Here is what I want to do, and after reading about 20 threads I am even more confused than when I started. I want to build a PC based server that’s only duty will to be to store and playback, on my plasma, my purchased blu-rays near to or equal to what a real player can do. Such as 1080p output via video card and DTS-HD and Dolby True HD, though I have read the latter is not capable yet in a sound card. Of course I need plenty of hdd space, high end processor, video card that can do 1080p without a problem, and possibly a HD sound card.

First off, are there any sound cards that can do this? What software combo do you suggest to rip then play the blu-rays, AnyDVD HD? What software do I need to play the rips back? And the most important question :rolleyes: how would you do this if you were me?

Thanks for your help. Top Gear is on. Will check back and answer questions later.

I use Anydvd HD to do the ripping to my WHS and My Movies & TMT to play the videos. I found this to be the simplest solution.

Here is what I want to do, and after reading about 20 threads I am even more confused than when I started. I want to build a PC based server that’s only duty will to be to store and playback, on my plasma, my purchased blu-rays near to or equal to what a real player can do. Such as 1080p output via video card and DTS-HD and Dolby True HD, though I have read the latter is not capable yet in a sound card. Of course I need plenty of hdd space, high end processor, video card that can do 1080p without a problem, and possibly a HD sound card.

First off, are there any sound cards that can do this? What software combo do you suggest to rip then play the blu-rays, AnyDVD HD? What software do I need to play the rips back? And the most important question :rolleyes: how would you do this if you were me?

Thanks for your help. Top Gear is on. Will check back and answer questions later.

Whether or not you need a high end CPU depends on whether or not you plan on doing any sort of encoding. If you are just looking to rip the Blu Rays for playback you will be fine with a dual core. if you are looking to encode the Blu Rays (such as down to say a 8GB mkv using Ripbot264) you are going to want a higher CPU such as a corei7.

As for software, AnyDVD HD will be a must. I would then use a program such as Clown_BD (http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2009/08/19/clown_bd-version-0-65-released/) to trim out the fat and leave with just the main movie/HD audio. After that there are several different software suites you can use for playback. I would go with Windows 7 and try using WMC for playback (using MediaBrowser (http://www.mediabrowser.tv)). Other alternatives for playback would be MediaPortal, XBMC, SageTV, etc...

For hardware, as I mentioned it really depends on what your specific needs are. If you are not planning on doing any encoding, I would go with one of the Gigabyte 785G motherboard with an AMD 240/245/250 CPU, and an ATI 4670 GPU. The case will come down to what your storage needs will be. A typical Blu Ray rip will take up approx 20-30GB of space per movie, so depending on your Blu Ray collection you will require a lot of HDD space.

Just as an FYI, my current setup:

Dedicated server running WHS (http://dbone1026.blogspot.com/2009/08/my-new-pc-build-diy-whs.html)

Two HTPCs for playback of my content from my server, connected to my network via Cat6 (http://dbone1026.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-htpc-build.html)

OK, thanks. But what about the DTS-HD and Dolby True HD sound card? Like I said, basically all I want is a computer that will rip, store, and playback blu-rays and play them back on a hi def plasma(HDMI), preferably with 1080p and DTS-HD/ Dolby True HD. No encoding. Just like a normal player.


And what is a WHS & TMT?

OK, thanks. But what about the DTS-HD and Dolby True HD sound card? Like I said, basically all I want is a computer that will rip, store, and playback blu-rays and play them back on a hi def plasma(HDMI), preferably with 1080p and DTS-HD/ Dolby True HD. No encoding. Just like a normal player.


And what is a WHS & TMT?

Do you plan on running the PC through a receiver or connected directly to your tv? You would need a card like the Xonar if you want to bitstream DTS-HD/Dolby True HD.

Since you will be doing no encoding stick with a dual core.

WHS is Windows Home Server

TMT is ArcSift Total Media Threatre software, one of the few programs that works with the Xonar type cards

Do you plan on running the PC through a receiver or connected directly to your tv? You would need a card like the Xonar if you want to bitstream DTS-HD/Dolby True HD.

Since you will be doing no encoding stick with a dual core.

WHS is Windows Home Server

TMT is ArcSift Total Media Threatre software, one of the few programs that works with the Xonar type cards

Sorry, I plan on running all this through a receiver that will do 1080p and DTS-HD and Dolby True HD.

