Storing DVDs to a hard drive?

hock79

We need to have a clear out at home and we have so many Dvds, I was thinking there must be some way of storing them to a hard drive nowadays isn't there? How would I go about doing that, and what would I need to buy to A) store them on and watch them on the TV (not computer)
We're going to a get a new TV too so anything I need to look for? I'm not very technically minded with these things so pretend you're explaining to your granny TIA

Le_Kirk

Most people are decluttering their hard drives and putting them on DVD's and USB sticks!

hock79

Ha ha! I was thinking an external hard drive, or cloud storage? Don't actually want to clutter up my computer!

kwikbreaks

Here's one easy guide...
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/digital-home/how-rip-dvd-windows-pc-mac-3332271/
There are lots of others.

A commercial DVD is double sided and could take up to 9GB to store so it's a bit less cost effective than ripping CDs. You can substantially reduce that storage requirement by only retaining the film itself and using a better compression method than the original. You may well lose some quality though. If you have many DVDs be prepared to spend quite a while doing this.

If all you want to do is save space then I'd recommend you just buy multidisc wallets and junk the cases. An example not a recommendation - http://www.mymemory.co.uk/DVD-Cases/Case-Logic/Case-Logic-336-Capacity-CD-Wallet---Black or if you have less just go for a one disk per leaf version.

===ooOoo===
Oh forgot to mention. This type of format shifting was made legal about a year ago and illegal again very recently. SFAIK it's not a criminal just a civil matter and the chances of getting caught out are as close to zero as makes no difference.

molerat

There are many programs that will do it. They can be saved as ISO images and then can be played using a virtual DVD drive or burned to disc (there is no way I allow the kids to have the originals in the back of the car). As it is not strictly legal we are not allowed to talk about it here.

arrallas

Download Handbrake, rip your DVDs to an external drive and, assuming your TV supports it, plug it in. If your TV is not that smart, you will need something to stream the movies. I use a WDTV, but there are many alternatives. You should note that ripping dvds is not a quick process...

hock79

Didn't think about it being illegal! I already store film Dvds in a wallet, but keep the cases in the loft. Have tons of TV box sets though that I've not done this with. Didn't want to chuck the cases incase I want to sell them on later but being as the secondhand value of Dvds is so low now, maybe I shouldn't worry about that.

My computer is pretty old now too so maybe it would be asking too much of it. Will check out that link although when I googled a lot of it was going over my head!

googler

hock79 wrote: »

We need to have a clear out at home and we have so many Dvds, I was thinking there must be some way of storing them to a hard drive nowadays isn't there? How would I go about doing that, and what would I need to buy to A) store them on and watch them on the TV (not computer)
We're going to a get a new TV too so anything I need to look for? I'm not very technically minded with these things so pretend you're explaining to your granny TIA

What's taking up the space is not the DVDs, but the cases.

Take all the standard-cased ones - you know, the generic plastic with a sleeve for a single card insert - and put them in a long CD/DVD storage box with the card inserts. Tuck that box away in a cupboard and throw away the cases.

Monitor how often you go to the cupboard for a DVD. I'll wager it won't be very often. Soon, you may well have forgotten what's there, having moved on to others. Ask yourself if you REALLY want to commit the time to format-shifting them, or if there's a more productive way of spending your time.

Fightsback

arrallas wrote: »

Download Handbrake, rip your DVDs to an external drive and, assuming your TV supports it, plug it in. If your TV is not that smart, you will need something to stream the movies. I use a WDTV, but there are many alternatives. You should note that ripping dvds is not a quick process...

Handbrake for windows on it's own will not rip copy protected DVD's, you need libdvdcss-2.dll, see here:

http://grandiloquentmusings.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/ripping-encrypted-dvds-with-handbrake.html

almillar

Owning the DVD gives you the right to watch it legally - sell the disc, sell the right to watch.
Storing it on your computer for convenience (and shoving the discs/boxes in the loft) is stuck in this stupid technicality that music is. It's technically illegal to move music (or video) that you own, onto a computer.
So you're allowed to buy an iPod and iTunes, but not put your CDs onto it.
Of course this is a farce and was got rid of, but has been brought back in within the last few weeks because of the record companies. But you'll not be going to jail!
Putting them on your computer - good. Putting them on your computer then selling them - bad.

kwikbreaks

Given what you've said so far I'd still recommend using wallets and binning the boxes completely. Resale value is indeed very low with £1-2 being a typical car boot or charity shop price. Ripping a DVD and reformatting to about 1GB can easily take an hour or more. Life's too short for that. Especially as you'll probably never watch most of them again anyway.