Best ways to store Blu-rays for playback?

[php111]

The answer's easy! Nvidia Shield. I haven't used one yet, but I'm hearing a LOT of great things about it. Seems to be one of the most compatible device out there. I might have to give one a whirl one of these days.

I seen in post #2 you mentioned Western Digital TV Live. What about the 1st Gen of WD TV HD Media Player? I have but have to look for it.

 

[php111]

Bump:

I seen in post #2 you mentioned Western Digital TV Live. What about the 1st Gen of WD TV HD Media Player? I have but have to look for it.

 

[panteragstk]

Thanks so much!!

If you get the shield it can act as your server for Plex as well.

 

[Montucky]

I seen in post #2 you mentioned Western Digital TV Live. What about the 1st Gen of WD TV HD Media Player? I have but have to look for it.

I used it many, many moons ago (like 10 years ago), so I would not suggest it for a modern player. It was great at the time, but that 1st gen player would be sorely outdated by today's standards. I'm not sure about the latest iterations. Haven't heard much about them. Seems that everybody's talking about the Shield these days. I really want one personally so I can finally retire the old Boxee. All that's been lower on my priority list though since I've invested in Kaleidescape. I still want a better way to play my old media library, though, and I think that will be with the Shield.

 

[php111]

I looked into the Nvidia Shield. I seen it is $150. The problem I see with that it is 16GB. With combinding my Blu-rays and DVDs it will go over 16GB in no time at all. I cannot tell how many in total would the GBs be because I have not ripped everything. I would expect a high GB or at least a few in the TB range.

 

[pwlong]

Just to clarify: the Shield is the set-top box used for playback of content. It isn't used as the storage host for the content itself.

I'm sure it can host some content -- image files and the like -- but that's not its purpose. It is the user-facing, streaming client only. Other products that serve the same function would be the Amazon Fire TV boxes, Roku boxes, Apple TV and others. There are even barebones Android streaming clients, and the Raspberry Pi devices, if you want to get your hands dirty.

The movies are typically hosted on a separate device -- usually a NAS or equivalent storage back-end. You then configure the set-top box to stream content from the back-end storage. So the streaming box talks to the media server. Some folks have multiple streaming boxes connecting to the same back-end. In my case, I have a single hand-built Linux PC that hosts the MKV files for my four AFTVs.

Hope that clarifies -- keep asking questions if not.

 

[php111]

That does clarify!!! Thanks so much

 

[Montucky]

I looked into the Nvidia Shield. I seen it is $150. The problem I see with that it is 16GB. With combinding my Blu-rays and DVDs it will go over 16GB in no time at all. I cannot tell how many in total would the GBs be because I have not ripped everything. I would expect a high GB or at least a few in the TB range.

pwlong explained the storage issue well. Thank Goodness that storage space is cheap these days! I think I'm using up somewhere around 20+ terabytes of space between my own files and Kscape. It sure gets eaten up quickly, but I do have thousands of movies.

 

[pwlong]

I think I'm using up somewhere around 20+ terabytes of space between my own files and Kscape. It sure gets eaten up quickly, but I do have thousands of movies.

Wow, 20+ TB is quite a bit. I'm only now approaching 1TB of archived movies, with approximately half of those transcoded for reduced filesize. As you pointed out, storage has gotten very cheap, and I find I have fewer reasons to bother with recoding to optimize for space. Combine that with how obvious some transcoding artifacts are when viewed on a 100-inch screen (color gradients in particular) and I'm actually thinking of reverting to full-quality video streams for a subset of my collection.

Can you share a brief description of how you're using Kaleidescape? Specifically of interest to me: which of their products are you using, and how does the storage side work?

To briefly expand on my back-end storage setup:

- 6-core i7 CPU with 6G RAM running Ubuntu Linux
- BR disc content exported to MKV containers using MakeMKV and MKVToolnix, then organized in a directory hierarchy
- Directory structure is then exported via NFS to my Linux clients and Samba to AFTV2 clients
- Kodi is the client front-end, which imports the directory hierarchy with Kodi's movie library feature
- Linux filesystem permissions are used to prevent visibility of the movies not appropriate for the kids to see/watch

 

[Montucky]

Wow, 20+ TB is quite a bit. ...

Can you share a brief description of how you're using Kaleidescape? Specifically of interest to me: which of their products are you using, and how does the storage side work?

Sure! You are correct in that it's a lot! Only 8 of that is my traditional DVD/BD backups. I average about 5-10GB per movie for BD. DVDs (many of mine compressed from a time when space was pricier) average about 700MB-1GB. I'll likely be redoing a lot of my rips one of these days. 4K-HDR movies are HUDGE! About to download Bladerunner 2049 (released today on the K store!!!) and it's about 87 Gigabytes. At those file sizes, space on the servers can REALLY go quickly. I have a bunch of 4K movies, so thus the massive storage usage.

