How do i Put my entire dvd collection on my computer?

Question

exactly what i want to do is burn all my dvd's to my computer and have some type of software, if it exist, to create a "dvd media center" where i can manage all of my almost 500 titles. it would be cool if i could search alphabetically, search by type and once i find the dvd i want to watch then i can click on it and it will start playing on my computer.

i have a very nice computer with windows xp pro. do i have to buy a full version mce or can i side grade or upgrade to mce?
space isnt an issue here. got a couple hundred gigs so far with lots of room for large harddrives. dvd's are 4.3gigs why would a 4.3 gig dvd take up 9 gigs on your hard drive?

so whats the next step?

Answer 1

I hope you have disk space.

I was wrong on the math. See below.

I don't believe that MS will sell you a copy of XP-MC.
The last I read, you have to buy a computer w/ it installed. MC is not tested across all platforms.

Standard size commercial DVD is 9GB. Most movies (if you remove the additional soundtracks) are in the 3.7 - 6GB range. Assuming 5GB per movie and 500 movies that is 2500GB or 2.5 TeraBytes.
Now, you could compress the movies further (loose some quality compared to the original DVD) and save space but, with 500 titles you still need gobs of disk space.

For now, don't upgrade the HardDrive and OS. Keep what you have. You need the software (for winXP). I will preface w/ a warning: If you make copies of DVDs - it is illegal and I am not advising you to copy DVDs.

One vendor is http://www.slysoft.com/en/
They sell CloneDVD which I think does what you want.
It may allow you to "RIP" or copy the DVD to the hard drive.

DVDs are encoded to prevent you from ripping. Every now and then you will buy a movie that you cannot rip. More than likely you'll have to buy an updated copy of the software that handles the new encryption scheme.

Again, copying DVDs -even if it's not for profit - is illegal and I don't deal w/ that... this will help you to build a "entertainment server" in your home.

Answer 2

2.5 TB is an awful lot of space needed to store 500 dvds. You'll have to have some cash for that, I'm sure. Not to mention it would probably take you atleast a two weeks to rip the dvds. Wouldn't it be better to just buy a 500 disc dvd player from Sony? As for the copyright issues, you can copy a disc that you own for use as a backup but other than that is is illegal. I'd say 99% of all discs can be copied by programs such as dvdshrink etc... Maybe look into the new media center modules that you can hook up to your computer, tv and stereo systems.

Answer 3

I would encode them to divx, xvid or windows media to save disk space. They can compress movies down to about 700mb. The quality of the picture remains pretty sharp. You can find software on the web. Regards.