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hello folks, i'm a newbie, and i need your help.
my dvd and cd collections have grown too large to be useful (approaching the 500 dvd mark). i simply can't find what i want when i want it...and if i do, it's a pain to manage jewel cases and dvd cases. i've decided to rip everything to hard drives set up on one of my older boxes up as a media server, so i can play my music and video collections on other computers throughout my house, in a fast, searchable format (or have it play randomly like my own tv station). my main viewing hardware is an 1024x768 LCD projector on a 120" diagonal screen, so it'll lend itself well to a computer input.
i've already ripped all my cd's into mp3's, and have that working great. i'm ready to do all my video, and need some advice from learned folks like yourselves on which software to use.
i've tried several dvd copying programs, but i'm finding that's not what i need. most of them don't decrypt css, nor compress to divx, xvid, mpeg, avi formats on a hard drive. they seem mainly set up for making a copy on a dvd, and that's not what i need.
i need to be able to rip episodic dvd's (i.e. x-files and star trek). they need to be saved to 1 file in compressed format (i have a lot of space, but not enough for pure uncompressed dvd video). they also need to maintain AC3 audio (computer has dolby surround outs i want to use).
i'd sincerely appreciate you folk's expertise and experience in advising me on which software is best. i don't mind learning if it's a little complicated, either.
vr,
phaed
p.s. i'll also eventually be taking this box to iraq, to stream our own entertainment channel over the local LAN for the soldiers in my unit when they come off patrols. i'm not ready to tackle which streamer/player to use yet, but i'm already concerned about the legality of playing these movies for others over a LAN. i've bought and still own each and every movie, i just don't know if streaming them locally would be illegal. any knowledge here?
-phaed
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