Hey all. I'm slowly starting to figure out how I want my theater system(s) set up in my house. But I'm undecided on which program to use.

Here's the setup I think I will go with: ripping my 650 DVDs to several TB HDs, putting those externals on the Airport Extreme Base Station, then accessing the movies from any TV or MAC in my house wirelessly.

So what is the best program to use with, say, a Mac Mini hooked up to a TV and accessing these Video_TS files? I've searched all over this forum and I see such mixed reviews!

Is there some comparison chart of all those programs? It seems like Front Row is good, but won't see Video_TS unless it has DVD Assist (but then still isn't perfected). And I think I get that Media Central plays Video_TS but not in true dolby surround.

So what is the best way of accessing my movies and playing them in FULL video and FULL audio quality?

Confused -

Phil

If you are using this only or even mostly for films, you might also want to look at DVDpedia. Good luck.

Will DVDPedia play in full video quality and true dolby digital and DTS?

Will this or any of the others be easy to use with only the Apple Remote and no mouse or keyboard.

By the way, i asked for the comparison chart because I thought it would be cool to see everything side by side like whether it plays DD or supports full video quality or can read Video_TS, etc.

Thanks

Is there some comparison chart of all those programs? It seems like Front Row is good, but won't see Video_TS unless it has DVD Assist (but then still isn't perfected). And I think I get that Media Central plays Video_TS but not in true dolby surround.

So what is the best way of accessing my movies and playing them in FULL video and FULL audio quality?

Confused -

Phil

Do you have Dolby Surround Sound Systems all around your house? If not then i dont see the need to have it everywhere in the house :) i would only want ONE Full capacity Theater in my house if you ask me :) the rest its good enough that i see good quality video and nice sound :)

That's a good point, but I do need full surround on at least one of my TVs (maybe two if i'm ambitious in the master sweet :)

I'm working on the same project. I think Distant DVD does what we want.

http://www.distantdvd.com

To expand a little, here are my needs:

-Plays VIDEO_TS with full quality audio and video. No compression, and full surround-sound is a must.
-Plays .flac audio files
-Attractive "10ft." interface (in other words: an interface designed for a TV across the roomrather than a computer screen right in front of you)
-DVD covers, album art
-Ability to boot straight into the program with no keyboard or mouse needed. Wiimote and/or Apple remote control would be great.

I'm going to buy a Mac Mini as soon as an updated version of it is released (should be some time this Spring) and hopefully DistantDVD will do everything in that list except for the .flac audio files.

-Plays VIDEO_TS with full quality audio and video. No compression, and full surround-sound is a must.
-Plays .flac audio files
-Attractive "10ft." interface (in other words: an interface designed for a TV across the roomrather than a computer screen right in front of you)
-DVD covers, album art
-Ability to boot straight into the program with no keyboard or mouse needed. Wiimote and/or Apple remote control would be great.

Good luck.

Good luck.Tell me: what insurmountable technical challenge is preventing that from happening?

I realize that it doesn't exist yet, but realistically there's no reason why it can't.

There are obviously many approaches to easily accessing DVD quality movies with DD/DTS sound on a Mac home theater system. I think DvdPedia is one of the best and easiest interfaces. I have all my ripped full resolution DVDs with 5.1 DD sound cataloged with DvdPedia. I can launch the program with a single click of my remote (a Home Theater Master programmed to control a Keyspan DMR). I can scroll through the DVD cover art (which DvdPedia downloads automatically) with my HTM remote. I can play, pause, FF etc. with the remote - no mouse or keyboard. When the movie is over - one click and the program quits the computer goes to sleep and the TV and AV receiver shuts down. A little time to program the remote and a couple of AppleScripts is all it takes.

To just add to jcar901's helpful post, with the same effort (external programs, usually free) you can probably accomplish the same thing with the remote control that comes from Apple with the Mini. Although I don't use a front end myself, I have used iRed Lite and Applescript to have the Apple Remote do whatever needs to be done.

Tell me: what insurmountable technical challenge is preventing that from happening?

I realize that it doesn't exist yet, but realistically there's no reason why it can't.

There are no technical challenges. There haven't been for the past two years. The problem is that it we aren't much closer than we were on the launch of the mini. It's not just the Mac crowd that's been struggling with issues like this one. I've been following the media streaming market for a good five years. Things have not improved at all. That may change with the shipment of the Apple TV, but it's been a long five years. If the atv does succeed, I'm not sure if it will improve or diminish the chances of the product you seek. So again, good luck.

This is the same issue I have been having. MediaCentral is what I use now, but although it does do Video_TS folders, it does not decode the audio correctly - from what I understand, this is a Quicktime limitation.

One issue I am seeing though, is the more media I add onto my fileserver, the slower MediaCentral seems to get, like it has to cache tons of data or somesuch.

I may look into DVDPedia - I have an older version (2.3) that may not do what you are asking... but I'm still on the hunt for good software that does all of that, plus plays AVI's and MKV's..

Speaking of all this stuff...

Does anything rip Blu-Ray DVDs (like MTR for example)? And would a Mac Mini play back a Blu Ray Video_TS file in High Def? Or does it even create a Video_TS from a BluRay? What would one need to rip and then play BluRay or HD DVDs in true quality?

So many questions!!

Speaking of all this stuff...

Does anything rip Blu-Ray DVDs (like MTR for example)? And would a Mac Mini play back a Blu Ray Video_TS file in High Def? Or does it even create a Video_TS from a BluRay? What would one need to rip and then play BluRay or HD DVDs in true quality?

So many questions!!

And only one answer, no. You can't do any of what you asked on a Mac.