Noob DVD questions

General discussion about the media server. Feature requests. Hints, tips and tricks.
Locked
hirschma
Posts:5
Joined:Sat Nov 24, 2007 2:28 am
Noob DVD questions

Post by hirschma » Sat Nov 24, 2007 2:35 am

I've been playing around with Twonky; I've tried it with a couple of software UPnP AV clients for the purposes of playing DVDs. Cyberlink PowerDVD worked pretty well.

My questions:

* Are there any media clients, either software or hardware, that will play IFO/VOB files like a local DVD? With menus and all that. Suggestions for best clients for DVDs welcome.

* If not, is there a "girlfriend-safe" safe way to prepare DVD for media playback? Currently using AnyDVD, which allows for simple drag n drop to a network share.

* If DVDs just don't work via UPnP, then: any networked players that can do the "right thing" with a Samba-shared folder, but still use UPnP for music?

Thanks everyone! Twonky has been a lot of fun to play with so far.

GregiBoy
Posts:102
Joined:Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:29 am
AV Hardware:Zensonic Z500 x 2, Ziova CS-505, D-Link DSM-320, iPaq RX3715, TwonkyVision 4.4.3 Windows XP, TVersity
Location:Nerang, Australia
Contact:

Post by GregiBoy » Sun Nov 25, 2007 9:26 am

Create a single ISO file using DVD Fab Decrypter and name it as the movie.

Use a Ziova CS-505/510 as a client. It will play the ISO file as if a DVD is inserted from SMB shares if set up correctly but connect wired, not wireless.

It will also work fine with Twonky to handle and play all your other media.

hirschma
Posts:5
Joined:Sat Nov 24, 2007 2:28 am

Post by hirschma » Mon Nov 26, 2007 6:29 pm

GregiBoy wrote:Use a Ziova CS-505/510 as a client. It will play the ISO file as if a DVD is inserted from SMB shares if set up correctly but connect wired, not wireless.
Thanks for the tip. Some more questions...

* You say that it needs a wired connection to handle the ISO files. Is that a limitation of the device, or is wireless too slow to do the ISO files in general?

* Have you tried the IFO parsing support? Is this likewise limited to wired connections?

Looks like a real nice device. Do any of the other media extenders offer similar feature sets? Playing ISOs over wireless, plus having the Audio and other video coming from Twonky, would be a really nice combo overall.

Thanks again.

jh

GregiBoy
Posts:102
Joined:Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:29 am
AV Hardware:Zensonic Z500 x 2, Ziova CS-505, D-Link DSM-320, iPaq RX3715, TwonkyVision 4.4.3 Windows XP, TVersity
Location:Nerang, Australia
Contact:

Post by GregiBoy » Mon Nov 26, 2007 6:55 pm

Wireless communication is the problem. Even though high speeds are advertised by the manufacturers, they are rarely achieved in real life, especially once you start applying security.

This also applies to playing using the IFO method.

Yes it will play using the IFO's also but you have to select the correct ifo. It will not play a folder. This is usually the ***_0.ifo but I don't regard this as "girlfriend proof" whereas I do playing the ISO.

Hope this helps.

hirschma
Posts:5
Joined:Sat Nov 24, 2007 2:28 am

Post by hirschma » Mon Nov 26, 2007 9:40 pm

GregiBoy wrote:Wireless communication is the problem. Even though high speeds are advertised by the manufacturers, they are rarely achieved in real life, especially once you start applying security.
Interesting. My wireless AP is more commercial grade, and it seems to maintain speeds no matter the security types used. I think that I'll try playing a file over the network to see it works with a notebook.
GregiBoy wrote: This also applies to playing using the IFO method.

Yes it will play using the IFO's also but you have to select the correct ifo. It will not play a folder. This is usually the ***_0.ifo but I don't regard this as "girlfriend proof" whereas I do playing the ISO.

Hope this helps.
Yeah, I guess that the IFO method wouldn't do so well with the gf. I greatly appreciate all of the time you've given this, very useful stuff indeed.

jh

GregiBoy
Posts:102
Joined:Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:29 am
AV Hardware:Zensonic Z500 x 2, Ziova CS-505, D-Link DSM-320, iPaq RX3715, TwonkyVision 4.4.3 Windows XP, TVersity
Location:Nerang, Australia
Contact:

Post by GregiBoy » Mon Nov 26, 2007 10:48 pm

The Z's support WEP, WPA is slated for a later release but I wouldn't rely on it happening.