This is an example of the Xonar card you would need to bitstream:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132012

This is an example of the discrete GPU (4670)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102820

Like he said, you don't need a high end processor just for 1080p playback, that is easy. Playing SD DVDs is tougher because it entails lots of post processing for the upconversion, so if you plan to do that keep that in mind.

And if you are doing no encoding, do you plan to do straight 1:1 rips? if so, you will likely need lots of hard drive space, they are kinda big. What you want is a low-mid end HTPC as laid out in this thread.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=940972

If you plan to put this in a HTPC case, you won't have room for more than one or two hard drives, so you will probably want to throw together a Media Server. This is just a simple computer, doesn't need anything more than a basic motherboard, 1GB ram, 2 Ghz single core cpu. Buy a big case, stuff it full of hard drives, stick it somewhere out of sight, and run a network cable to your HTPC. You can use this to store your movies, music, photos, files, etc. You can use something like Unraid as an operating system, it runs from a USB thumb drive so you don't need to worry about installing Vista or anything. With Unraid you can use your HTPC's web browser to access the computer and make necessary changes, so you dont need any peripherals connected to the media server. There are other options, like WHS (Windows Home Server) as the other dude mentioned.

I believe I have given you somewhere to start, with this information you should be able to find the rest of what you need by searching the forums. I don't know much about the audio side of this stuff, I'm happy with my 4850 outputting over HDMI to my receiver.

This is an example of the Xonar card you would need to bitstream:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132012

This is an example of the discrete GPU (4670)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102820

How would I hook up the video card and sound to the receiver? They both have HDMI. Would I use the coax on the sound and does coax even support HD audio? How does that work?

I think i get it. You link the video card to the sound then output both to the receiver. correct?

How would I hook up the video card and sound to the receiver? They both have HDMI. Would I use the coax on the sound and does coax even support HD audio? How does that work?

I think that specific Xonar card has HDMI in and HDMI out, so I would think you would have the HDMI connected from the 4670 to the HDMI in of the Xonar, and then the HDMI out of the Xonar going into the receiver. No need for Coax

Am I doing this right? I plan on adding more hdd as needed.

NZXT Zero 2 Craft Series Full Tower Case - Steel Chassis, Quad 120mm Fans, Dual 120mm Exhaust, Top Mounted USB, Audio, eSATA

Asus Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim 7.1 LP PCI Sound Card

Gigabyte MA785GM-US2H Motherboard w/ AMD Athlon II 245 CPU Bundle

Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 2048MB)

Gigabyte Radeon HD 4670 Video Card - 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFireX Ready, DVI, HDMI, VGA

Lite-On IHES208-08 Blu-Ray Disc Reader - BD-ROM 8X, DVD-ROM 16X, CD-ROM 48X (OEM)

Netgear WG311 PCI Wireless Network Adapter - 54Mbps, 802.11g, Recertified

OCZ GameXStream 700-Watt Power Supply - Refurbished, SLI-Ready, Active PFC

Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB Hard Drive ST31500341AS - 7200RPM, 32MB Cache, SATA-3G

This is all very easy to do but it is also not legal to rip the BDs. Including the ones you own.

This is all very easy to do but it is also not legal to rip the BDs. Including the ones you own.

Thank you. But my question was, do I have the correct hardware to do this? Is the PSU big enough?

Thank you. But my question was, do I have the correct hardware to do this? Is the PSU big enough?

You should be fine. My HTPC is actually a very similar build and I only use a 430w PSU (mine is a microATX build though without separate sound card, but with 4670 GPU)

This is all very easy to do but it is also not legal to rip the BDs. Including the ones you own.

So just don`t do it when wanting to stay legal.
However, there might be the opinion "I own it, it is my property, I do with it whatever I want, no question what industry wants me to do"
It is everyone`s own decision.

You never do things not being allowed for reasons not being yours but for industrie`s interests? - Would make me wonder,...really.
Sorry for OT.

It doesn't take much of a computer to do it. It would be pretty hard to put one together with today's processors that wouldn't work.

CJ

So just don`t do it when wanting to stay legal.
However, there might be the opinion "I own it, it is my property, I do with it whatever I want, no question what industry wants me to do"
It is everyone`s own decision.

You never do things not being allowed for reasons not being yours but for industrie`s interests? - Would make me wonder,...really.
Sorry for OT.

