Copy DVD to hdd or NAS so Fox T2 can read it okay

[Burgensteen]

Hi,
I was wondering how I would go about copying DVD's to Fox's HDD or a USB stick or a NAS drive so that Fox T2 can read it okay and keep the quality as good as possible.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Ezra Pound]

There a few problems you would have to overcome:-
1) the files contained on a DVD are protected against copying, they would need DeCSS decryption
2) The VOB files on a DVD can't be played by the Humax without being converted
3) The Movie on a DVD is broken down into several 1GB files, these files would need joining together before or during conversion

 

[Burgensteen]

1 and 2 should be okay I think..... There seems to be program's on the net that can do this (although I am no expert) I would not know how to go about 3 though

What would the vob files be converted to?

 

[Ezra Pound]

Possible utilities are :-
1) DVD Shrink
2/3) Handbrake

 

[Burgensteen]

I have DVDShrink.
What format would I convert the DVD to for fox t2 playback?

Thanks for the quick responses by the way. Its very much appreciated.

 

[Ezra Pound]

When using Handbrake both MP4 and MKV are playable on the Humax, MP4 is probably safer, you can select a folder containing a group of VOB files and their IFO files and Handbrake will convert and join at the same time

 

[Burgensteen]

Thanks a lot.
Really appreciate the help.

 

[Black Hole]

I have not checked, but VLC will probably read a DVD and output MP4.

 

[dearleuk]

I find Vidcoder much easier to use than Handbrake

 

[catnap]

I have copied DVDs to an external drive and then played them successfully on the HDR Fox-T2. I use a Mac with the tools Ripit and Handbrake.

Ripit creates a more or less exact copy of the DVD, but also has compression capabilities.

Handbrake will not produce an exact copy but will compress a DVD, or a file created by Ripit, or various other video files.

The advantage of using both tools together for me is that multiple DVDs can be ripped then queued up for compression by Handrake.

If you search around you will find numerous suggestions as to the optimum compression settings for Handbrake. I think it really depends on your equipment and personal preferences - so some trial and error. Interestinlyg (although not sufficiently so for me to have taken the trouble to find out why) my customised Handbrake default settings specify MP4 as the output format, but depending on the format of the DVD I get either MP4 or MKV. I haven't had difficulty playing either format on the Humax.