Ron Texas
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It's possible to rip Blu Ray with certain older players and Playstations which have been hacked with custom firmware. It is a lot of trouble.
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Never saw one. Helluva download at 30-50 gigs.
Definitely worth buying. If you want to watch a movie in it's best sound quality you need it. (and isn't that the reason why we're all here?) Dolby Atmos/7.1/5.1 DTS-M/X in it's uncompressed versions, discs are the only way to get it. For Top shelf BD/4K/8K video, discs are still king. I know the laziness of the general public is slowly putting an end to physical media, but we're not the general public, we look to have the best in our reproduction sources whether that be audio or video.
I rip and store a lot of audio files, mainly of the multichannel type these days. Haven't started ripping video as I'm not to type to watch a movie over and over like a music album, of the few that I do, I'll just buy the disc.
Thank goodness Redbox is still alive and well in my area, I can rent the most current/popular BD discs for $2 a day or less. And when the discs aren't popular any more they sell the rentals real cheap. All the on-demand streamers cost much more for a single view rental with much lower audio and video qualtiy.
Long live disc players.
I rip and store a lot of audio files, mainly of the multichannel type these days. Haven't started ripping video as I'm not to type to watch a movie over and over like a music album, of the few that I do, I'll just buy the disc.
Thank goodness Redbox is still alive and well in my area, I can rent the most current/popular BD discs for $2 a day or less. And when the discs aren't popular any more they sell the rentals real cheap. All the on-demand streamers cost much more for a single view rental with much lower audio and video qualtiy.
Long live disc players.
And I may have been (and still am) lucky as my 103, 105 and 205 seem to function flawlessly.
That's still smaller than most AAA game releases...
I say buy the player, all day long.
It comes down to what you think your time is worth. Figuring out the format, DRM circumvention, storage, encoding, playback and all that is just not worth it to me. For the few titles that I care to keep on hand for repeated viewing, I just picked up a Panasonic DP-UB420. $150, quiet, remote works around a corner, nice unit. I'm not looking for anything fancy, no SACD or Blu Ray Audio playback.
It comes down to what you think your time is worth. Figuring out the format, DRM circumvention, storage, encoding, playback and all that is just not worth it to me. For the few titles that I care to keep on hand for repeated viewing, I just picked up a Panasonic DP-UB420. $150, quiet, remote works around a corner, nice unit. I'm not looking for anything fancy, no SACD or Blu Ray Audio playback.
No special hardware is required, just a PC/Mac with a blu-ray drive and software that is readily available and can easily be found with a google search.
Ron Texas
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Any particular brand of drive?
Not to my knowledge Ron. I use an old Asus BC-12B1ST b that's read-only with BD
The previous link was to UHD drives, which will read BD but are $$$$.
I can't recommend any particular drives as I have never tried this as I have a standalone Blu ray player in a HT setup., but I think just about anything that will read BD drives will do. The secret sauce is in the software that decrypts the data from the drive.
Edit - This is in no way a recommendation for software, but pretty much the first link on a google search for 'blu ray ripping software' lead me to https://www.dvdfab.cn/blu-ray-ripper.htm?trackID=headmenu2#tech_specs which simply state 'a blu ray drive'
I can't recommend any particular drives as I have never tried this as I have a standalone Blu ray player in a HT setup., but I think just about anything that will read BD drives will do. The secret sauce is in the software that decrypts the data from the drive.
Edit - This is in no way a recommendation for software, but pretty much the first link on a google search for 'blu ray ripping software' lead me to https://www.dvdfab.cn/blu-ray-ripper.htm?trackID=headmenu2#tech_specs which simply state 'a blu ray drive'
So here is a quick simplified guide to ripping DVD and blu-ray.
1. Download and install MakeMKV to your computer. Software will decrypt the DVD/Blu and will place a folder of MKV files on your desktop, etc. You will have to buy it after a few months. Maybe $50.
2. Download and install HandBrake. The software will convert the MKV files into the format and resolution that you wish. You'll figure it out from the drop downs.
3. Plex Server. Its free. You can load it on most any OS. I use a Mac Mini. You will need to register and create a login. Place all your converted movies into a folder and have Plex index it.
4. Install Plex client app on your smart TV, Roku, Apple TV, etc. You'll login with the same credentials and it will find the Plex Server on your network.
You can now stream from your easy chair with a remote and watch all your movies. Plex uses less computer power than Roon.
1. Download and install MakeMKV to your computer. Software will decrypt the DVD/Blu and will place a folder of MKV files on your desktop, etc. You will have to buy it after a few months. Maybe $50.
2. Download and install HandBrake. The software will convert the MKV files into the format and resolution that you wish. You'll figure it out from the drop downs.
3. Plex Server. Its free. You can load it on most any OS. I use a Mac Mini. You will need to register and create a login. Place all your converted movies into a folder and have Plex index it.
4. Install Plex client app on your smart TV, Roku, Apple TV, etc. You'll login with the same credentials and it will find the Plex Server on your network.
You can now stream from your easy chair with a remote and watch all your movies. Plex uses less computer power than Roon.
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Thanks for the heads up, I had done an initial search for Panasonic players but was seeing prices closer to $500 until you mentioned that model.
Just starting to use Plex a little more...
Does the playback depend on the playback device and not the server limitations?
For example...mac mini with 1080p limitation acting as server, nvidia shield or other plex streamer with 4k capability.
I'm assuming it is only limited to playback capability and any transcoding would be based on playback, but thought I'd ask.
I do not use 4K because of storage size. However, yes I understand what you are saying. So if you look at your Plex Server under Settings>General>Transcoder you will see disable video stream transcoding. By disabling you push the transcoding to the client/streaming device. I did have a problem a few years ago with my Apple TV. Plex was playing back audio and not video for a movie. Disabled transcoding on the server and forced that the the streaming device. Solved the problem.
Outstanding. Thank you.
Netflix today announced that they would acquiesce to the EU's request to reduce the quality of their streaming so as to reduce bandwidth
Best to get that Blu-ray player working if you want to use your home theater systems, as this could happen in any country during the current crisis.
Best to get that Blu-ray player working if you want to use your home theater systems, as this could happen in any country during the current crisis.
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