Video Asylum

Posted by bassbinotoko (A) on July 01, 2009 at 00:03:18

In Reply to: RE: HTPC Software posted by homebrewsupply@comcast.net on June 22, 2009 at 19:42:06

For ripping, DVDFab is my choice, because it is currently free for basic ripping functions, and regularly updated to handle new protection schemes.
[url]http://www.dvdfab.com[/url]

Other options are AnyDVD (not free, but it handles Blu-ray and HD-DVD).
[url]http://www.slysoft.com/en/[/url]
And MakeMKV which claims to rip DVD and Blu-ray into mkv without re-encoding.
[url]http://www.makemkv.com[/url]

I'd avoid codec packs... I installed one once and getting rid of the unnecessary stuff it installed was a lot of work. If you need to play something alien, try VLC... it plays just about everything with no external codecs to worry about.
[url]http://www.videolan.org[/url]
Media Player Classic is another:
[url]http://mpc-hc.sourceforge.net/[/url]

I was going to suggest Snapstream Beyond TV, since I was really impressed by its PVR capability and appliance-like ease of use when I tried it a few years ago. And I could've sworn it could play media other than recorded TV, but that seems to have been removed from the current product.

However, I found a link from their forum to Mediaportal, which appears to be the ultimate PVR/HTPC software, and it's free. There's even a plug-in to rip CDs and DVDs.

• MEDIAPORTAL   (Open in New Window)