Kaleidescape is SUPER SUPER SUPER easy and user friendly. It really does all the server work for you. I have the Encore system consisting of a few Strato 4K players and the associated "Terra" Server. I have the 24TB version. Now they have a 40TB model! It uses their proprietary RAID-K system, which has proven totally bomber for most users. With their system, you purchase your movies from their store, and then it starts downloading and does all the management for you. If you have UV codes that came with your disc, it will link to your UV account and automatically download those too, provided they're in the K store. It's not cheap, but it is hands down my absolute favorite system that I've used so far. I'll still keep my old files around though since I have SO many movies already, but I have to rock a different player for those. 99% of the time, my family picks using Kaleidescape when it comes to movie nights. It's just SO easy for them all to use. Even my 2 year old has his own special children's remote they make, which automatically switches over to a different interface and he can only see the list that I have curated for him. It is awesome.

 

[KenM10759]

I'm curious about this. My wife has about 300 to 350 DVD's and BluRay disks, I've only got a handful because it's not my thing. No 4K content yet, but I expect to add some. If I was to start ripping these, what would be the most economical system to look at and is it something I have to put together from several different companies? What is the cost range and is it a computer that has to run all the time?

 

[Montucky]

I'm curious about this. My wife has about 300 to 350 DVD's and BluRay disks, I've only got a handful because it's not my thing. No 4K content yet, but I expect to add some. If I was to start ripping these, what would be the most economical system to look at and is it something I have to put together from several different companies? What is the cost range and is it a computer that has to run all the time?

Unless it's serving as a dedicated server, your computer only needs to be on for when you're ripping discs and packaging files. You can save them straight to externals or a networked drive, from which you just use any one of a plethora of players. Depending on your TV, it may even be able to do it natively. You can get a player that would do the trick for as cheap as $25 or go high end like the shield for around $180. All up to you and your needs/tech skill level. You could even Raspberry Pi it if you're brave enough!

 

[pwlong]

Kaleidescape is SUPER SUPER SUPER easy and user friendly. It really does all the server work for you. I have the Encore system consisting of a few Strato 4K players and the associated "Terra" Server. I have the 24TB version.

I checked out the specs on their website and admit it looks like a very capable system, with all the bells and whistles. With the cloud (K store) and backup features, it's pretty much self-contained ecosystem. Is it self-installed, or do they come set it up for you at your home? For the prices they're asking, I might hope for white-glove installation and setup

It's not cheap, but it is hands down my absolute favorite system that I've used so far. I'll still keep my old files around though since I have SO many movies already, but I have to rock a different player for those. 99% of the time, my family picks using Kaleidescape when it comes to movie nights. It's just SO easy for them all to use. Even my 2 year old has his own special children's remote they make, which automatically switches over to a different interface and he can only see the list that I have curated for him. It is awesome.

It certainly does tick all the checkboxes for features and capability. The pricing is the biggest hurdle for most folks, I expect -- that's a really nice system but as you said, no cheap. But then again, if you've got a home theater setup such that you no longer need to actually go to the theaters, it looks like you get a high-end, full-service system for that price.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[pwlong]

I'm curious about this. My wife has about 300 to 350 DVD's and BluRay disks, I've only got a handful because it's not my thing. No 4K content yet, but I expect to add some. If I was to start ripping these, what would be the most economical system to look at and is it something I have to put together from several different companies? What is the cost range and is it a computer that has to run all the time?

"Economical" means different things to different folks So the answer kinda depends on whether you are optimizing for money or time... or hassle.

To add to what Montucky correctly wrote, the back-end server can be reasonably low-end system, even one of the off-the-shelf NAS devices that needs very little, if any, maintenance. It can also be a PC you turn on/off as needed. Mine is a headless server tucked in a corner of my basement. It needn't be particularly powerful -- it just needs to spin the disks where your movie files are stored.

For playback, there are a ton of options -- which can be part of the problem. Which to choose? Each has it's pro/con list, from Raspberry Pi boxes to the full-featured Shield. In my case, I have four TVs and wanted to keep the interface the same between them, for ease of use for my family. I went with FireTV boxes, which supported Amazon, Netflix and Kodi, which I use to access my movie library.

For the ripping, any PC with a BR drive or attached reader will do fine. I use an 8-year old laptop with a similarly old BR reader. My server is running 24/7 since it serves other functions to the household.

If I were planning to rip and archive more than 100 titles -- let alone 350+ -- I'd probably try to figure out how to automate the process, so it was a bit less labor-intensive. Even for my limited ripping activities, there is a set process I follow, so I don't skip any steps each time. But it's manageable if you tackle it manually over a span of several months.

 

[BMXTRIX]

It is a significant job to rip movies to your hard drives. You will need a Blu-ray drive for your computer and the right software. It will take some time to get the hang of the software.

That said, the storage is IMO, the part you want to get right and it's extremely important to determine what you would like to spend consider you may spend a hundred plus hours getting this all sorted out and the job done. Maybe hundreds of hours.

A single drive can lose your data. If you can get two drives and copy everything to both drives, that's better.

Best, is setting up a RAID. I provided information on getting a empty RAID online, then you can put in 4 identical drives. You lose about 1/3 the space to the automated backup system that's built in, but you get redundancy so you don't lose data.

