Creating a dvd library on a NAS

Banzai_Joe

Banzai_Joe

Banzai_Joe

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Ok, first off, i really couldn't find the best forum to post this in, so please move as requried.

Right, brass tacks;

I'm creating a fully cat5e (and probably coax too while i'm at it) embedded network in the house i'm about to move into.
I've just installed Vista Home Premium as a dual boot on my main pc, and it links nicely to the xbox360 for the media center bits n bobs.
My intention is to put c2d pc's in each of the kids rooms, running Vista HP too. They will also, (eventually) have tv cards in so they can watch tv from their rooms.
I would like to put a NAS box on the network for central storage and create a library of all our dvd's on there, so the kids can just use their media centre to select a dvd and watch it, rather than finding the disc and playing it through their dvd drive.
  1. How do i successfully copy a dvd film to the NAS so that it populates the media center list and can be watched by clicking its thumbnail. Drag'n'drop TS files etc or is there specific software that will do it all for me?
  2. If 2 kids wanted to watch either the same film or different films at the same time from their own bedrooms, would they experience stuttering due to the load? Indeed can the same film be watched simultaneously by 2 pc's on the network?
  3. Bearing in mind my first point about flooding cat5e through the house, i thought i'd flood coax in as well, for tv/radio quality to each room. Any other cabling to consider?
The answers you nice people give, may raise more questions, so be prepared :)

Many thanks.
 
Thanks so far guys, that was quick! :)
I really thought there was software that actually ripped the dvd to your hdd, so it was almost like a 'click to play dvd' kind of thing.

I doubt i'll have the cash to buy a NAS with 2 nics and a huuuuge storage, although all the pc's will have gigabit nics in them and cat5e should do 1000mbit for the distance inside my house, so that may help.
I may even install a server 2003 workstation that houses all the libraries etc, that might work out ok.

edit: i can beg, borrow and (not) steal from work, because i don't have a bottomless pit of money. Its a matter of seeing what i can get me hands on i suppose.
 
Ok, let me expand a little now then.
'Ideally', i'd like the full quality dvd, with 5.1 as is, and all its menu's etc (just like you would if you used the disk itself) stored on the nas and to be recognised and watchable through media center on any of the pc's. Also would like it watchable on the 360, although that seems to be the real problem, so lets forget that for the moment.
Most other people i've asked seem to only use the movie file and throw away all the other bits and bobs to save space i guess. That doesn't worry me, i just want the whole dvd experience on storage at my fingertips. Is that too much to ask do ya think? :D
 
Is there a way of 'imaging' the entire dvd to the drive without then having to open up the image with one program then play the dvd with another?
I would have thought there would be some kind of dvd library/catlogue software out there somewhere.
 
excllent post, many thanks. I just used anydvd to copy the full quality dvd (minus the annoying trailers etc). When viewing in media centre in vista it works a charm, with full menus etc.

BUT..... i cannot get the xbox 360 to see the 'dvd library' option in media center.
I haven't physically shared my 'DVD's' folder on the pc yet, but surely that wouldn't stop the 360's media center from actually showing the 'dvd library' option??
Bearing in the mind i had to do a registry tweak to show the dvd library in vista, is there some tweak to do on the 360 to do the same?
 
Bummer! seems like My Movies won't do it either then.

Oooh as a side question, i was showing a friend how to use anydvd to rip the dvd to his hdd and play via vista. But when i tried to setup the library in vista mce, it returned a dialogue box saying something like "Some components are missing blah blah, try restarting mce"
Done that, rebooted, re-setup using the wizard. No joy. Apparently there are plenty of others suffering this and its difficult to find a cure.

Any ideas anyone?
 
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