Mac as a Movie Server?

audioguy · Aug 4, 2015

I know this is primarily a music forum but I am sure there are a few closet videophiles lurking around.

I will have a spare MacBook Pro soon and wanted to investigagte using it to rip and playback my most frequently viewed Blurays. I have a Windows based music server (with JRiver) and while the audio and functionality are excellent, I am not a fan of Windows(consider that a major understatement). Even after all of this time, it still "feels" like it is written on top of DOS. Crypric methods, cryptic messages, etc. If a PC is the only solution, then i will just pass.

So, if anyone has tackled this, I would love to hear about your experiences, best ripping and viewing software and anythng else that might assit me in moving forward.

Thanks.

prerich · Aug 5, 2015

audioguy said:
I know this is primarily a music forum but I am sure there are a few closet videophiles lurking around.

I will have a spare MacBook Pro soon and wanted to investigagte using it to rip and playback my most frequently viewed Blurays. I have a Windows based music server (with JRiver) and while the audio and functionality are excellent, I am not a fan of Windows(consider that a major understatement). Even after all of this time, it still "feels" like it is written on top of DOS. Crypric methods, cryptic messages, etc. If a PC is the only solution, then i will just pass.

So, if anyone has tackled this, I would love to hear about your experiences, best ripping and viewing software and anythng else that might assit me in moving forward.

Thanks.

Time to pass....

asiufy · Aug 5, 2015

Do you have a NAS? You might want to look into this app called Plex. It's a complete media server, including video and music, and it'll run directly on a NAS. You can run it on your Mac too, for a taste, and if you like it, go for the NAS...
Plex seems to be geared more towards video, while the app I use, Twonky, lean towards music use.

cheers,
alex

Audioseduction · Aug 5, 2015

I would pass. To view Blu-Ray in 1080P at a decent frame rate you need a powerful GPU (graphics processor unit). My dedicated movie server is a Intel i7 CPU based with a GeForce GTX 570 video card with 2 gigs of video RAM. I use JRiver v20 to serve my movies in it's full glory. You may play videos but not at it's best. I store my movies on 2 15TB RAID 5 storage devices. Warning! Blu-Rays take up a lot of room!

edorr · Aug 5, 2015

I'm with audioseduction on this one. I have gone through many configurations and you need serious horsepower for video processing. Forget mac. JRiver with a Multi Media server with dedicated HDMI card is recommended. Incidentally, I have one for sale (Monster Fanless with Lynx Soundcard and EVGA GeForce 750 Ti Video Card).

I use AnyDVD, PavTube Bytecopy and Handbreak for BR ripping depending on my need. It is a bit of a learning curve, but once you figured it out there is no going back.

Audioseduction · Aug 5, 2015

edorr said:
I'm with audioseduction on this one. I have gone through many configurations and you need serious horsepower for video processing. Forget mac. JRiver with a Multi Media server with dedicated HDMI card is recommended. Incidentally, I have one for sale (Monster Fanless with Lynx Soundcard and EVGA GeForce 750 Ti Video Card).

I use AnyDVD, PavTube Bytecopy and Handbreak for BR ripping depending on my need. It is a bit of a learning curve, but once you figured it out there is no going back.

Eudora, give me your EVGA GeForce 750 Ti Video Card please!

I use DVDFab to rip my DVDs & Blu-Rays. Works Great!!!

Nyal Mellor · Aug 5, 2015

audioguy said:
I know this is primarily a music forum but I am sure there are a few closet videophiles lurking around.

I will have a spare MacBook Pro soon and wanted to investigagte using it to rip and playback my most frequently viewed Blurays. I have a Windows based music server (with JRiver) and while the audio and functionality are excellent, I am not a fan of Windows(consider that a major understatement). Even after all of this time, it still "feels" like it is written on top of DOS. Crypric methods, cryptic messages, etc. If a PC is the only solution, then i will just pass.

So, if anyone has tackled this, I would love to hear about your experiences, best ripping and viewing software and anythng else that might assit me in moving forward.

Thanks.

Been there, done that, at least with Windows / JRiver. Messy, to say the least. JRiver is very cryptic, plus there are all the video card driver settings, and that's before you start fussing with MADVR! I thought it turned out ok, but was overly complex and unsupportable and now use an Oppo

Recommendation; just save your time and buy something designed to do the job i.e. kaleidescape, and I'd wait until they release their UHD model next year.

Audioseduction · Aug 6, 2015

Nyal Mellor said:
Been there, done that, at least with Windows / JRiver. Messy, to say the least. JRiver is very cryptic, plus there are all the video card driver settings, and that's before you start fussing with MADVR! I thought it turned out ok, but was overly complex and unsupportable and now use an Oppo

Recommendation; just save your time and buy something designed to do the job i.e. kaleidescape, and I'd wait until they release their UHD model next year.

For me JRiver was easy to setup.

Nyal Mellor · Aug 6, 2015

Audioseduction said:
For me JRiver was easy to setup.

It's not that easy for most people, and JRiver could do with much better documentation. There are multiple pieces of software to figure out (JRiver plus the Blu-Ray decryption software), the video card driver settings, and if you turn on RO HQ the MAD VR settings. Now, I admit, my project was looking at replacing pre-pro with a HTPC, but even just using it as a movie server there's a lot of work to be done. It's for that reason many don't use JRiver and use other pieces of software like Plex.

