Movie Server

Mitchell1

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I was thinking and I came up with a good idea so that you do not have to have so many DVDs sitting around. I thought that you could just take a computer and put all your DVDs on it and then connect it to your TV and then you could have some kinda program that runs on the computer so you can just select the movie that you want to watch.

What would I need to do this?
 
What software would I need to play the movies because the files would be in a VOB format when you take them off the DVD? Also what program could I use to select the DVDs or would I just have to have a mouse and click on the files?
 
you can use vlc media player to play vobs. And you would most likely have to use a mouse to work it out.
 
Or buy one of those shuttle like systems with a remote and the software.
 
For the storage your going to need if you have a lot of films, you'll need at least Raid 1 or preferably Raid 5. You need fault tollerance, If you lose your films your going to be gutted.
 
With Raid 1, you need at least 2 drives. 1 drive is an exact copy of the other. everything writen goes on both drives. That means if you have 2 x 160Gb drives. Your total capacity will be 160gb, not 320gb. If one drive fails you have a perfect copy still there.

Raid 5 is more complicated but I'll try to explain in a fasion that's not strictly true but is close enough.

With Raid 5 you need at least 4 drives. When something is written it goes onto 3 drives (not copies). The fourth drive stores details of the files written to the other 3. This means if you have 4 x 160Gb drives your total capacity will be 480Gb (3x160). If one of the three drives fails. Using the information stored on the fourth drive you can re-create the failed drive. you have to install a new Hd of course. but it will "Like magic" be re-built from the two remaining drives and 4th.

So you have the speed of stripping (Raid 0) and Fault tollerance.

Theres also raid 1.5 in which you use 4 drives. 2 are stripped and two are mirrors. 4 x 160gb gives 320gb capacity. Speed and fault tollerance also.

Stripping is where you have say a 1gig file. it is saved to two stripped drives. It saves 64k on one drive and simultaneously 64k on the other. So theoretically the one gig file is written in half the time (512Mb on each). And when you load, it is loaded 512mb of each drive. twice the speed.
 
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