Newbie...where to start...love MP (1 Viewer)

[playsccr]

i i came across MP at my friends house and was basically in awe...

i have a case of like 500 dvds that i have that i would love to put on a media server, but it seems a bit overwhelming...im pretty good with tech stuff, but have never ventured into the HTPC arena....

1. my initial question is that i have an oppo dvd player that upcoverts to 1080p these dvds....is there hardware that will allows the dvds to be unconverted as well, i love the oppo feature...is it the video card?? and if so which should i get???

2. for my blueray collection is there a way to backup them up and put them on media portal like i have done with my dvd collection...i have used dvd decrypter and dvdshrink?? this has been really simple; is there a similar way for blueray?

3. my buddy had a basic dell vostro as his htpc with two external harddrives which i guess the movies ripped on it.....do you have any suggestions for a HTPC that is basically all together already...i dont have the time to put it together.....or should i just go with a cheapo dell

4. my current set up:

vizio 47 inch 1080p
onkyo TXSR804 receiver


thank you again for your time....

 

[Marcusb]

hey there, glad that you like MP. The Devs do an incredible job to make it so good.

As for your questions, it's a touchy subject. The MP website is hosted in germany and they have some very tough copyright laws there. If anyone gives any advice on these forums on how to rip DVD's or BlueRay there could be troubles for the site owners.

I would recommend checking out the Doom9 website for that sort of help.

Any ISO files or DVD format structures should be fine for MP to read.

I'm sure others will post some further tips, but all should be aware of the regulations I just mentioned or we may have to start deleting posts, which nobody likes doing.

Sorry for beign all "grown up" on your first post, but just had to give the usual warning.

For the PC itself, any pre-built one will be good, but it's nicer if you have internal space for the hard drives and also check the gfx card in it. Make sure there are the right outputs for your TV and that it has good video capabilities.
Also check for good sound if you want nice surround outputs and make sure there's room for TV Tuner cards if you intend to use them too.

Welcome to MP and I hope you have a lot of fun with it.

Marcus.

 

[playsccr]

i appreciate your response....

then my question is where can i find a good "prebuilt" system max 500???

i would like a video/audio card that has hdmi that i can connect to my receiver..that will give me 1080p or close to it and pass the signal...are there any cards that do this..both the audio and video with hdmi

 

[jsimo01]

Welcome,

1. I think the PC will upconvert them to whatever the monitor resolution is anyway.

2. With regards blu-ray you can convert them to MP4/MKV files, it saves a lot of space over ripping them to hard-drive and stripping out any features, check out the afterdawn forums, they have guides to do this and also to shrink them on hard drive.

AnyDVD HD - you will need either way to rip the disc to hard-drive.

Also if you have not done so yet - check out the Moving Pictures and TVSeries plugins - just excellent!

Not sure about your last question,

j