Storing DVD's and watching on a tv ?

[Boney]

So basically, I dont even know where (or what) to START researching my question so i figured i'd try and ask all the resident guru's here first to try and get a head start.

Basically what I want to do is take a hundred or so DVD's, put them on some type of system/box/device/hdd and just be able to easily watch them on my tv so that i can have all my dvd's in one convienent location - easily and ready to watch.

In a perfect world, this system would have around a terabyte or so of space .... easily hook up to my computer to download the movies onto it (or even wirelessly?) and then hook up and play at full quality to my tv.

Now for the questions:
What is this area of tech called?
Is there any good products out that does this, or is it a diy project.
Then, ofcourse where could i get more informatino about all of this.


Thanks a lot.

 

[BigJ]

Home Theatre PC is what you're looking for.

Doom9.org or even searching these own forums for htpc would be a goods start.

As far as what to use, you basically just need a PC capable of DVD playback with Windows Media Center, and depending on what kind of home theatre system you have, a video card with an output port and a soundcard with outputs. This is the easiest route.

If you want to go custom (HDTV playback, making your own DVR, stuff like that) you will need additional hardware and software. There are also a plethora of free software out there, but if you're just getting into this you may want to hold off a bit.

 

[ryan256]

Doom9.org
Good place to start learning about creating such a device.

^^ darn... beat me too it

 

[Boney]

damn, nice quick replys ......... ill check out doom9.

on the same note however .... can this be done without having to build an actual "media" pc? As in, is there no easy product out that is just a small enclosure of hdd's thats an easy 1,2,3. ?

 

[QED]

Originally posted by: Boney
damn, nice quick replys ......... ill check out doom9.

on the same note however .... can this be done without having to build an actual "media" pc? As in, is there no easy product out that is just a small enclosure of hdd's thats an easy 1,2,3. ?

Not that I know of...

However, if you want, there are small devices that connect to your TV and will let you play content (movies, music, etc) off of your main PC on your TV. They usually work with your existing wireless network, so you can keep your PC where it is.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: Boney
damn, nice quick replys ......... ill check out doom9.

on the same note however .... can this be done without having to build an actual "media" pc? As in, is there no easy product out that is just a small enclosure of hdd's thats an easy 1,2,3. ?

You could try this:

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-DVPCX995V-400-Disc-Changer-Player/dp/B000A3XRSO

 

[FleshLight]

Originally posted by: QED

Originally posted by: Boney
damn, nice quick replys ......... ill check out doom9.

on the same note however .... can this be done without having to build an actual "media" pc? As in, is there no easy product out that is just a small enclosure of hdd's thats an easy 1,2,3. ?

Not that I know of...

However, if you want, there are small devices that connect to your TV and will let you play content (movies, music, etc) off of your main PC on your TV. They usually work with your existing wireless network, so you can keep your PC where it is.

Xbox + WME = WIN

 

[KarenMarie]

I am going to hijack this thread....

I have an external hard drive with approx 40GB legal and paid for music donwloads.

Now.. I have approximately 300 legally paid for CDs that reside downstairs in the wall unit. At present, if I want to listen to a particular CD on my desktop, I have to go downstairs and get it and load it in one of the two drives I have. I would like to back up them ALL on the desktop so I don't have to go all the way downstairs to get a particular CD.

I do not relish the idea of having to rip 300 CDs one at a time... is there an alternative?

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: KarenMarie
I am going to hijack this thread....

I have an external hard drive with approx 40GB legal and paid for music donwloads.

Now.. I have approximately 300 legally paid for CDs that reside downstairs in the wall unit. At present, if I want to listen to a particular CD on my desktop, I have to go downstairs and get it and load it in one of the two drives I have. I would like to back up them ALL on the desktop so I don't have to go all the way downstairs to get a particular CD.

I do not relish the idea of having to rip 300 CDs one at a time... is there an alternative?

There's a technically illegal alternative, sure.

 

[Kaido]

The cheapest way to do this is with a Modded Xbox and either a file server or extra hard drives in your computer. The Modded Xbox will play just about any format you can throw at it, and you can get it for under $200. From there you need a place to store content. The biggest hard drive an Xbox can realistically hold is 500gb. Your other two options are (1) build or buy a file server with as much hard drive space as you want (an old computer + some big hard drives + FreeNAS OS), or (2) add more drives to your computer, either internally or externally. Wireless isn't the best for streaming; wired is much better. If you must go wireless, make sure you get a 802.11g router, 802.11g PC card, and 802.11g Xbox adapter.