Backing up DVD / blu ray & CD collection?

[DevTech]

2 hours ago, sc302 said:

Regarding locking topics, tech changes and the way to accomplish things change. If it is a few years old it is best to start a new topic to get relevant current information and ask questions,  not go on in an old topic. Some topics are related to the op, for example: someone two years later comes on to give advice to the op who asked how to format a usb. Chances are the op figured it out. 

 

If you have a question post it in a new post, if you are solving a two plus year old topic don’t bother. 

There are different categories than just simple question and answer and even under that there are shades of gray. I have a bunch of threads which are almost pure info for example with the odd question - for example I have a ranking of best affordable video cards which will get out of date but if someone wanders by and asks a question, although the tech is dated, I would be motivated to update it - there are many other less clear examples, but if more people can be convinced to view the tech forums as a repository, then we can curate it and be gardeners of a rich legacy...

[sc302 Veteran]

Posting a new topic with relevant questions would receive relevant answers.  Tech in general has a 6month life span. As a technologist you know this.  Many procedures change and find better ways to accomplish the same thing.  Instead of mucking up a previous post create a new one and it will be answered with more current ways of accomplishing things.  Many people go back and quote previous comments years later to only correct them or put a new spin on it.  That isn’t really adding to the discussion. If it truly adds to the discussion so be it, but rarely does it add but we will split the topic if there is enough info in the question that would make sense to create a new topic out of it.  It is better to ask a new question than it is to continue on an old topic. 

[Technique]

4 hours ago, BudMan said:

So you got something ripped with makemkv - did you get it input in too plex yet and watch it on your TV?

 

Did you name it correctly so plex can find the info?  We are all curious how big the file was   What was your impression of the quality? etc. etc.

No i've not watched it on the TV yet. As said earlier - i can't yet get Plex on my TV. I guess i must be able to do it through Kodi or the Amazon FireStick as i've seen Kodi mentioned but i'd need to YouTube that which i haven't yet done. I've emailed Panasonic to see if it's possible to get it direct on my TV so i expect a reply from them in the coming days.

 

As for the filesize it was 5.69GB. I think the DVD itself is about 8something when i looked at it in My Computer but i took out all the foreign audio & subtitles leaving only the English.

 

As for the quality, i only watched snippets of it (as i hadn't yet watched the movie and didn't want any spoilers) on my PC and the quality while watchable was not as good as on the TV (watched the movie direct from the DVD last night - hence the beer night i mentioned earlier). So i can only assume that the reason i didn't 'get' your take on the quality at the beginning of this thread is due to PS4 upscaling.

[+BudMan MVC]

If you have firestick should take you all of 2 minutes to get access to your plex server.

[DevTech]

7 hours ago, sc302 said:

Posting a new topic with relevant questions would receive relevant answers.  Tech in general has a 6month life span. As a technologist you know this.  Many procedures change and find better ways to accomplish the same thing.  Instead of mucking up a previous post create a new one and it will be answered with more current ways of accomplishing things.  Many people go back and quote previous comments years later to only correct them or put a new spin on it.  That isn’t really adding to the discussion. If it truly adds to the discussion so be it, but rarely does it add but we will split the topic if there is enough info in the question that would make sense to create a new topic out of it.  It is better to ask a new question than it is to continue on an old topic. 

That's the theory. And the party line. And I wouldn't be surprised if the vast majority of people would nod their heads and go "yeah, that sums it up"

 

But in reality, threads get a kind of momentum and a lot of people being pinged keeps it going...

 

But,  when you start a new spin-off thread it most often always tends to die quickly, despite the logical idea that a new thread would attract people more interested in that spin-off subject. Problem is that humans mostly don't appear to work that way...

 

And in 6 months sure for a lot of stuff like "whats the best deal on a 256 gig SSD?" is dead but this thread right here is a great example of what I am talking about.

 

Everything we are covering (except x265) is all stuff that existed 5 years ago and might very well be relevant a few years from now.

