Digital storage content Home Theater

JCA

Hi there:

I hope somebody can help me here

Currently I am planning to move my HT content from "hard storage" media( DVDs, Bluray, CDs) to digital.
I am planning to buy an Apple TV to connect to my HDTV.
The new model of Apple Tv can only downstream content but has not a hard disk capacity ( I guess that?s to enforce to use the "cloud" for tha purpse.

I would like to be able to convert all my DVDs, Blu ray movies and CDs to digital format so that I can store them in a hard disk like device and download them directly to the tv. I also would like to be able to buy content on line and be able to store it to watch it later.
I guess a device with storage capacity in the order of Terabytes would be required for this.

I have seen some in the Amazon web site, but I would like to hear some recommendations from the forum if anybody is currently using something like it.
I think that the ideal device would be something that could integrate the Apple Tv, or to have the ability to stream/store content by itself. Maybe integrate Airplay too, so it would be the hub for the home entertaiment media.

Any help is greatly appreciated,

JC

Syndil

I'm going with my usual recommendation of a NAS. NAS stands for Network Attached Storage. It's basically a box that holds one or more hard drives that is accessible to any device on your home network (LAN). I use a ReadyNAS as central storage for all of my music, photos and videos, and I can access them from any PC in the house, the SqueezeBox, or my DLNA-compatible TVs.

Most NAS devices that support multiple hard drives also support RAID. RAID means the files residing on the NAS are redundant (won't lose my stuff when a hard disk goes bad), and it also means that the storage capacity is expandable if I need more space in the future.

That said, Apple TV does not play nice with a NAS and you must use a computer running iTunes in conjunction with Apple TV, so it would not be the ideal solution for you IMO. If you want an all-in-one solution, I would go with a WD TV unit. The WD TV Live allows you to connect an external USB hard drive, or it can access files stored on a NAS. The WD TV Hub features a built-in 1TB hard drive. I prefer the WD TV Live over the Hub as it allows more flexibility with storage.

JCA

Thanks for the advice, I will look into your sugestions, now I can make a more informed decision.

JC

Glowrdr

I think a 1 or 1.5 TB drive should suit most people. I have all of my files ripped to Apple Lossless, and it consists of 13,043 songs and takes up 162 GB of data. If I recall, that's roughly 800 CD's worth of music. Granted, there are plenty of people with larger music collections than me out there - but I think I would probably be considered slightly above the norm? That should give you an idea (just to keep you from thinking you need a 4TB drive if you really don't)

Syndil

From what I gathered the OP is planning on storing movies as well, which takes up much more space of course. For movies, I'd recommend as much storage as you can afford. I would suggest starting with a 4-bay or 6-bay ReadyNAS Ultra populated with one or two 2TB drives to start, and then add more later as you need the extra capacity. The ReadyNAS will expand the RAID volume on the fly as the extra drives are added. Don't even have to turn it off.

tonyb

^^^^

Good suggestion, though you might consider going big from the git go for space, movies do take up a ton of storage.

Glowrdr

Yeah, that's true. I've got movies that are 2GB apiece, and I don't think they are ripped anything near HD. I think those go upwards of 8-10 GB don't they?

I retract my statement, and say "Go big or go home" - you'll be out of space in a couple of days with just a 1 gig drive.

ajlueke

I personally use a PC hooked to my home theater for that purpose. I use windows 7 professional and Windows Media Center.
Hop on google and look at My Movies. It is a database program that you can use to archive your DVDs and Blu-rays right into windows media center. Slysoft AnyDVD HD will allow you to make 1 to 1 rips of any movie you own, menus and all. So essentially, you create folders for your movies on the HDD you want to use, and then rip the disc into that folder using AnyDVD HD. Once it is ripped, add the movie to your database in My Movies and then tie the database entry to the file you just made. Next time you enter media center with your remote, you'll be able to play the movie off the HDD as if you were using the disc.
I currently also have a Ceton Infinitv 4 installed, to use my PC as a main DVR, so all my movies and TV are all in one place. I would be careful with a NAS solution. Blu-ray movies can really tax a wireless network, and don't always stream without stuttering. Make sure you can hook up your components with gigabit or 100 baseT ethernet to avoid any signal loss. Your home may not have as much wireless interference as mine, so maybe a high end router will work for you. I ran ethernet cables behind the walls to wall plates in the living room and bedrooms. They terminate to gigabit switches in the utility room.
It is worth noting that Windows media center will play all your ripped CDs and DVDs and well as show pictures you may have right out of the box. It will however, not play Blu-ray discs without thrid party software like PowerDVD.