Sure, I ripped a couple of titles just to see if i could do it, but I also deleted them shortly afterwards. I have no need to copy the discs. Although I do have over 20TB of storage available on my network if I really wanted to do it.

So just don`t do it when wanting to stay legal.
However, there might be the opinion "I own it, it is my property, I do with it whatever I want, no question what industry wants me to do"
It is everyone`s own decision.

You never do things not being allowed for reasons not being yours but for industrie`s interests? - Would make me wonder,...really.
Sorry for OT.

How do people get caught doing this?

How do people get caught doing this?

So far, they don't. Also, some of this is still in a gray area. It appears to be illegal to circumvent the copy protection or to write the software; however, it also seems to be legal to have a backup copy in case something happens to the original copy.

CJ

To the original poster. There is an entire section on this site dedicated to this.
Home Theatre Computers (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=30&f=26)

There is a ton of knowledgeable posters over there. You will find out much more over there imo.

Sorry to dig up an old thread but, I have the new Oppo blu-ray player. If I just rip the blu-rays to an external hdd and hook it up to the Oppo will the Oppo play them?

Thanks

Sorry to dig up an old thread but, I have the new Oppo blu-ray player. If I just rip the blu-rays to an external hdd and hook it up to the Oppo will the Oppo play them?

Thanks

Nope. This is because of the FAT32 limitation of the BDP-83 (i.e. BD files are bigger then the 4GB limit of FAT32). I love my Oppo BDP-83 because of the speed and quality of it, but I kind of want what you want to do, so I'm moving it from my living room to my bedroom.

What I'm buying instead to do all the things that you want is the Dune Prime 3.0. It is Network Media Tank (NMT) combined with a Blu-Ray player. Unlike the Popcorn C-200, which you can add a BD drive, the Prime is a true licensed BD player. It will playback all the backups of BDs from your hard drive (formatted NTFS, which obviously can hold greater then 4GB files), whether it is stored in folder format or ISO. It has analog outs too just like the Oppo (or it can output HDMI). I have mine on order, but people that have had version 1.0, say it works great.

http://www.duneplayer.com/shop/
http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/prime3.asp

You can also look at this solution for an NMT. The Egreat EG-R1. I had the EG-M34A before, but the EG-R1 just came out a couple of months ago. The EG-M34A was a bit slow to boot and did not have the features of BDs (folder read/ISO or the TRUEHD/DTS-HDMA decoding), so I'm getting one of those (EG-R1) also and selling my EG-M34A. This may be a cheaper solution.

http://www.egreatworld.com/en/ProductShow.asp?ID=173

Hope that helps

Nope. This is because of the FAT32 limitation of the BDP-83 (i.e. BD files are bigger then the 4GB limit of FAT32). I love my Oppo BDP-83 because of the speed and quality of it, but I kind of want what you want to do, so I'm moving it from my living room to my bedroom.

What I'm buying instead to do all the things that you want is the Dune Prime 3.0. It is Network Media Tank (NMT) combined with a Blu-Ray player. Unlike the Popcorn C-200, which you can add a BD drive, the Prime is a true licensed BD player. It will playback all the backups of BDs from your hard drive (formatted NTFS, which obviously can hold greater then 4GB files), whether it is stored in folder format or ISO. It has analog outs too just like the Oppo (or it can output HDMI). I have mine on order, but people that have had version 1.0, say it works great.

http://www.duneplayer.com/shop/
http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/prime3.asp

You can also look at this solution for an NMT. The Egreat EG-R1. I had the EG-M34A before, but the EG-R1 just came out a couple of months ago. The EG-M34A was a bit slow to boot and did not have the features of BDs (folder read/ISO or the TRUEHD/DTS-HDMA decoding), so I'm getting one of those (EG-R1) also and selling my EG-M34A. This may be a cheaper solution.

http://www.egreatworld.com/en/ProductShow.asp?ID=173

Hope that helps

with the base model how would i get content on the removable hdd without using the network? could i just remove the drive, install it in a computer, copy the files then reinstall the drive in the dune for use? i am looking at getting the base model with a 2tb hdd, but i do not have the network infrastructure to copy ripped blu-rays to it.

my plan is to rip all my blu-rays and media files to this device for use in my HT.

Thanks

with the base model how would i get content on the removable hdd without using the network? could i just remove the drive, install it in a computer, copy the files then reinstall the drive in the dune for use? i am looking at getting the base model with a 2tb hdd, but i do not have the network infrastructure to copy ripped blu-rays to it.

my plan is to rip all my blu-rays and media files to this device for use in my HT.

