After ripping the DVDs I’ll be needing to encode them so I can watch them on my various devices. The premier software in this category is the open source Handbrake. There’s versions for Mac OS X, Linux and Windows. I’ve been using Handbrake 0.9.2 for OS X. Handbrake can encode directly from DVD if they are unencrypted or encrypted with CSS encryption. But Handbrake isn’t a dedicated ripper and feeding Handbrake unencrypted video is recommended for best results. I took the approach of first ripping the DVDs to disk using [...] Read the rest »
Of Browsers & Operating Systems
There were a couple interesting events in the world of site statistics for this site (it’s a very small world). Windows climbed to the top of list for operating systems used by visitors to this site and as of now 50% of all visitors is are on Windows. Since it’s launch OS X has always held the top spot. This was mainly due to the large amount of traffic my post about replacing Windows Home Server disks attracted. That was a bit of an anomaly and OS X traffic in [...] Read the rest »
WHS: Disk Management Add-In & Power Pack 1
Philip Churchill, on his MS Windows Home Server Site, is reporting that the Windows Home Server Disk Management Add-In may have compatibility issues with the upcoming WHS Power Pack 1 update and shouldn’t be used with it. I’ve mentioned before that I use the disk management add-in so wanted to pass this along. Although I’ve yet to install Power Pack 1 because it’s still in beta form. Read the rest »
DVD Ripping Software: Fairmount & SlySoft AnyDVD
I’ve been looking at two pieces of software to rip my DVDs as part of my Video on Demand project. They are pretty much polar opposites. One is free (open source/GPL license) while the other is commercial. One is for Windows and the other is for the Mac. Fairmount is Open Source for the Mac that is included in the download for DVDRemaster. DVDRemaster is a commercial product that does not have to be installed (and I haven’t installed it). Fairmount does require that the VLC Video Player is also [...] Read the rest »
If I Have the Space the Files Will Come
It seems there’s never enough space. I just added an additional terabyte of space to my Windows Home Server recently and already I’d eaten that up and added another 500GB through the eSATA connection. Prior to expanding the disk I had cleaned up old files and had nearly a terabyte free. Clearly I was out of control. If I have the space there’s no reason to use restraint. The solution was simple and non-technical. I’d been ripping and encoding DVDs and rather than deleting the ripped files once encoded I [...] Read the rest »
Replacing Windows Home Server Disks
Since I decided to start ripping my video library to disk I quickly realized my Windows Home Server would run out of space in fairly short order. I had four 500GB drives in it already so there weren’t any bays free, I’d have to replace one or more drives. The sweet spot for hard drive prices seems to be with 750GB drives these days. But the price of 1TB drives are also dropping, so I got two Western Digital Caviar WD10EACS 1GB drives, which actually cost less than the 500GB [...] Read the rest »
