# Help with building a DVD/Media Server



## durl (Mar 27, 2003)

I'm researching the idea of building a DVD server but I'm not completely sure of how to go about it. I was hoping to get some input to let me know what I'm in for.

What I want to do:

- Primarily, rip DVDs and be able to watch them in 3 different rooms. While I only have one HD set right now, I'd like to be ready to feed HD to all 3 locations.

All my DVDs are SD but I'd like to start buying Blu-ray discs. I realize that's going to increase my memory needs.

I'd also like to move my mp3s to the server and let it become my music server. I already use an existing computer as a music server so I'm set there.

Questions:

1 - What's the best way to distribute the audio/video?

Should I install 3 separate video cards and sound cards and run cables to the various rooms? Should I run ethernet cable and then convert it to component or s-video at the other TV sites?

I'm planning to store the server in my media closet (near my HDTV in my media room) so should I have a single card with HDMI and optical sound and run that directly to my receiver?

2 - How would the various rooms call for a movie from the server? I'm guessing I could use a simple GUI but what would I need for every room to utilize it?

3 - Is the process as basic as buying a case, motherboard, cpu, hard drives, and cards?

I understand I'll have to get all those things but a general overview of parts would be helpful.


Any input would be really appreciated. Thanks.


----------



## CrestronPro (Nov 25, 2007)

A friend built a media server using a Windows MCE PC, and a software called My Movies. http://www.mymovies.dk/

From what I remember, it's a pretty cool piece of software that is constantly being developed. There are several options for using various media center extenders. The website has some pretty good information for various configurations, and I know he traded a few emails with the guy writing the software when he couldn't get things to work.

Makes for a cool interface, as well as options for your multi-zone without having to go crazy on a single pc with multiple graphic cards, etc. I've thought about building one as well - just haven't made the time to do it yet.


----------



## AlbertZeroK (Jan 28, 2006)

I'm not sure what you are doing for storage, but here, I'm using a Cateway Gm5442 (Core 2 2.0Ghz/2G/500G initially) with 3x 750g Internal SATA Samsung drives ($129 @ Newegg), 1x 500G SATA Internal (came with box), 4x eSATA Seagate Free Agent Pro and 2x750g, 2x500g USB. In total, I have 8 TB of storage. I keep 4 TB as online storage and use the other 4TB as a backup of the collection on external storage.

My system is mounting the drives into various folders in C:\Media which makes it very easy to keep one concurrent file system without having to worry about a ton of drive letters (I have C:\Media\Movies, C:\Media\SciFi TV Shows, C:\Media\Kids Stuff, C:\Media\TV Shows and their corresponding C:\Media\Backup\Movies ... etc)

As for software, I'm hoping within the year to have compatability with the HR2x Media share. Some stuff plays okay now and I'm still finding the most reliable way to rip the DVD's - but I use a PS3 in the living room for best results - we have an XBox 360 downstairs, but it won't handle MPEG2 files, so TVersity transcodes to WMV, but it sucks.

My stuff is mostly raw MPEG2 ripped without any compression, so it takes a bit of room, but it retains it's quality.


----------



## funhouse69 (Mar 26, 2007)

I have been working on this as a project for sometime now. I know that everyone has their opinions but I can at least give you some insight in to what I have done and spare you all of the growing pains I've gone through.

I am using a client server method, basically I have a system that is my dedicated "Media Server". Right now I have my entire 1000 movie library on as well as several hundred CD's worth of music. I'm sitting at about 8TB of storage in a single RAID 5 that can be expanded by just popping in another drive. I built this server myself and it is running Server 2003 but I think that Windows Server Home Edition would be my choice now. 

As for my clients I have tried several different devices in the past, none of which performed up to my satisfaction. With that in mind I use computers as my media extenders. 

With this setup you can use any computer to play the movies from the network so I can watch anything in my library on say my laptop as well as my home PC's. I also built a small dedicated machine that is connected to my entertainment center. All I am running on it is XP with 1GB of memory, the smallest HDD I could get my hands on and a DVD Reader (don't need a writer). The only place that I spent a little money was on the video card to give me HDTV out (around $70). 

I use DVD Fab Platinum as my ripping software. I do NOT compress any of the video but I only rip out the movie itself and none of the extras. From there I use Xlobby as my graphical front end combined with TheaterTek as my DVD Player software and last but not least is a StreamZap Remote Control and a Wireless keyboard which I never have to use with the remote control. 

I have had 10 systems running all at once some of which playing the same movies just to see what would happen and that is less than 100Mb/Sec of bandwidth. Since I am running a GigE network the theoretical number of simultaneous connections would be around 100 but realistically that would probably be around 80 or so.

I can not comment as of yet on any HD Format as I haven't ventured down that road. I can however say that this set up will Upconvert all of your movies which provides an amazing picture quality. 

There is something to be said about having your entire movie library at your fingertips without having to seach for a disc. I have several friends that have done the same thing and all they did was rehab an old PC to connect to their TV for playback. Once you get in to HD I assume the requirements will go up a little but can still be built for a few hundred dollars these days.


----------



## AlbertZeroK (Jan 28, 2006)

funhouse69 said:


> I use DVD Fab Platinum as my ripping software. I do NOT compress any of the video but I only rip out the movie itself and none of the extras. From there I use Xlobby as my graphical front end combined with TheaterTek as my DVD Player software and last but not least is a StreamZap Remote Control and a Wireless keyboard which I never have to use with the remote control.


