Advice On Media Players

Freddie59

Hello all.

I was thing of getting this yoke on eBay.

I'm not too pushed about recording, as I have an NTL DVR and a HDD DVD recorder. Just looking for something to put my DVD collection on as it's taking up a bit of room now.

Anyone any opinions? Or would you recommend something else?

Cheers,

Freddie.

Freddie59

Freddie59 wrote: »

Hello all.

I was thing of getting this yoke on eBay.

I'm not too pushed about recording, as I have an NTL DVR and a HDD DVD recorder. Just looking for something to put my DVD collection on as it's taking up a bit of room now.

Anyone any opinions? Or would you recommend something else?

Cheers,

Freddie.

Anyone?:)

iMax

If I had the cash, I'd 2 of them it (Sitting room & bedroom). Very importantly, it has a network connection so you can just leave it in place beside the TV, connected to a homeplug network. Life would be sweet !!

Personally I have an 80GB portable unit (no network) which is grand for what it does (mostly kids stuff). I also have a 500GB unit in the bedroom which although it has a network connection can't be mapped (network is for FTP). Might be selling this because of that reason. I also have a network streamer which is great but means the PC has to be on all the time.

If you can afford it, then go for it.

Freddie59

iMax wrote: »

If I had the cash, I'd 2 of them it (Sitting room & bedroom). Very importantly, it has a network connection so you can just leave it in place beside the TV, connected to a homeplug network. Life would be sweet !!

Personally I have an 80GB portable unit (no network) which is grand for what it does (mostly kids stuff). I also have a 500GB unit in the bedroom which although it has a network connection can't be mapped (network is for FTP). Might be selling this because of that reason. I also have a network streamer which is great but means the PC has to be on all the time.

If you can afford it, then go for it.

Cheers i Max. Being bought as present for me, ergo the reason for getting it.:o

Cheers,

Freddie.

PS just one other question. What's the best software for compressing the DVDs to DivX or xVid?

vectra

Freddie59 wrote: »

PS just one other question. What's the best software for compressing the DVDs to DivX or xVid?

dvddecryptor to rip the movie to hard drive
then I normally use AGK ( Auto Gordian kbot )
Recently i came across a different Software to do it and I was well impressed with the results and much faster than AGK
If you want any more info on this one then PM me. :rolleyes:

aaf

I downloaded and installed Xvid4PSP over the wknd. Used it to test convert some movie clips for my PSP Slim. Very impressed with results. It's just a matter of choosing your end device from a drop-down list, clicking save and then encode. Easy.

vectra

aaf wrote: »

I downloaded and installed Xvid4PSP over the wknd. Used it to test convert some movie clips for my PSP Slim. Very impressed with results. It's just a matter of choosing your end device from a drop-down list, clicking save and then encode. Easy.

Might be easy but most of these "one-click" programs are not really great in the quality department.
If you are happy with it then good stuff.
If ont and would like to try others. PM me

aaf

vectra wrote: »

Might be easy but most of these "one-click" programs are not really great in the quality department.
If you are happy with it then good stuff.
If ont and would like to try others. PM me

It's not just a one-click program. You can edit all settings from HQ levels to audio bitrates. Very handy program that does an excellent job with just the defaults used but also allows those with the knowledge to tinker about with settings. What other programs would you recommend?

vectra

aaf wrote: »

It's not just a one-click program. You can edit all settings from HQ levels to audio bitrates. Very handy program that does an excellent job with just the defaults used but also allows those with the knowledge to tinker about with settings. What other programs would you recommend?

Sounds good.
Might try it myself.

Normally I use AGK ( Auto Gordian Knot )

Recently I tried #1dvd ripper THIS ONE
Had to install dvix codec but I am well impressed with the quality.
I did a test on Black Hawk Down
over 7 gigs
Converted to 1.8 gigs keeping 6ch sound.
Could not really tell the difference between original and avi :cool:

iMax

Decided to sell my media player due to lack of use. Just in case anyone's interested

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=57733&cat=500

MediaTank

I use DVDFab to convert the DVD to an ISO file, usually just the main movie with one audio track and no subtitles. Then I use HandBrake to convert it to an H.264/MKV file using the Film profile. Works great.

vectra

MediaTank wrote: »

I use DVDFab to convert the DVD to an ISO file, usually just the main movie with one audio track and no subtitles. Then I use HandBrake to convert it to an H.264/MKV file using the Film profile. Works great.

You using a Mac ??
Does HandBrake work on Windows ?

MediaTank

vectra wrote: »

You using a Mac ??
Does HandBrake work on Windows ?

Works on Windows too. I use the engineering release, because it handles AC3 (Dolby) better.

vectra

MediaTank wrote: »

Works on Windows too. I use the engineering release, because it handles AC3 (Dolby) better.

Link ?? :rolleyes:

MediaTank

http://handbrake.fr/?article=snapshot

Freddie59

Thanks for all the help everyone. Decided to go for #1 DVD ripper. Excellent quality. Just one more question. Does the DVD maintain it's current appearance when ripped (chapters etc) or in the movie ripped as just a big AVI file? I'm new at this so please be patient!:)

MediaTank

Only if you convert it to an ISO file currently. AVI and older containers do not support chapter stops. The MKV container does, but only the NMT based media players support chapters in a H.264 stream in an MKV container.

vectra

MediaTank wrote: »

Only if you convert it to an ISO file currently. AVI and older containers do not support chapter stops. The MKV container does, but only the NMT based media players support chapters in a H.264 stream in an MKV container.

In a nutshell :cool:

Freddie59

MediaTank wrote: »

Only if you convert it to an ISO file currently. AVI and older containers do not support chapter stops. The MKV container does, but only the NMT based media players support chapters in a H.264 stream in an MKV container.

:eek: I'll take your word on it!:D

MediaTank

Freddie59 wrote: »

:eek: I'll take your word on it!:D

Convert your DVDs to ISO (quick) or to H.264/MKV (slow, but compact) for the best quality. I would avoid AVI and XViD unless it's a TV show for example.

iMax

Freddie, did you get the drive ?