Backing up DVD disks on external drive - format?

[bevbruce]

How would you go about backing up your purchased DVD disk on an external hard drive to store it in a playable format from that hard drive? For example, if you copied a disk to the hard drive, plugged the hard drive into your laptop via a USB cord, and wanted to watch it on the laptop, what is the proper format to copy the disk to? (AVI, MOV, WMP, MP4, etc.)? What about watching it on a TV directly from the hard drive via a USB cord? Is that possible to do or do you need something else to enable it to play directly on your TV? (for example, an older Sony Bravia TV model that has a USB plug).
Also, is there one format to copy a disk to a hard drive that is "universal" and would work for multiple items such as playing on a TV that has a USB plug, playing on your IPOD, IPAD, playing on your laptop, etc?

Finally, to do the above (copying and backing up purchased disk onto hard drive and playing it on another device), what software from DVD FAB is needed?

Thanks.

[DarthCopier]

How would you go about backing up your purchased DVD disk on an external hard drive to store it in a playable format from that hard drive? For example, if you copied a disk to the hard drive, plugged the hard drive into your laptop via a USB cord, and wanted to watch it on the laptop, what is the proper format to copy the disk to? (AVI, MOV, WMP, MP4, etc.)? What about watching it on a TV directly from the hard drive via a USB cord? Is that possible to do or do you need something else to enable it to play directly on your TV? (for example, an older Sony Bravia TV model that has a USB plug).
Also, is there one format to copy a disk to a hard drive that is "universal" and would work for multiple items such as playing on a TV that has a USB plug, playing on your IPOD, IPAD, playing on your laptop, etc?

Finally, to do the above (copying and backing up purchased disk onto hard drive and playing it on another device), what software from DVD FAB is needed?

Thanks.

Your 1st question: how to b/u a purchased DVD to a to a HD in a format that will play on other devices;

Couple of questions here;

How much HD space do you have?
How much do you anticipate needing (assuming there may be more than 1 film for this procedure)?
What kind of video and audio quality are you looking for?
Are you going to b/u the main movie only, or include the extras?

Your 2nd question: What format to use to b/u a DVD for playback on a laptop

What player are you using on the laptop (and what formats will it play back)?
How much HD space do you have?
What kind of video and audio quality do you want?

Your 3rd question: Can I use a USB cable with my old Sony TV?

If the owners manual for the TV indicates the USB port is an inbound one.
See above for other considerations.

Your 4th question: Is there a universal format for multiple devices?

Depends on the device - IPOD and IPAD (I believe) use MP3 format (plus formatting to fit the screen for the device).
Other devices take other formats and tweaks.

If you can supply a little more info, I can give you better answers.

DC

[jump]

The USB port on your old TV is only for service and you can't use for connecting an external drive for watching films.

You need a player between your external drive connected with USB and your TV connected with scart or conponent (RGB). If you have a HDMI port on your TV and on your PC you can connect directly or if you have an Home theatre you can try to connect via USB your external drive (not the PC).

Check Western Digital WD HD TV Live or Popcorn.

You can save any kind of format (.iso, .vob, for full quality of DVD and .mkv (for BD compressed) or m2ts for normal BD.

For other devices (i-pad,..) a file .mkv probably is the better choice.

[bevbruce]

Sorry I wasn't clear enough, but this is all very new to me and I am not very current with media playing DVDs like this. I'm not looking to set up an extensive and expensive home theatre. I just wondered how to play DVDs from an external hard drive to my TV.

At the current time I have a desktop PC and a 3TB external hard drive and an old Sony Bravia KDL32EX500 TV. I wondered if it was possible to backup legally owned DVDs (main movie only, no extras) and home movies to an external hard drive using DVDFab Copy/Ripper(?) and from there be able to plug in the hard drive via a USB cable directly to a TV to watch whatever was on the hard drive. I didn't realize another piece(s) of equipment is needed to do so.

So I need your help and guidance. How do I do this and what equipment do I need to purchase to be able to watch DVDs on my TV from an external hard drive? If you can list the steps, that would be great (for example
1. To Copy/Rip DVDs to 3 TB hard drive. What format should I use? (ISO, avi, mp3, mp4?) Would I need DVD Ripper or DVD Converter to convert DVD movies to proper format? Currently I only own DVDCopy which is copying files to hard drive in ISO format.
2. Once disk is copied to hard drive in the proper format, what do I now plug the hard drive in to?
3. Then what connects to my TV to be able to watch the hard drive contents.