Have a good read through the Z forum before you do anything rash such as parting with hard earned dollars.

I love 'em but I am biased as I have been right through all the development with them right from their first unit.

Hope it all helps.

Regards,
Greg

hirschma
Posts:5
Joined:Sat Nov 24, 2007 2:28 am

Post by hirschma » Tue Nov 27, 2007 10:05 pm

I decided to put my wireless to the DVD test. I played folder with an IFO and VOBs through a commercial package as well as an ISO using VLC - both from a Samba share.

No problems whatsoever, no matter how far I got from the access point, and my apartment is very large.

Is it possible the Ziova's wireless implementation is poor, or do I just have a great access point (damned thing cost near $200, bought it because it also does 802.11a - perhaps an unexpected bonus?)?

Thanks!

jh

GregiBoy
Posts:102
Joined:Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:29 am
AV Hardware:Zensonic Z500 x 2, Ziova CS-505, D-Link DSM-320, iPaq RX3715, TwonkyVision 4.4.3 Windows XP, TVersity
Location:Nerang, Australia
Contact:

Post by GregiBoy » Tue Nov 27, 2007 10:48 pm

It must be a GREAT access point !!!

Testing wireless on a PC can be quite misleading because a PC can grab great chunks of the stream and buffer it whereas most network media players only have limited memory for buffering.

I have encountered this buffering problem with a variety of devices (D-Link, Ziova, HP, etc) so I wouldn't say that it is because of poor implementation on the Ziova, but restriction in design of most devices. The Ziova is only capable of 802.11g (54Mbps) at best and in real life testing I have found that this is insufficient for throughput of some DVD's.

There is also another way to achieve you stated goal and that is to encode the DVD's to a standard that will work fine across wireless. I do this now and it also saves considerable disk space and I can't pick the difference in quality.

It does not contain the menus & extras and I am happy with that as I hate all that extra sh1t !!!

I use two methods, AutoGK whick encodes to an AVI containing the original DD5.1 soundtrack and Nero Encode which contains all the original chapter points and LC-AAC 5.1 sound.

This raises another point with the Ziova. To play LC-AAC 5.1 sound, you must be able to connect it via 6 RCA analogue ports to your A/V amplifier. LC-AAC is not output over optical or digital connection.

All network media players have a drawback or two somewhere and I have been fiddling around with them since the early 2000's and as I have said previously, am biased towards the Zensonics/Ziova's.

Hope this helps.
Greg

hirschma
Posts:5
Joined:Sat Nov 24, 2007 2:28 am

Post by hirschma » Wed Nov 28, 2007 4:16 am

GregiBoy wrote:It must be a GREAT access point !!!
Heh. Yeah, I keep telling myself that ;)
GregiBoy wrote: Testing wireless on a PC can be quite misleading because a PC can grab great chunks of the stream and buffer it whereas most network media players only have limited memory for buffering.
A very fair point, although I'm guessing that is less true for VLC than for other programs. It is more likely that a puny CPU has trouble driving relatively fast network transfers, plus the memory issue.
GregiBoy wrote: There is also another way to achieve you stated goal and that is to encode the DVD's to a standard that will work fine across wireless.
Meh. Not girlfriend-safe. The point is for HER to do the ripping :)
GregiBoy wrote: All network media players have a drawback or two somewhere and I have been fiddling around with them since the early 2000's and as I have said previously, am biased towards the Zensonics/Ziova's.
Yeah, I saw your postings on their forum. I think that I may wait until early next year to see if they come out with their new stuff. I have a feeling that a faster CPU+more memory is going to result in a more robust solution overall. Or the current stuff will be cheaper ;)
GregiBoy wrote: Hope this helps.
Greg
It most certainly did. I appreciate your patient and thorough answers. Beer's on me if you're in the NYC vicinity some time.

Thanks again,

jh

GregiBoy
Posts:102
Joined:Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:29 am
AV Hardware:Zensonic Z500 x 2, Ziova CS-505, D-Link DSM-320, iPaq RX3715, TwonkyVision 4.4.3 Windows XP, TVersity
Location:Nerang, Australia
Contact:

Post by GregiBoy » Wed Nov 28, 2007 9:10 am

"Meh. Not girlfriend-safe. The point is for HER to do the ripping"

I tell ya wot. It is easier to do this with DVD Fab than making a copy of the disk...

Free trial download and use generic xvid audio copy.

Trouble with waiting is that you'll get a product in the early dev phase and boy can you have fun there.

I'll take you up on the beer next time I'm in NYC :D

Locked