 

Every so often I throw out a comment about this issue to try and get an idea of what people think to see if it is worth trying to give some thought around ideas of curation. And I might be the only thinking about improvements in this area. Often these little explorations get a "like" button hit but no real comments either due to lack of interest or worries about it being a touchy issue?

 

Maybe a graphic "Badge" to denote "useful thread" or "ongoing discussion" as voted on by tech experts and tweak the search engine to bubble curated threads to the top of the results etc. Other forums have tried the "sticky thread thing" and that's a horrible eyesore with a zillion stickies. Depending on the types of "badges" a thread would have, they wouldn't get locked but could sink down into obscurity to be revived at any time as needed...

 

Or... I invite brilliant ideas everyone!

 

 

 

[DevTech]

6 hours ago, BudMan said:

If you have firestick should take you all of 2 minutes to get access to your plex server.

Couldn't the server just stream it? Or some LAN device the TV could see with UPNP, DLNA etc?

[DevTech]

7 hours ago, Technique said:

No i've not watched it on the TV yet. As said earlier - i can't yet get Plex on my TV. I guess i must be able to do it through Kodi or the Amazon FireStick as i've seen Kodi mentioned but i'd need to YouTube that which i haven't yet done. I've emailed Panasonic to see if it's possible to get it direct on my TV so i expect a reply from them in the coming days.

 

As for the filesize it was 5.69GB. I think the DVD itself is about 8something when i looked at it in My Computer but i took out all the foreign audio & subtitles leaving only the English.

 

As for the quality, i only watched snippets of it (as i hadn't yet watched the movie and didn't want any spoilers) on my PC and the quality while watchable was not as good as on the TV (watched the movie direct from the DVD last night - hence the beer night i mentioned earlier). So i can only assume that the reason i didn't 'get' your take on the quality at the beginning of this thread is due to PS4 upscaling.

OK, so "RAW DVD" is going to be disappointing.

 

So the media server, PLEX or whatever, needs an "Upscale Plugin" of some sort. Last time I reviewed upscaling, it was a tricky mess with the best solutions involving custom chips that Sony etc buys to put in their DVD players...

 

This OSS GPU powered codec seems interesting:

 

https://hap.video

 

https://github.com/Vidvox

 

 

[DevTech]

So many interesting things, so little time. Obviously you can't just do per-pixel scaling on a DVD and get something that isn't painful... a lot of processing is needed!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_scaler

 

https://www.hometoys.com/article/2012/10/improving-video-quality-with-clearview/1946/

 

Mosquito Noise Reduction

 

"Mosquito noise is a common artifact in discrete cosine transform (DCT) compression schemes such as MPEG. The artifact is generated during decompression when the decoding engine has to replace lost data using approximation by inverting the transform model. The mosquito noise appears as random aliasing and, as display size increases, mosquito noise and other artifacts become more noticeable. Mosquito noise can occur with HD content, but is typically more noticeable in SD video because of the lower pixel density and a larger pixel size. The image below shows mosquito noise around the transition from the roller coaster to the sky."

 

The image below shows a split-screen display with ClearView applied on the left.

 

 

 

 

[sc302 Veteran]

You really need to get something that is capable of the PLEX app or try Dlna if your tv supports it.  Call Panasonic, don’t waste time with email. 

[DevTech]

16 hours ago, Technique said:

Not to blow smoke up the guys ass but i think Budman actually mentioned the right approach here in his last post. To keep it somewhat simple as can be as it's early days and i'm clearly not fluent in this or the jargon and it will keep me interested.

 

Throw science at me & i'll very likely say thanks but no thanks, see you later.

 

Maybe that explains some peoples approach here Joking of course but yeah, just answer me like i'm stupid & we'll get along just fine

OK, so lot's of science inside what your PS4 is doing to the DVD to make it "presentable"

 

Ignoring how it works, it seems clear that this project will fail completely unless a fantastic upscaler software is located and tested.