So basically I need to know what DVD software I need, what format to rip/convert the dvds to, and what other equipment I need to connect the external hard drive to my TV.

Thanks!!!! I appreciate your help and guidance.

[jump]

Sorry I wasn't clear enough, but this is all very new to me and I am not very current with media playing DVDs like this. I'm not looking to set up an extensive and expensive home theatre. I just wondered how to play DVDs from an external hard drive to my TV.

At the current time I have a desktop PC and a 3TB external hard drive and an old Sony Bravia KDL32EX500 TV. I wondered if it was possible to backup legally owned DVDs (main movie only, no extras) and home movies to an external hard drive using DVDFab Copy/Ripper(?) and from there be able to plug in the hard drive via a USB cable directly to a TV to watch whatever was on the hard drive. I didn't realize another piece(s) of equipment is needed to do so.

So I need your help and guidance. How do I do this and what equipment do I need to purchase to be able to watch DVDs on my TV from an external hard drive? If you can list the steps, that would be great (for example
1. To Copy/Rip DVDs to 3 TB hard drive. What format should I use? (ISO, avi, mp3, mp4?) Would I need DVD Ripper or DVD Converter to convert DVD movies to proper format? Currently I only own DVDCopy which is copying files to hard drive in ISO format.
2. Once disk is copied to hard drive in the proper format, what do I now plug the hard drive in to?
3. Then what connects to my TV to be able to watch the hard drive contents.

So basically I need to know what DVD software I need, what format to rip/convert the dvds to, and what other equipment I need to connect the external hard drive to my TV.

Thanks!!!! I appreciate your help and guidance.

Use DVDFab copy dvd main film and select as destination your external drive; you can choose iso or vob, it's the same.
Than you need a mediaplayer (WD HD TV cost about 100 USD) between your external drive and your TV.

[bevbruce]

Just one more format question about Video_TS folder...

How about this situation: Use DVD Fab Copy using the "copy main movie only" feature to copy the main movie on a legally owned DVD to an external hard drive as a backup. The folder DVD Fab Copy set up is Video_TS folder and inside of that are multiple files including: several files ending in .BUP, 2 files that are IFO files that are the entire main movie but one is 6 KB in size and one is 66 KB in size; and several files that are "portions" of the movie (like chapters) that are VOB files and are large files.

Does a person need to retain all of these files on the external hard drive as a backup or can just one of the IFO files be retained and delete all the other .BUP and .VOB files in the folder. Each of the VOB files is quite large (but less than 1GB) so why are they needed to take up space if they aren't needed for watching on a media player/TV?

Just confused on why the duplication of files, etc. and needed more clarification as to their need.

[GregiBoy]

Simplistically, the IFO files contain DVD playing instructions, the BUP files are backup copies of them as required by the DVD Specs, the VOB's are the actual content. (Video, audio, etc)

Yes, you need all of them unless you use a "Ripper" module and convert to another format such as MKV which most media players support.

[Garry E]

I did a search on your TV model which lead me here http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-t...-33949932.html

It would appear from the information that your TV will play direct from a USB drive. You may have to look at what formats it supports however. From my experience MKV is the most widely supported format and you have no problems with DTS audio.
Your TV also has HDMI ports so if you connect your computer directly you should be able to play any format supported by your computer. If you use either VLC media player or the NEW DVD Fab media player (both are free)
you should have no problems playing back just about anything.

My personal preference is to use a media player such as the WD but if you want to save a few bucks you should be able to get going with the equipment you already have. Good luck.

[maineman]

Great feedback and advice so far.
A few thoughts...

I can't stress enough how much happier you'll be with a media player.
Although you can likely achieve some playback success with an ext hdd connected directly to your tv, I suspect you will be severely limited.

Another option for you is the AIOS media player for $89.99 US...from Amazon and includes free shipping.
Newegg has it for $99 with a $30 rebate, but you'll have to deal with the rebate and maybe the older remote...not sure of that.

http://www.amazon.com/Media-Center-Gigabit-Network-Reader/dp/B005M1QP7O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351193795&sr=8-1&keywords=aios

I've had mine for over a year now and the only complaint I had was the remote's layout which has been remedied and upgraded.
It'll play any format, eg., dvd folders, .ISO, mkv, avi, mp4 etc., and for both standad dvd and BD.
It'll also handle all the audio codecs including Dolby TrueHD 7.1
(Take a look at the product description or download the manual from the manufacturer, PIVOS)

I've recommended this player to a few members and gotten really positive feedback.
In no way is this meant to disparage WD. I just don't have experience with the WD so the AIOS is another option.
I'm a huge fan of media players, but none is perfect, even Dune which is $300 and up.