Thanks

Well, you don't have to copy to get files over to the internal hard drive or use the network. Just hook up your external Hard Drive to it via USB2.0 or eSata and play from there. If you don't have an external enclosure, they are only about $30.

I don't have the unit yet (Prime not Base), but I think there is a copy command if you do hook up drive and want to copy to the internal.

Are you going to use the Analog output for sound or HDMI? If you are not using the analog, then the Egreat (don't have this yet either) might be your best bet as it is only $100-$150 and I think it can pass through the TrueHD and DTS-HDMA through HDMI to your capable receiver for decoding (otherwise the optical will downmix it to either DD or DTS).

Well, you don't have to copy to get files over to the internal hard drive or use the network. Just hook up your external Hard Drive to it via USB2.0 or eSata and play from there. If you don't have an external enclosure, they are only about $30.

I don't have the unit yet (Prime not Base), but I think there is a copy command if you do hook up drive and want to copy to the internal.

Are you going to use the Analog output for sound or HDMI? If you are not using the analog, then the Egreat (don't have this yet either) might be your best bet as it is only $100-$150 and I think it can pass through the TrueHD and DTS-HDMA through HDMI to your capable receiver for decoding (otherwise the optical will downmix it to either DD or DTS).

HDMI only.

Thanks for all the help.

I'm not guaranteeing anything for the EG-R1, but according to the Manual (http://www.egreatworld.com/en/Manual.asp), you can set the HDMI to raw, so it should be okay for the TrueHD and DTS-HDMA. It also say that will downmix, so it should know how to handle it (and passthough). Let everyone know how it goes if you go this route.

I'll link where I ordered mine from (which is on sale).
http://onmp.com/

I'm personally don't have an HDMI receiver, so I can't test it for you. I'm getting the Dune Prime 3.0 to replace my Oppo BDP-83 in my living room (so I can use the analog out) and the Egreat EG-R1 for my bedroom.

The only thing that I'm personally worried about that these 2 are new companies; HDI (who make the Dune are from Israel) and Egreat (is from China).

Avoid building an entire computer as a HTPC. Too much work and too many issues. Trust me, I know.

Buy a Popcorn Hour or similar media tank and hook it up to your display and just network it to a computer with multiple hard drives or an array. PCH supports all the latest audio too (DTS MA, True HD, etc)

Simple as that.

AnyDVDHD is a must for ripping.

Nope. This is because of the FAT32 limitation of the BDP-83 (i.e. BD files are bigger then the 4GB limit of FAT32). I love my Oppo BDP-83 because of the speed and quality of it, but I kind of want what you want to do, so I'm moving it from my living room to my bedroom.

What I'm buying instead to do all the things that you want is the Dune Prime 3.0. It is Network Media Tank (NMT) combined with a Blu-Ray player. Unlike the Popcorn C-200, which you can add a BD drive, the Prime is a true licensed BD player. It will playback all the backups of BDs from your hard drive (formatted NTFS, which obviously can hold greater then 4GB files), whether it is stored in folder format or ISO. It has analog outs too just like the Oppo (or it can output HDMI). I have mine on order, but people that have had version 1.0, say it works great.

http://www.duneplayer.com/shop/
http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/prime3.asp

You can also look at this solution for an NMT. The Egreat EG-R1. I had the EG-M34A before, but the EG-R1 just came out a couple of months ago. The EG-M34A was a bit slow to boot and did not have the features of BDs (folder read/ISO or the TRUEHD/DTS-HDMA decoding), so I'm getting one of those (EG-R1) also and selling my EG-M34A. This may be a cheaper solution.

http://www.egreatworld.com/en/ProductShow.asp?ID=173

Hope that helps

The LG BD390 plays alot of these formats back without any issues over the network. It's certainly much cheaper and also has VUDU, Netflix, etc, and an extremely quick BD transport for playback of discs.

How much space does a fully ripped blu-ray take up?

i use makemkv to rip blu-ray.

How much space does a fully ripped blu-ray take up?

Movies and features vary from disc to disc, but I personally have seen BDs listed at 14GB to 48GB. This is what windows was reporting when I put the discs in the drive.