 

[sc302 Veteran]

PLEX Will upscale. 

[+BudMan MVC]

OMG how are we on page 7 when plex was offered up in like 1st reply.. And it takes all of like 2 minutes to rip a dvd with makemkv and say 5 to setup plex and 2 to install a player..  Or juts use DLNA, here is article on how to I found in like 2 seconds with as simple google

https://www.extremetech.com/gaming/185896-how-to-use-your-ps4-as-a-media-streamer-without-dlna

 

Why are we on a topic like this when you have not even seen the picture yet on your TV... Which prob up scales... Plex serving it up sure is not going to do any sort of upscale that would be on the player side..

 

Just freaking put a picture on your TV already!!  Do it through your PS4 for gosh sake!

 

 

[sc302 Veteran]

I know Xbox has a PLEX app. Not sure about ps4.   I can only assume. 

 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/plex-for-xbox-one/9nblggh3zzvf?activetab=pivot:overviewtab

 

Apparently ps4 does too but isn’t great. 

[Technique]

I'm at work so short and sweet here-

 

im trying to sell the PS4. 

 

Also so who cares what page we're on. We're having a discussion. 

 

And are Panasonic open at like 8pm on a Sunday evening for a phone chat? I'm not desperate so I can afford to wait on an email. 

 

And id prefer to not have to plug the firestick in as it's a bit of a nuisance where it's all located but if that turns out to be the way then so be it. 

[sc302 Veteran]

As far as calling Panasonic, try. It won’t hurt if you get their we aren’t open message. You could find out their hours in your time zone.  I would assume a global company like them should have hours around the clock. 

[xMorpheousx416]

Without reading everything in this thread.. and it packs a ton of many things you can do.

 

Answering your questions requires a lot less... you'll need at least 1 - 4TB drive.  (I had 250 movies from DVD on a single 2TB)

AnyDVDHD / CloneBD combo will rip any DVD/Bluray and keep them as is...no compression, no loss, no conversions.  If you don't care to have the driver (AnyDVD) and BR disk burning software as two separate purchases... DVDFab works just as well.  Choose the DVD9 option for DVDs.. and BD25 for Blurays.. (some BRs may be up to 35GB or more)

Foobar2000 to rip your CDs as is, in FLAC format.  CDs are 1300+kbps.. so ripping songs down to 128 is complete and utter crap.  Never go below 192 VBR, or 320 CBR.

 

Done and done.

 

It's only when I choose to create MP4's, that I use Handbrake... and EAC (Exact Audio Copy) for creating MP3s.  (EAC and Handbrake are free)

MP4's metadata can be easily manipulated within Explorer, whereas MKVs are a done deal.

 

 

Edit:  Don't bother backing up full DVDs to the cloud.

[Technique]

5 hours ago, sc302 said:

As far as calling Panasonic, try. It won’t hurt if you get their we aren’t open message. You could find out their hours in your time zone.  I would assume a global company like them should have hours around the clock. 

Generally if i NEED to find something out now then i will call.

If it's something that isn't urgent and there is an email option then i will email. If after a week i've had no reply then i'll probably call.

Like this here, it's not urgent. If i find out today then i find out today, if i find out by the end of the week then it's the end of the week, it wont really impact me either way. The only difference is that i'll have a few more "TRY PLEX ALREADY" posts aimed at me but then such is life. I >will< try Plex. If i can do it on the TV then that'd be my preference but let me find out first. If it can't be done then we'll move on to something else then, like the FireStick maybe.

 

 

 

Is the only reason you'd use Handbrake is to compress the files then? I loaded a movie to Handbrake after using MKV and i saw all the jargon and hit the exit button pronto.

Is there any reason you would MKV over MP4 or vice versa or is it just a case of red apples & green apples, they're still apples?

[sc302 Veteran]

37 minutes ago, Technique said:

Is the only reason you'd use Handbrake is to compress the files then? I loaded a movie to Handbrake after using MKV and i saw all the jargon and hit the exit button pronto.