I also don't think you'll be happy with just one format although as long as you're confined to std dvd and not BD, it's simpler.
You can use the iPad h264 profile and get great results for your iPad and it'll play just fine on the AIOS and your tv, but your mileage may vary...

A last thought.
I know you're looking at saving your pennies, but eventually you'll run out of room...and faster than you think.
I've got 8 TB in a Mediasonic 4-bay enclosure (JBOD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817576009

and another 2 TB hdd in my AIOS and I'm cramped for room.
I'm currently looking at the mediasonic 8-bay box.

Just food for thought

[jump]

I did a search on your TV model which lead me here http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-t...-33949932.html

It would appear from the information that your TV will play direct from a USB drive. You may have to look at what formats it supports however. From my experience MKV is the most widely supported format and you have no problems with DTS audio.
Your TV also has HDMI ports so if you connect your computer directly you should be able to play any format supported by your computer. If you use either VLC media player or the NEW DVD Fab media player (both are free)
you should have no problems playing back just about anything.

My personal preference is to use a media player such as the WD but if you want to save a few bucks you should be able to get going with the equipment you already have. Good luck.

Sony Bravia is an in-house brand owned by Sony sold in North America since 2005. The software can be upgraded via a USB type A interface labeled "DMEx / service only".
2006–2007 models may be updated using Memory Stick or USB.

Some new TV have two USB ports and can record and read MKV files on external drives. I tried this option but I can't have a full screen image and also the video stops frequently.
If there is an HDMI (dipends on the model) you can connect directly your PC but you need a good graphic card or you can't properly watch the film.
There are problems also with a mediaplayer (you must select manually the subtitles or you can't hear digital audio via HDMI) but it's a good compromise. I use both the mediaplayer with one TV and a PC with an other TV; the mediaplayer is better.

[GregiBoy]

Maineman, I'm gonna take you to task over this!! '

The problem with all the Apple profiles is that they use AAC as the default audio codec which will usually not work when connected via optical cable to an A/V Amp (especially older ones). You should always encode these files with an AC3 (Dolby Digital) as a second track. DTS will bugger up playback by iPig devices.

GB

You can use the iPad h264 profile and get great results for your iPad and it'll play just fine on the AIOS and your tv, but your mileage may vary...

[90312]

I use mkv.h264.audiocopy as my format of choice on my iPad. It requires a $3.99 USD video player app to play ac3 on the iPad, but it will play any type of file I've thrown at it except mkv remux and vob passthrough, it plays those about 25 times too fast. Otherwise avi, DivX, XviD and mkv all play great. The app is "It's Playing" for anyone interested. A good way to get a one size fits all file.

[maineman]

Maineman, I'm gonna take you to task over this!!

The problem with all the Apple profiles is that they use AAC as the default audio codec which will usually not work when connected via optical cable to an A/V Amp (especially older ones). You should always encode these files with an AC3 (Dolby Digital) as a second track. DTS will bugger up playback by iPig devices.

GB

Take me to task all you like...my mentor...
I'm not worthy...I'm not worthy...

Sorry for any confusion.
I don't recommend trying to connect from an ext hdd directly to the Bravia regardless...(question as to whether or not this is even possible) and I'm certainly not recommending using Apple profiles for viewing on a tv.

I only meant to say that you "can" do this via ext hdd to an AIOS to your tv (my system) and yes, it'll be AAC.

And stop sugarcoating...everyone knows you love iPig devices...

[GregiBoy]

Very good, Grasshopper!!!

[GregiBoy]

I use mkv.h264.audiocopy as my format of choice on my iPad. It requires a $3.99 USD video player app to play ac3 on the iPad, but it will play any type of file I've thrown at it except mkv remux and vob passthrough, it plays those about 25 times too fast. Otherwise avi, DivX, XviD and mkv all play great. The app is "It's Playing" for anyone interested. A good way to get a one size fits all file.

A pity that they pulled VLC which was free.