Not sure if any of this info helps. I was tired of streaming services and digital copies that were compressed quality, essentially intended for a portable device like a phone or Ipod/pad. I wanted digital files so I wouldn't have to change discs to access my media, but I didn't want to sacrifice 1080p or Dolby True-HD and DTS Master. After all, I didn't buy those Polk speakers for nothing.

As other users here have noted, the bottleneck here will be storage. My system currently has 7 TB of storage in it. With HDD currently elevated because of the flooding in Tiawan, that might not be a cost effective way to go. WD Green drives or any other low rmp drive is all you need. They don't have to be the worlds fastest drive to playback movies.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Gatecrasher

I use an Addonics hot-swapable multilane SATA RAID tower. The sky's the limit as you can swap hard drives in and out on the fly like 8-track tapes. Once you start hoarding media you'll always need more space. I currently have 13 Western Digital 2TB Caviar Black hard drives and some miscellaneous 1TB and smaller ones. Lightning fast (blows USB away) and it makes it nice to just be able to quickly remove a drive and add some stuff from my desktop PC and then easily swap it back into the HTPC when done.

I have libraries of video (all of my DVDs and then some) along with massive music libraries in both 320kbps MP3 and flac.

Addonics has a huge 15 bay tower for around $800. You can get a nice 4-bay tower for a couple hundred bucks.

The only thing that sucks now is that internal hard drives are through the roof still from the Tsunami. In one week the price of a 2TB Caviar Black went from about $160 to $260.

SpiderMan1

realy ?

JCA

Thanks a lot, you certainly have given me a good orientation about the topic. I agree that I would rather have my movies available in this format rather than streaming, I am also looking for the HD factor with the quality in both sound and image.
From your experience, what is the average storage space for movies in Bluray and DVD, I understand that is hard to make generalizations about this, but I would like to have an estimate so that I can plan about the disk storage capacity, (well; I don?t have that many movies, but I would like to plan ahead for the future).
Is your PC dedicated to HT functions, or is it a general purpose machine, I ask because I would like to know how administering the software and hardware related to the HT could affect other functions.

Thanks a lot, with all the posts here I am beginnig to have a clearer idea about how to set up my system.

JCA

JCA

Thanks a lot, you certainly have given me a good orientation about the topic. I agree that I would rather have my movies available in this format rather than streaming, I am also looking for the HD factor with the quality in both sound and image.
From your experience, what is the average storage space for movies in Bluray and DVD, I understand that is hard to make generalizations about this, but I would like to have an estimate so that I can plan about the disk storage capacity, (well; I don?t have that many movies, but I would like to plan ahead for the future).
Is your PC dedicated to HT functions, or is it a general purpose machine, I ask because I would like to know how administering the software and hardware related to the HT could affect other functions.

Thanks a lot, with all the posts here I am beginnig to have a clearer idea about how to set up my system.

JCA

AsSiMiLaTeD

Storage space depends on how much you want to compress. Storing in their uncompressed full size with full quality, a DVD can be anywhere from 5 to 8 GB and a Blu Ray anywhere from 20 to 30 GB.

praedet

I have a few uncompressed Blu-rays (iso) that are 44 GB I believe. Most are 30-35. As stated above DVDs are 5-8 usually...

Gatecrasher

Here's a link to Addonics webpage:

http://www.addonics.com/products/rt93dahxml.php

Syndil

With the Addonics RAID tower you are essentially creating a NAS, but using your PC as the NAS controller instead of having a dedicated controller built in to a standalone NAS. Saves money up front, but of course means your PC must be powered on to control the RAID tower. One of the primary benefits of using a NAS is that it does not require a PC to run it. Uses much less power and saves wear on your computer.

Not saying it's a bad idea, especially if you keep your computer on all the time anyway. Just something to consider.

Gatecrasher

That's the concept I was after for using a HTPC in my system. I only need to have it turned on when drawing from the multi-media library. The SC-09TX AVR can read from external USB sources but doesn't have FLAC support and isn't nearly as versitile as the HTPC. My HTPC can read just about anything in all lossless audio formats, video formats and all DVD video regardless of the region. The HTPC can also be used to record audio or video just like a CDR/DVR or surf the web and download (but I usually do most of that offline on my desktop PC).

I very rarely use my Blu-Ray or CD players anymore. All of my CDs and DVDs are stored away in another room.