pc dvd jukebox

This was taken from Kevin Rose's site. We all know him and love him as the Dark Tipper from The Screen Savers.

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I'm a minimalist. I throw away my CD jewel cases in favor of a binder, and I use KVMs in place of multiple monitors. For me, the less the better. So in my quest to consolidate everything, I recently ripped my entire DVD collection to create the ultimate PC DVD jukebox.

Saving Space -

Dual layer DVDs (most movies) can hold up to 8.5GB of data. That much information can fill any new hard drive with a quickness. So, if you really want to create a DVD jukebox, you need to figure out a way to shrink down the data while maintaining video quality.

Removing Content -

Almost all DVDs sold today come with a bunch of extra features you really don't need. Do you really need the French dubbed version of your DVD? You may not, but it's still on the disc taking up space. I started out by taking an 8.2GB DVD and removing the all of the dubbed content, special features, and director's commentary. The disc is now only 6.2GB and maintains the original video and audio quality. I prefer the removal process over recompressing the DVD as it doesn't compromise video quality. I want my jukebox to be as good as their original DVD counterparts.

How to do it –

So how do you remove extras? I use an application called DVD Decrypter. DVDD allows you to choose the content you want, and save it down to a single (non-compressed) .iso file. Now we have our newly created .iso file, but what do we do with it? In order to trick your PC into thinking you just inserted a fresh DVD, we have to create a virtual drive from the .iso file. We accomplish this by using a utility called DAEMON Tools. Once installed, you simply right click on the .iso file and choose mount. In my case, this created an e:\ drive; tricking the PC into thinking it has an additional DVD-ROM.

Playing the Movie –

<>Now that your PC thinks there is a movie in the e:\ drive, simply fire up your favorite DVD player and start watching. I personally don't like watching DVDs on my PC, so I send my movies out through my ATI All-In-Wonder directly to the TV. All in all, I was able to fit over 50 DVDs onto my 400GB HD.

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- DVD Decrypter
- DAEMON Tools
- ATI All-In-Wonder


Thanks Kevin!