Here was my project: http://www.acousticfrontiers.com/201366how-to-replace-your-home-theater-pre-pro-with-a-htpc/.

FWIW I've pretty much given up on the PC as movie / music server. The cost of well designed and engineered products like Aurender N100 and the K-Scape servers approaches that of a silent, custom PC with vastly better user interface and reliability.

Audioseduction · Aug 6, 2015

Nyal Mellor said:
It's not that easy for most people, and JRiver could do with much better documentation. There are multiple pieces of software to figure out (JRiver plus the Blu-Ray decryption software), the video card driver settings, and if you turn on RO HQ the MAD VR settings. Now, I admit, my project was looking at replacing pre-pro with a HTPC, but even just using it as a movie server there's a lot of work to be done. It's for that reason many don't use JRiver and use other pieces of software like Plex.

Here was my project: http://www.acousticfrontiers.com/201366how-to-replace-your-home-theater-pre-pro-with-a-htpc/.

FWIW I've pretty much given up on the PC as movie / music server. The cost of well designed and engineered products like Aurender N100 and the K-Scape servers approaches that of a silent, custom PC with vastly better user interface and reliability.

I would agree there are a few hoops to jump thru but the picture and sound quality is awesome. I have been in the computer industry for 20+ years so it comes natural for me to setup.

dallasjustice · Aug 8, 2015

This software is required to play bluray in jriver:
http://www.slysoft.com/en/

It works fine. But you'll soon discover there's a cat-and-mouse game going on between bluray encryption and anydvd. It's never fun to rent a bluray and tell the wife the movie is "ready" only to hit play and discover that slysoft hasn't kept up with the latest encryption and the movie is unwatchable until anydvd get its newest update.

Jriver cannot afford to foot the bill for proper decryption, so this is the way it is with Jriver for the foreseeable future.

dallasjustice · Aug 8, 2015

i really think the only viable future for HD content and cable TV content which just works every time will have to come from something like Apple TV. Unfortunately, it's been a joke thus far and may never offer something feasible for a serious hi-end system. The theoretical advantages of Apple TV is that it could offer the "live" content alongside the HD movie content. But it seems like Apple is struggling with content providers. So this may not happen soon.

Audioseduction · Aug 8, 2015

I use DVDFab to rip both DVD & BR and never have issues.

dallasjustice · Aug 8, 2015

Audioseduction said:
I use DVDFab to rip both DVD & BR and never have issues.

Maybe this is the best compromise. I'll try ripping next time. Is there any manual labor involved with chapter, etc?

Audioseduction · Aug 8, 2015

dallasjustice said:
Maybe this is the best compromise. I'll try ripping next time. Is there any manual labor involved with chapter, etc?

No, I just rip the main movie and be done with it. Very, very easy!

dallasjustice · Aug 8, 2015

Audioseduction said:
No, I just rip the main movie and be done with it. Very, very easy!

2 questions:
1. Once it's ripped, does Jriver require the arcsoft .dll file to play the ripped file?
2. How long does it usually take to rip an average movie?

Audioseduction · Aug 8, 2015

dallasjustice said:
2 questions:
1. Once it's ripped, does Jriver require the arcsoft .dll file to play the ripped file?
2. How long does it usually take to rip an average movie?

No, I never installed any other 3rd party software. Play back is built-in JRiver. Takes average of 40 minutes to rip BR and much shorter time for DVD.

Fitzcaraldo215 · Aug 8, 2015

dallasjustice said:
2 questions:
1. Once it's ripped, does Jriver require the arcsoft .dll file to play the ripped file?
2. How long does it usually take to rip an average movie?

1. Arcsoft's .dll is no longer needed with JRiver. JRiver has now incorporated a different built in scheme, which works fine once you remove Arcsoft's .dll if you had been using that. For others, this was only about decoding DTS HD MA, which JR now does automatically, but which used to require this workaround for that one codec. All others worked fine and still do.

2. 30-45 minutes, depending on film length.

dallasjustice · Aug 8, 2015

Thanks. But isn't anydvd still required to defeat the DRM?

Fitzcaraldo215 said:
1. Arcsoft's .dll is no longer needed with JRiver. JRiver has now incorporated a different built in scheme, which works fine once you remove Arcsoft's .dll if you had been using that. For others, this was only about decoding DTS HD MA, which JR now does automatically, but which used to require this workaround for that one codec. All others worked fine and still do.

2. 30-45 minutes, depending on film length.

Fitzcaraldo215 · Aug 9, 2015

dallasjustice said:
Thanks. But isn't anydvd still required to defeat the DRM?

Yes. I get regular updates to AnyDVD by subscription. I have had few problems with AnyDVD, even new releases from Netflix.

The only problem I have with JRiver on BDV is unlabeled chapters. And, of course, the menu on the disc is inaccessable. All you get is a numerical list of chapters with no names. You can create "Particles" with full tagging, but that is an entirely manual effort, including entering the chapter timings. I do not care about that for movies, but my collection is concerts, operas, ballets, etc. I have not tackled the Particle tagging because it is too much work. JR has been asked for better support in this area for quite some time, but it seems unimportant to them.

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