Is there any reason you would MKV over MP4 or vice versa or is it just a case of red apples & green apples, they're still apples?

or to change format to something different.  PLEX can read (just about) any format, but your favorite software may not be able to read any format, or maybe your favorite player works better with a specific format.  In any case, PLEX could even read the raw format if you had it..  The answer to your question is no, there is no reason to change the format.

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

2 hours ago, sc302 said:

or to change format to something different.  PLEX can read (just about) any format, but your favorite software may not be able to read any format, or maybe your favorite player works better with a specific format.  In any case, PLEX could even read the raw format if you had it..  The answer to your question is no, there is no reason to change the format.

I thought MP4 is a smaller file size than MKV. No?

[sc302 Veteran]

No. Not really.  Sort of yes.  Confusing? They are media formats at this point. What you choose to include or exclude will change the file size. MP4 is more accepted by different media players. Mkv can potentially contain more information. 

 

This is may help you

http://www.videos-converter.net/resources/mkv-vs-mp4.html

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

50 minutes ago, sc302 said:

No. Not really.  Sort of yes.  Confusing? They are media formats at this point. What you choose to include or exclude will change the file size. MP4 is more accepted by different media players. Mkv can potentially contain more information. 

 

This is may help you

http://www.videos-converter.net/resources/mkv-vs-mp4.html

Ah, OK. That explains it. Guess the other guys I heard this from is wrong...  

[sc302 Veteran]

53 minutes ago, Mindovermaster said:

Ah, OK. That explains it. Guess the other guys I heard this from is wrong...  

Not necessarily, it is a little more complicated than than.  

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

8 minutes ago, sc302 said:

Not necessarily, it is a little more complicated than than.  

Yeah, it's just down to how much stuff you put into it  

[+BudMan MVC]

What did you hear that mp4 is smaller than mkv?  That is just nonsense - they are containers not the actual media... What the video or audio bit rate and codex will determine its size etc..  Now are you saying the media in the container is exactly the same?  MKV does have more features that mp4 and supports more - if there is a file size difference its got to be insignificant a few bytes..  With the same exact media inside the container..

 

avi, mp4, mkv all just containers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_container_format

 

You can debate the benefits of one container over the other, etc.  I like mkv over mp4 myself.. Easier to manipulate info on it - like what language the audio track is, etc.

 

mkvpropedit.exe file.mkv --edit track:a1 --set language=eng

 

So sure you can do the same sort of thing with mp4

mp4box.exe -lang 2=eng file.mp4

But to me its not as clean of edit, etc. It has to rewrite the whole file..   Maybe that was a bad example

 

MKV has better support for subtitles for sure... Again way way ahead of the game here to what container he should choose for his library... makemkv is just the simplest tool that I know of to rip media and audio from his optical disks is why I suggested it, etc.

 

Lets actually get him with a picture on his TV before we debate what container he should use

 

My point to the length of thread/discussion is it started on Nov 1st, today is the 27 and you still have not taken the 15 minutes it would take to rip disk, put it on plex and watch it on your TV... I mean really its 15 min tops

 

 

[DevTech]

1 hour ago, BudMan said:

My point to the length of thread/discussion is it started on Nov 1st, today is the 27 and you still have not taken the 15 minutes it would take to rip disk, put it on plex and watch it on your TV... I mean really its 15 min tops

Well, he has done some of those things.

 

1. He has done a direct copy RIP.

 

2. He has viewed the DVD in "native" form and found it lacking (as we suspected would happen).

 

3. Which allowed him to discover that the PS4 upscaling circuit was the "secret sauce" in why he didn't perceive DVD to be low quality.

 

4. Which to me means the next step given that he has 500 DVDs is to figure out how to upscale them in a sophisticated manner (i.e. not direct pixel multiplication) and be happy with the reult before anything else proceeds because:

 

5. Forget MKV/MP4 etc compressed formats for now as a Red Herring, if he can't get a direct original copy to be acceptable!