[SOLVED] Media Server

[jtdavies]

I have a new toddler and we let her watch a maximum of one kid's movie a day. My wife is racking up bills on Amazon Prime.

What I'd like to do is get some sort of media server where I can plug it into an HDMI slot and stream movies to the TV. My perfect system would have an easy way to rip DVDs right to the server. They could do that (along with the numerous DVDs that are mine) as a background task . It should also be as easy to use as a Roku. Otherwise, they'll still be buying Amazon Prime movies at $15 a pop. Some sort of filtering to separate my movies from my daughter's movies would be important too. She does not need to be watching the original Death Wish.

I'm quite busy with work (plus toddler and a new infant) so I don't want to add Sys Admin responsibilities. I'd like something turnkey.

Any suggestions?

 

[USAFRet]

A couple of 500GB flash drives, copy the ripped vids directly from your PC to the flash drive.
1 for kid movies, 1 for adult movies.

 

[punkncat]

Do modern DVD even allow you to rip from them any more? I was of the impression that the RIAA shut that down years ago and thus why you (used to) see so many movies advertised with "free digital copy". I haven't purchased a DVD or Blu-ray since the revamp of Star Trek with Pine. Haven't attempted to rip anything in longer than that.

Amazon Prime has a VERY deep library of kids movies that are included with your subscription, as do many other streaming services. Easy enough to hit "included with Prime/Free to Me"....

 

[USAFRet]

Do modern DVD even allow you to rip from them any more? I was of the impression that the RIAA shut that down years ago and thus why you (used to) see so many movies advertised with "free digital copy". I haven't purchased a DVD or Blu-ray since the revamp of Star Trek with Pine. Haven't attempted to rip anything in longer than that.

Amazon Prime has a VERY deep library of kids movies that are included with your subscription, as do many other streaming services. Easy enough to hit "included with Prime/Free to Me"....

Yes, you still can.

 

[punkncat]

Yes, you still can.

Ah, I have not kept up with that at all. I recall at one point the DVD had a program or "anti-theft" thing where it would mess up the recording or the audio and not work correctly. I recall there being some number of lawsuits surrounding it since you purchased/fair use and so forth. I don't purchase/keep "recorded" media any longer. At one point I had an entire wall in my home full of bookshelf type cabinets and using up space for things I ended up seeing a few times and rarely (if ever) touching again.
I have come to find that for the most part anything you wish to see is available online somewhere and often free (or included with subscription services).

 

[USAFRet]

The vast majority of my 4+TB video library on the NAS is DVD from netflix.
Most recently, Oct 2021. And then I cut off the mailed DVDs.

 

[dwd999]

If there's a Redbox near you, try that. I've relied on those for years.

 

[Alabalcho]

I'm quite busy with work (plus toddler and a new infant) so I don't want to add Sys Admin responsibilities. I'd like something turnkey.

There is no such device, unfortunately... Just the ability to "automatically rip DVDs" would put it on the radar of Hollywood...

So, you have several options, depending on how much you want to spend, and how much you want to babysit it. Either way, you'll rip DVDs manually.

Look at NAS - Network Attached Storage. This is piece of hardware where one or several harddrives reside, attached to your home network (preferably, wired connection to the router). From there, you create "Shared Folders" accessible from your laptops/tablets/phones/TVs/Roku's. Most of these devices also have an option for "Media Streaming" where a compatible device (TV, Roku, Amazon Stick etc) pull media files and play them.

Another option for such a device is an old PC/laptop permanently ON. While this is more flexible solution (and can take on DVD ripping task), it needs more babysitting.

These are "back-end" devices where you store content. Front-end device (the one plugged into the TV) can be either another PC, or a dedicated streaming device like Toku, ChromeCast, Amazon stick etc. (not sure about Apple TV)

 

[hang-the-9]

I have a new toddler and we let her watch a maximum of one kid's movie a day. My wife is racking up bills on Amazon Prime.

What I'd like to do is get some sort of media server where I can plug it into an HDMI slot and stream movies to the TV. My perfect system would have an easy way to rip DVDs right to the server. They could do that (along with the numerous DVDs that are mine) as a background task . It should also be as easy to use as a Roku. Otherwise, they'll still be buying Amazon Prime movies at $15 a pop. Some sort of filtering to separate my movies from my daughter's movies would be important too. She does not need to be watching the original Death Wish.

I'm quite busy with work (plus toddler and a new infant) so I don't want to add Sys Admin responsibilities. I'd like something turnkey.

Any suggestions?

Disney +, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Netflix etc.. all have a ton of movies you can stream unlimited for $15 or less a month instead of per movie.

A combination of MakeMKV and Handbrake for encoding will be able to take your DVDs and convert them to MP4 files you can play on your computer. All of mine are done that way, I have not touched my rack of DVDs in like 10 years.

 

[jtdavies]

A couple of 500GB flash drives, copy the ripped vids directly from your PC to the flash drive.
1 for kid movies, 1 for adult movies.

I just tried this with a USB stick and it worked brilliantly. Thank you.

 

[faalin]

The vast majority of my 4+TB video library on the NAS is DVD from netflix.
Most recently, Oct 2021. And then I cut off the mailed DVDs.

LOL i use to have a Blockbuster account that i could get 3 movies at a time unlimited amount each month. I would go in grab 3 movies and with an hour be back at the store returning them and picking up 3 more, normally made around 3 trips a day every other day. They new exactly what i was doing and didnt care, most of the time i would walk around the store and help people find movies or recommend movies if they had a hard time picking something.

I was basically an unpaid employee, but didnt mind helping out while i was in the store since they were letting me get way with what i was doing.


once my local blockbuster closed i moved over to netflix and did the same thing for a while. Then an IT guy where i worked turned me on to Torent downloading and did that for a few years..... been clean and torent sober for 14 years now 🤣