Where did you get XLobby? I can't find where to buy it from


----------



## durl (Mar 27, 2003)

funhouse (and everyone else so far) - great info, thanks.

I thought about using a couple of old PCs as media extenders but I was actually hoping to simply use video cards that had s-video ports and run the cable from the card to the other rooms. (I have easy access to 2 rooms, one will be a little tougher.)

From reading other sources and trying to mesh it with my plans (and budget), here's what I imagine. Feel free to let me know if I'm going down a bad path.

Using a Core processor (or AMD equivalent), a couple of 750G or 1T drives, 3 video cards (1 HDMI, 2 S-Video/Component), DVD reader. Place it in my media closet and connect it to my wireless print server (used as an access point).

For software, I've been looking hard at Meedio Essentials. Also perhaps using the StreamZap remotes to control the server from 2 locations.


----------



## AlbertZeroK (Jan 28, 2006)

durl said:


> funhouse (and everyone else so far) - great info, thanks.
> 
> I thought about using a couple of old PCs as media extenders but I was actually hoping to simply use video cards that had s-video ports and run the cable from the card to the other rooms. (I have easy access to 2 rooms, one will be a little tougher.)
> 
> ...


you know Meedio is no more? Bought out (or sued out) by Yahoo.


----------



## durl (Mar 27, 2003)

Yep...Meedio's website says they sold part of their technology to Yahoo. I thought you could still get the software somewhere, though. I better read the site a little better to make sure of that. Thanks.


----------



## funhouse69 (Mar 26, 2007)

AlbertZeroK said:


> Where did you get XLobby? I can't find where to buy it from


Ah yes Xlobby used to be free then they got picked up by someone else - a company that does home automation. They are supposed to be releasing a new version of the application but I don't think it is going to be a stand alone product.

I don't know if you can find any copies of the old version floating around or not. Since it was free I don't have a problem e-mailing it you if you'd like. Just shoot me a PM with the address.


----------



## funhouse69 (Mar 26, 2007)

I don't know how much luck you are going to have getting a single system to work with several video cards. That sounds like a driver nightmare. At the same time if you are only going to use S-Video connections you are missing out on the best part of what this set up can do which is up-convert your signals to your HDTV. That is assuming that you are connecting to an HDTV.

Maybe do a little more research on Media Extenders - I have personally tried ones from D-Link as well as Netgear and returned them within days. Not only did they not perform anywhere near the way they should and the associated software that I had to load crashed constantly. This was sometime ago so I can only assume that they have gotten better.

I was considering giving the Apple TV a try but when it first came out it got terrible reviews. Since then I believe that they have polished it up a little better.


----------



## durl (Mar 27, 2003)

I currently have one HDTV but another 2 are possible in the not too distant future. I thought I could get by with one HDMI card and let the other two carry S-video for now. If it's going to be a nightmare to utilize 3 video cards then I don't want to go that way. I was hoping it would be simpler to go that route.

So your recommendation is to set up PCs near each TV, connect them to the DVD server via ethernet cables, then have video cards on those PCs?


----------



## funhouse69 (Mar 26, 2007)

durl said:


> I currently have one HDTV but another 2 are possible in the not too distant future. I thought I could get by with one HDMI card and let the other two carry S-video for now. If it's going to be a nightmare to utilize 3 video cards then I don't want to go that way. I was hoping it would be simpler to go that route.
> 
> So your recommendation is to set up PCs near each TV, connect them to the DVD server via ethernet cables, then have video cards on those PCs?


You might want to look in to some of the pre-made Media Extenders, maybe they have gotten better since I tried a few of them.

For me I just built my own PC's using HTPC Cases a Micro ATX Motherboard, AMD Process and the smallest drive I could find. Components are so inexpensive these days that it just made sense to me. I've built several of them for myself as well as other people. For me I have one that I have used at least once a day for well over a year and haven't had a single problem with it.


----------



## durl (Mar 27, 2003)

Thanks, funhouse. I'll look at media extenders.

You've been a terrific help with this project. I appreciate the input.


----------



## AlbertZeroK (Jan 28, 2006)

durl said:


> Thanks, funhouse. I'll look at media extenders.
> 
> You've been a terrific help with this project. I appreciate the input.


Just be VERY sure you can return what you buy. I have had a few and the most annoying issues I've seen:

- Won't play files over 2 Gigs (some won't play files over 4G) which means I can't play alot of MPEG2 movies.
- Won't FF/RW on movies (The Dlink DSM-320 won't FF/RW on any MPEG2 video!)
- Limits on Music library size
- Inability to schedule media library scans (your software should scan your media library every so often to see if you've added new files). Some software I've seen you have to re-scan manually.

Just be careful, there's a reason media extenders are not that popular.


----------



## funhouse69 (Mar 26, 2007)

AlbertZeroK said:


> Just be VERY sure you can return what you buy. I have had a few and the most annoying issues I've seen:
> 
> - Won't play files over 2 Gigs (some won't play files over 4G) which means I can't play alot of MPEG2 movies.
> - Won't FF/RW on movies (The Dlink DSM-320 won't FF/RW on any MPEG2 video!)
> ...


Great advice, I bought a few of mine from Buy.com and they were wonderful to deal with. They even picked up the return shipping and paid for the shipping to me which was totally unexpected. You could also try a local place like Best Buy.


----------

