word for it, if you point your player to a folder or ISO file with your movie, player will take from there and figure it out. That's what player is for...

[childer]

IPopov50,

Thank you very much for being so encouraging and helpful. So my next step is to get a hold of GregiBoy for advice on a good media player.

Meanwhile, any recommendation from any other readers for a good media player that won't get lost in finding a sub, sub,or sub-sub folder in a Stream and convert it back to a normal DVD or BD with menus and subtitles, will be greatly appreciated.

My hearty thanks, again,

[IPopov50]

IPopov50,

Thank you very much for being so encouraging and helpful. So my next step is to get a hold of GregiBoy for advice on a good media player.

Meanwhile, any recommendation from any other readers for a good media player that won't get lost in finding a sub, sub,or sub-sub folder in a Stream and convert it back to a normal DVD or BD with menus and subtitles, will be greatly appreciated.

My hearty thanks, again,

BTW, GregiBoy is online. Send him a PM

[childer]

How do I send a PersonalMessage(I suppose) to GregiBoy? Embarrassed to ask as I haven't done it before. Thanks,

[childer]

One more stupid question. Can I delete any of the empty files from the FullDisc without affecting the retrieval by a smart media player? Do I make it easier or more difficult for the media player? I just want to simplify the subfolders to help the media player.

[directeeccks]

One more stupid question. Can I delete any of the empty files from the FullDisc without affecting the retrieval by a smart media player? Do I make it easier or more difficult for the media player? I just want to simplify the subfolders to help the media player.

Childer,

I would not delete any of the folders just to be safe. Blu ray folder builds are tricky in most players. Now it seems your looking for a set top box that pretty much play dvd plus menus and blu ray plus menus along with netflix and so on. Right now finding a media player that does the dvd plus menus is no problem. The blu ray menus better known as bd-j are not supported by any Ive came accross. Now you can do a main movie in ISO for a blu ray no problem. Their is one that is about the come out that claims it can do it but its made for japan and once you do play a bd with the bd j menu it voids your warranty. Ive seen others but there are a bunch of crap revolving around them if it is breaking the law or not. Not to mention the price of around 1500 U.S. dollars and you may have to grab the disc everytime you want to play you movie which defeats the purpose. So you may have to wait for a media player playing your blu rays with bd j menus.

Another thing depending on what your budget is you might just be better off building a pc meant just for media. There are alot more options you would have available to you. I also know for a fact that you can play bj menus with folders or iso from Total Media Theater 3 and Power dvd for iso. Yes it will be more of a head ache setting all of it up but its worth it. You will be able to configure it the way you want. I posted a media center option a few days ago in the general comments that has just about everything. Which can also has about everything you would need and then some. It does not play bd j native but you can set it up to use a different media player when movies selected(like TMT3 or power dvd. As well to automatically load your iso with dvdfab virtual drive.

Sorry for a long winded comment. Just trying to save you some time and money.

Cheers!

[childer]

directeeccks,

I was floored by your knowledgeable and thorough help.

Now on ISO, do I get the ISO automatically by selecting the MainMovie from DVDFAB Bluray to Bluray? If yes, I will, for the time being, forgo the menu for Bluray playback by a mediaplayer.

I will, however, explore the PC that you suggested, if it is doable and achievable, given my very limited knowledge in PC terminology--like a grammar school kid in this field.

Thank you, again,

[directeeccks]

Childers,

The place where you choose to where to save the file is where you have a choice to save as an iso. There should be 2 tabs one to browse where to save a folder structure and the other to save as iso. Since it seems you have blu ray folder files all ready there is no need to re run the actually disc. This is just less wear and tear on your blu ray drive. DvdFab can open the file folders you have allready saved. Just make sure the output is iso. Either one can be reversed.

On the pc thing try it on the pc you are using fab on before buying somthing new. Thats what i did and what im using.

I have to go to work. When I get home I can answer some more.

Cheers!

[GregiBoy]

Honestly, as others have said there are limitations on all media players on playing BR ISo's because of limitations ontheir support of Java.

My format of choice at the moment for storage & playback of media is MKV (matroska) which to create you need Fab as an integral part and a decent media player. You then have many choices regarding storage space vs quality.

For example, most of my movies are stored at <2Gb at full resolution with multiple audio & subtitles, tags & cover art for playback on a 52" Full HD TV with insignificant loss in quality, but I could choose to have them at a larger size with no loss in quality at all.

I actually import a range of players & retail them into Australia after mucho testing and certainly have favourites but my "must haves" are certainly determined after 8 years of experience & are most certainly relatively cost related. For example, I would most probably not consider a player that sells under $200 AU because they do not have the features that I require. I have outlined these features in plenty of other threads, so use the search facility of this forum.

A couple of my favourites are , www.midte.com & www.kaiboerhd.com and you may be able to find a local distributor from an inquiry to them.

US members of this forum report good vibes on an Argosy player purchased from Amazon. Again "Search" is your friend.

[signals]

Let me add the caution that an ISO made from a DVD is not the same as one made from a Blu-ray and a player may play one and not the other (usually will play the DVD ISO and not the Blu-ray). I would agree 100% with Ipopov's advice to choose the media player carefully and with plenty of research, and additionally make sure it does not have Cinavia protection built-in. There is a sticky thread about Cinavia in the Blu-ray forum, here:

//EDIT// I have heard good things about the Kaiboer player that Greg mentioned but I have no idea where to buy it.

[GregiBoy]

I can only reinforce what Signals is saying here. BluRay & DVD are two totally different animals and to anyone considering the Media Player scenario, MKV, in my considered opinion, MUST be the format of choice.