I'm a newb. Let me admit that before i begin.
I apologize if this isn't in the right section. I wish not to anger anyone--i just could only find a hd-dvd software section, in addition to a blu-ray software section.
I'm a fairly new member to the HTPC Enthusiast crowd. I'm not new to consuming media on a PC, i've done it for years. However, i am new to the HTPC crowd. I recently built the following machine:
ASUS p7h55-m Pro
Core i3-530
2GB DDR3
Sapphire Radeon 5550
Dual HP2509 25 inch monitors -- i usually game and surf while i watch.
Blu-ray Reader
3x2tb WD Caviar Greens
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
I've been reading about players, media centers, etc. for the past few months. I have about 100 dvds id like to rip, and i'd like to do it in a way that retains as much quality as possible. I've been using DVDDecrypter to copy the files from the dvd to my hard disk(s), and have used various media players for playback.
In general, i switch back and forth between Windows 7 Media Center, a Showmix skinned verison of XBMC, and VLC. However, upon reading about TMT3 and it's "SimHD" plugin, i'd like to try it out. It's just that i can't find a painless way to playback a folder in TMT3. If there's a better way to up-scale/convert/play dvd files to 1080p then i must be missing something. I've read the FFDShow guide to upconverting dvd's, but the language was completely alien to me, and for the settings i managed to change correctly, i didn't see much of a difference in the end.
So:
What's methods can be used to rip DVDs without losing quality, and what is the best method to playback these files and up-convert/up-scale them? Is TMT3's SimHD worth the trouble?
I apologize if this isn't in the right section. I wish not to anger anyone--i just could only find a hd-dvd software section, in addition to a blu-ray software section.
I'm a fairly new member to the HTPC Enthusiast crowd. I'm not new to consuming media on a PC, i've done it for years. However, i am new to the HTPC crowd. I recently built the following machine:
ASUS p7h55-m Pro
Core i3-530
2GB DDR3
Sapphire Radeon 5550
Dual HP2509 25 inch monitors -- i usually game and surf while i watch.
Blu-ray Reader
3x2tb WD Caviar Greens
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
I've been reading about players, media centers, etc. for the past few months. I have about 100 dvds id like to rip, and i'd like to do it in a way that retains as much quality as possible. I've been using DVDDecrypter to copy the files from the dvd to my hard disk(s), and have used various media players for playback.
In general, i switch back and forth between Windows 7 Media Center, a Showmix skinned verison of XBMC, and VLC. However, upon reading about TMT3 and it's "SimHD" plugin, i'd like to try it out. It's just that i can't find a painless way to playback a folder in TMT3. If there's a better way to up-scale/convert/play dvd files to 1080p then i must be missing something. I've read the FFDShow guide to upconverting dvd's, but the language was completely alien to me, and for the settings i managed to change correctly, i didn't see much of a difference in the end.
So:
What's methods can be used to rip DVDs without losing quality, and what is the best method to playback these files and up-convert/up-scale them? Is TMT3's SimHD worth the trouble?
