[Lefty2496]

Is there a such thing available? If not, can a set top changer be connected to the HTPC, processed with dscaler, and played back on the RPTV?xx

 

[work permit]

Yes, powerfile makes one, check out the c200 studio at http://www.dvdjukebox.com/


Its expensive, though. About $1800

 

[thorr]

You are better off with a couple of large (120GB) drives and ripping your DVD's to them. It is much more cost effective. To answer your other question - yes you can, but the image quality may suffer.

 

[work permit]

It would take more than a couple of hard disk drives to store 200 dvd rips. More like 8 drives (at 120GB/each). Still, I agree if you have the patience to rip them, storing them on hard drive is more convienient.

 

[acheslow]

There are many people who convert their ripped DVDs to Divx, which usually takes under 1 GB per movie. There is some loss of quality but it is subjective and many people have stated that they cannot tell the difference between a correctly encoded Divx and the original DVD. You may want to try encoding a few to see for yourself if the quality is acceptable to your eyes.

 

[work permit]

I wonder which has better image quality. Watching DVD's which have been converted to DIVX, or watching DVD's directly through a megachanger which is connected to a high end capture card (like the holo3d).

 

[patrick.s]

You might also consider the Kenwood DV5900, it's a 400 disk DVD changer with the Faroudja DCDI chipset. I set one up in my own HT and the picture blew me away. You could probably find SLINK-E (from Nirvis) or equivalent to control it from the PC. Or put together an IR interface that would work from the PC. I've seen several postings on pretty slick PC setups that generate customizeable IR signals to external components.