Has anyone found a good software package that works in Windows as a DVD media server. Ive tried about 10 different software packages to rip DVD's to my PC, and I never get a menu option. The movie just begins to play. Also, I have no chapter advance. Only FF. Ive looked at the Myth DVD stuff. But to be quite honest, Im afraid of Linux.

I just heard a idea I like even better than a DVD server. There is a SONY ES model 400 disc DVD changer with RS232 control. If you aren't going to spend the $$ on dedicated server that can provide you virtually uncompressed video why bother. You are taking a step back when you compress the video and audio, especially again as it's compressed on the disc.

Why not just use a huge player with control, and get the quality you deserve.

Ive seen that. However, if you have 2 TB of free space in your HTPC, and a wicked Video card, why not use it.

If you want to goof around with MythTV and not commit to understanding Linux and actually installing it, there is a CD for you. It's called KnoppMyth. It's an ISO CD image you can download and burn, and it gives you a bootable CD with a live Linux OS that will run from the CD without having to install onto the harddrive. It boots and you're running MythTV. With that said, I don't know if DVD ripping part of the distribution, but it can't hurt to try it out.
[Link: mysettopbox.tv]

The caveat is that from everyone I have talked to about MythTV, you will end up patching this or fixing that in Linux occasionally. Not exactly an appliance, but neither is WinMCE.

MCE is Just another one of MS's marketing bugs. I will give your link a shot, but I think Im going to order the full retail version of Debian. its only $20 for 14 CD's, a free shirt and an install guide.

I still love integrating the Sony ES discrete disc control. If you use the MX3000, you can catorgorize you movies, and add cover art to the remote. Ver, very cool. IMO, cooler than a DVD server, at least until they reach the sub 5k level.

Mike

I'm not advocating the MCE route or knocking it, but if you are an MCE user, your are the minority. If you are an MCE extender user in conjunction with MCE, you are a super minority. MCE extenders are sort of where the usefulness of MCE comes into play and it will be built into the upcoming XBOX 360s.

Suddenly there are going to be millions of people with MCE extenders, most of them probably unaware of it, vice the few unusual early adopters who know what they are and actually own them now. Might make MCE a more attractive solution, or it might just cause you headaches... time will tell.

It will be interesting to see how soon people hack the 360 and offer the ability to put custom control software onto the box, or if MS will offer some nifty applications for interface with 3rd party controls. Out of the box, at least, it is IR controlled.

also, I think that DVD servers might become more acceptable to main stream use when it beats the cost of buying 5 copies of your top 200 favorite discs and spreading them around your house. 200*15*5 = $15,000 or $12,000 in duplicate media costs. that's a potential of 5 simultaneous streams in the extreme case and up to effectively an unlimited number of streams in a typical case.

for remote access, if you follow the forward deploy model of media availability (as you should given existing QOS and speed of today's broadband service), U.S. postal service still beats IP connectivity in data deployment speed for things such as high quality video.

ARQ = 1 stream per VRQ system + cost of media
Kaladescape = dependent upon network speed, but should be well above the typical requirements, but at least you save by only having to buy 1 set of media. I think that it would be cost effective somewhere around the need to have several hundereds of discs with lots of streams...
Escient = 1 stream per DVM system + cost of media

so it doesn't seem to make sense that it will have mass market or even typical custom installation appeal, but for high end clients, the ability to reduce browsing time, or increase browsing power may make cost, irrelevant. XP MCE seems to make a more powerful case in that it is one of the few solutions that makes this capability affordable.

try dvd shrink(google it) it will allow you to do a uncompressed "full backup" inluding menus. then if you were running MCE and a little program called "my movies" you would have a dvd server. however the extenders will not allow you to play a dvd from the main MCE unit. This includes a dvd located in the drive. you have to re-encode the movie down to wmv or standard mpeg2 the extenders have no support for iether .ifo or vob files.

i forgot to mention "my movies will also let you to type in the name of the movie and then go out and pull all of the metadata including box art and trailers if they are available.

I think Divx 6 has menu support now.

Speaking of XBox 360. Last night while at my local target store, I spent about an hour, schmoozing with the electronics manager. A trip to Starbucks later, there was an XBox 360 romoved from a shrink wraped pallet, and my name sharpied on it. I can pick it up at 6AM next tuesday. At 399 with wireless, the graphics looked unreal.

www.mymovies.name

Thanks, Julie. I just tried this and to my surprise, it will not let me copy a new DVD I purchased yesterday to my HDD. You see, I have a large problem with that. When I paid $14.88 for Madagascar lastnight at my local Target store, I was under the impression that I purchased the DVD and its rights. However, mymovies came up with an error saying that it could not be added to my HDD or copied becaues it was a copywrite protected DVD. On the flipside, I go upstairs to my office PC, where Nero, DVD Shrink and NTI will all allow me to copy to my HDD. You see my dilima. Im looking for the interface from mymovies, but the freedom to copy what I own ie the above mentioned software. Not trying to be difficult, but I know there is a work around. There are work arounds for everything, thats why we have lawyers.

Yep Cincy, and what these DRM zealots fail to realize is that consumer demand drives the industry. The whole concept of you paying $14.88 to 'borrow' a movie for limited uses is fataly flawed. But while we are bitching about it, I don't like how we have to pay to 'borrow' a copy of AutoCAD every 12 months either.
It may take a while for the industry to 'correct' itself, but in the long term I believe the consumer gets what the consumer wants.
Case and point will be Sony. They could be the next Vioxx.

BTW, good call on Debian. That is my prefered distribution of Linux. Makes it so easy that any idiot like me can setup and run a Linux box. Personally I use the net install version. Only about a 140MB ISO to burn, then it downloads all the selected packages from the net as needed. But I didn't get the shirt.