CD/DVD Software for NAS

small

Hi,

I have just brought a Netgear NAS mainly for music, videos and DVDs to stream to my devices (Xbox, Wii, PCs). Previously I used WMP to handle the CDs when putting them on the PC hard drive.

What is the recommended solution by the experts out there?

thanks

BackOnTrack

A NAS is a just networked hard disk effectivley so you can't rip music with it. So just do what you were doing before and save it to the NAS.

googler

How about you tell us precisely what you want to DO with your music?

What's the replay system?

Are you looking for software suggestions for ripping TO the drive, or for streaming the music to other devices?

small

Both.

I have lots of different devices to replay via - PS2, Xbox, Wii, PC, Laptop, Joggler and wifi mobiles.

for the music, I just use WMP to mp3 in a flat file structure.

for DVD - no clue

KillerWatt

As BackOn Track says, a NAS box is nothing more than a hard disk.
If you want other devices to be able to access the data you have on it (eg, music, movies, etc) then simply start up the media streamer of your choice (eg, your Wii, X-Brick, etc), connect to the share that you have created on the NAS box, and away you go.

googler

I'm afraid I don't get why all these devices are 'replay systems' - I was expecting the OP to respond that he was plugging the NAS into a DA Converter, Amplifier and Speakers - that's what I class as a replay system.....

small

I didn't say systems as I don't have any. I do have lots of devices that can access the hard disk over the network and then play the mp3 files from the NAS. It is prsently done by navigating the file structure rather than anything better. This is OK for me but not for the kids and my wife. They could do with a nice interface to help them.

The DVD side, I completely stuck on.

KillerWatt

small wrote: »

They could do with a nice interface to help them.

You can either mod your Wii / X brick if you want the eye candy, build a dedicated PC to do the job using something like XBMC for the front end, or buy a dedicated media tank.

In fact, you can download a "bootable" CD/USB image of XBMC, boot your PC with it, and have a little play.
If the "live" version can't handle your hardware natively, you can download the installer and run it from within Windows.

The bootable option is a 400MB download, while the Windows version is 40MB - something to bear in mind if you are traffic managed.

You can read more about XBMC at http://xbmc.org/

small wrote: »

The DVD side, I completely stuck on.

A properly configured media tank will play anything you throw at it.

We have the Egreat M34a, while the kids have a Popcorn A110 each fitted with 500GB drives.
The only potential drawback (for some people) on the Popcorn units is that they are only HDMI 1.2 capable, while the only thing I can fault the Egreat unit on is the inability to store an HDD inside the actual case of the unit.

Where the Egreat is concerned, you have to leave the HDD just sitting there if you decide to add storage capability using the eSata port.

UK prices for the Egreat M34a seem to be around the £110 mark, although you can get them for under the ton easily if you want to order from abroad.

The Popcorn A110's are no longer available new (superseded), but secondhand they go for around the £100 mark with an HDD fitted and the latest software installed.