About $110+ or so to get one off eBay with NO DRIVES...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Thecus-N4100PRO-NAS-SATA-3-5-Hard-Drive-Storage-Array-No-Drives/253328287368?epid=1400163155&hash=item3afb8ae688:g:cHYAAOSwGzhaP-qx

You populate it with standard desktop hard drives you can buy from NewEgg or Amazon, then set it up once. It stays on 24/7 and you can set it to stop spinning the drives when it is not in use to lower power consumption and help with drive life.

Standard 4TB NAS hard drives are about $135 or so per unit.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236599

So, about $650 for a 10+TB setup with redundancy.

This RAID setup can be accessed by multiple players at the same time across your home network.

 

[KenM10759]

It is a significant job to rip movies to your hard drives. You will need a Blu-ray drive for your computer and the right software. It will take some time to get the hang of the software.

That said, the storage is IMO, the part you want to get right and it's extremely important to determine what you would like to spend consider you may spend a hundred plus hours getting this all sorted out and the job done. Maybe hundreds of hours.

A single drive can lose your data. If you can get two drives and copy everything to both drives, that's better.

Best, is setting up a RAID. I provided information on getting a empty RAID online, then you can put in 4 identical drives. You lose about 1/3 the space to the automated backup system that's built in, but you get redundancy so you don't lose data.

About $110+ or so to get one off eBay with NO DRIVES...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Thecus-N4100PRO-NAS-SATA-3-5-Hard-Drive-Storage-Array-No-Drives/253328287368?epid=1400163155&hash=item3afb8ae688:g:cHYAAOSwGzhaP-qx

You populate it with standard desktop hard drives you can buy from NewEgg or Amazon, then set it up once. It stays on 24/7 and you can set it to stop spinning the drives when it is not in use to lower power consumption and help with drive life.

Standard 4TB NAS hard drives are about $135 or so per unit.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236599

So, about $650 for a 10+TB setup with redundancy.

This RAID setup can be accessed by multiple players at the same time across your home network.

That's the kind of info I was hoping for, and it's appreciated because others will benefit from it. Myself, no way could I justify that kind of investment of time and money when it's mainly my wife who watches movies. I can count on my two hands (perhaps one) how many times in the past year I've walked over to one of the 2 full bookcases of movies and popped a disk into the BluRay player to watch, and mine are almost all music concerts.

We have 3 TV's in the house, one in a guest room that gets a couple of hours of use per year at most. I rarely watch the bedroom one she uses every night, and only wireless in there anyhow. I'll stick with the old-fashioned way. It's cheap and super reliable. A new player every 3 to 5 years due to technology marching on is still cheaper, and certainly less time.

It's the time more than the money that's the dealbreaker for me. It's just not that important.

 

[Montucky]

That's the kind of info I was hoping for, and it's appreciated because others will benefit from it. Myself, no way could I justify that kind of investment of time and money when it's mainly my wife who watches movies. I can count on my two hands (perhaps one) how many times in the past year I've walked over to one of the 2 full bookcases of movies and popped a disk into the BluRay player to watch, and mine are almost all music concerts.

We have 3 TV's in the house, one in a guest room that gets a couple of hours of use per year at most. I rarely watch the bedroom one she uses every night, and only wireless in there anyhow. I'll stick with the old-fashioned way. It's cheap and super reliable. A new player every 3 to 5 years due to technology marching on is still cheaper, and certainly less time.

It's the time more than the money that's the dealbreaker for me. It's just not that important.

Well then, sir, this whole thing is just not for you. And that's perfectly fine. Actually MOST people just aren't interested in investing that much time and resources into this sort of project.

For me, one of the additional benefits that I find comfort in, is that one day when disc players go the way of the dodo, I should ALWAYS be able to play my old movies. It's a method of archiving them, much in the same way that people have converted their old reel-to-reel audio tapes or VHS tapes to a digitial medium. As the original hardware gets harder and harder to come by, you can always rely on the files. As the original formats degrade (and yes, even CDs,DVDs,BDs will go south), you can always rely on the files. There are more benefits than simply the conveniences of having all your movies on tap, which is still super awesome.

 

[jinjuku]

I'm curious about this. My wife has about 300 to 350 DVD's and BluRay disks, I've only got a handful because it's not my thing. No 4K content yet, but I expect to add some. If I was to start ripping these, what would be the most economical system to look at and is it something I have to put together from several different companies? What is the cost range and is it a computer that has to run all the time?

If you have 350 mixed DVD/BR then you are looking at 12TB worth of storage given an 80/20 split.

Expect to drop about $800 on a storage setup with software to rip (AnyDVD HD). I would take the additional measure and use HandBrake to go to .MKV.

The $800 is assuming that you already have a computer with BR drive that you can use to rip.

 

[php111]

I understand the Nvidia Shield was recommended for streaming.

Would the Xbox 360 be a great option as well?

I am asking because simply if I get the Nvidia Shield than I have to buy where the Xbox 360 I do not have to buy. My relative has an Xbox 360 he is not using and never will use and he will be giving to me for free. If it was me just like anyone else I would take the free and save my money for sure...

 

[php111]

Bump!