how do I...

[James J]

use my buffalo network drive to store my dvd collection so I can watch them without inserting the disks etc.

what software do I need and how do I go about doing it please

will be using pcs and a macbook to view the dvds via the networked hard drive

 

[BillytheImpaler]

You'll need to rip the DVDs which is usually a two step process. First you decrypt it using DVD decrypter, then compress the decrypted data using a program like Handbrake (the Mac version is better), or DVD Shrink. I usually use the .mkv container with a high-quality codec like H.264. Once you've ripped your DVDs you need to simply transfer the .mkv (or .avi, or Xvid, etc.) to the NAS and access them as a network share. You'd play them with WMP, if you have the necessary codec packs, or VLC which is available on both Windows and OS X and should be able to play pretty much all formats without the need for extra codecs.

 

[James J]

Thanks for the headsup

 

[ron3003]

Dvd Decrypter was subject to a closure order from Macrovision around 2 years ago and as a consequence is no longer updated and thus unable to decrypt newer dvd's. These contain Arcoss protection, a kind of structure corruption that's ignored by your standalone player but makes copying to pc difficult.
Use DVDFab_Decrypter instead as it's able to defeat the protection.
http://www.videohelp.com/tools/DVDFab_Decrypter