Subandrew,

I just got the EG-R1 and it not 100% what I hoped it would be. It looks like it knows how to play BD folders, but it will NOT playback the BD menus. It has its own menu when you playback a movie. Also, it appears that it does not know how to play Dolby Digital TrueHD (but it does know DTS-HDMA). I think it can pass it through to an HDMI receiver (as it has a passthrough option), but I do not have an HDMI receiver to test that with.

What wireless hardware do you have that supports the Dune's streaming capabilities?

Are there any other devices that do what I want them to do besides Dune and eGrate? Such as play a ripped copy of a blu ray at full 1080p and full resolution audio.

Are there any other devices that do what I want them to do besides Dune and eGrate? Such as play a ripped copy of a blu ray at full 1080p and full resolution audio.

When you mention full resolution audio are you talking about bitstreaming? If so the PCH A-110 does. The PCH C-200 does via ISO or BR Rom drive but standalone files (i.e m2ts) don't (currently a SDK issue)

When you mention full resolution audio are you talking about bitstreaming? If so the PCH A-110 does. The PCH C-200 does via ISO or BR Rom drive but standalone files (i.e m2ts) don't (currently a SDK issue)

I am talking about the Blu Ray audio formats like Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio. I just really want to know is if I use AnyDVD HD to rip my Blu Rays to the PCH, will the PCH play the rip as if I had the original disc in a Blu Ray drive, full 1080p and Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio. I have a receiver that supports those formats via HDMI. This NMT stuff is confusing to me.

I am talking about the Blu Ray audio formats like Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio.

Yes, but just wanted to confirm that you want these audio formats to be bitstreamed? Most media players won't bitstream, they will either downmix or send the core through. If you want bitstreaming of TrueHD/DTS-MA then the two PCH devices I mentioned still apply

Yes, but just wanted to confirm that you want these audio formats to be bitstreamed? Most media players won't bitstream, they will either downmix or send the core through. If you want bitstreaming of TrueHD/DTS-MA then the two PCH devices I mentioned still apply

So, the question I had above about ANYDVD HD and ripping, both models of the PCH will support playback? Sorry to keep asking the same question over and over.

So, the question I had above about ANYDVD HD and ripping, both models of the PCH will support playback? Sorry to keep asking the same question over and over.

You can create an Iso or Blu Ray structure with AnyDVD. With the PCH C-200 I have tested this and in both cased the C-200 played as if the original disc was in. Unfortuanetly my PCH A-110 is broken so I cannot 100% confirm this

You can create an Iso or Blu Ray structure with AnyDVD. With the PCH C-200 I have tested this and in both cased the C-200 played as if the original disc was in. Unfortuanetly my PCH A-110 is broken so I cannot 100% confirm this

Thank you

One more question. Does it support Netflix?

Thank you

One more question. Does it support Netflix?

Supposedly Netflix support will be coming soon to the C-200. You can get through a service like PlayOn but I don't think right now it plays nice with the C-200

So, the question I had above about ANYDVD HD and ripping, both models of the PCH will support playback? Sorry to keep asking the same question over and over.

The A-110 will not play a BluRay iso or folder structure. You can use ToNMT, ClownBD or other free programs to rip the BD to a TS, M2TS, or MKV format, which it will play. In some cases, the main movie is in an M2TS format on the disk and you can just copy that file. AnyDVD HD is still needed for any of these options.

CJ

The A-110 will not play a BluRay iso or folder structure. You can use ToNMT, ClownBD or other free programs to rip the BD to a TS, M2TS, or MKV format, which it will play. In some cases, the main movie is in an M2TS format on the disk and you can just copy that file. AnyDVD HD is still needed for any of these options.

CJ

But will it still maintain all the Blu Ray features such as 1080p24 and the Master Audio HD, DTS?

Yep

Yep

This seems so overwhelming right now. Not sure what product to get with what options like hdd, wireless.......

Yep

Except for subtitles- those take quite a bit of work from what I hear.

CJ

This seems so overwhelming right now. Not sure what product to get with what options like hdd, wireless.......

Figure out what you need and then go from there. It may seem overwhelming, but most are very similar to each other. Personally, I wouldn't go wireless if I had any other choice. Hard drives can be added to most- either internally or externally.

CJ

Except for subtitles- those take quite a bit of work from what I hear.

CJ

nope

nope

Meaning they aren't possible or they aren't hard to do? If you are saying that they aren't hard to do, could you please direct me to a go-by?

Thanks,
CJ