copying dvd to pc hdd to play on tv monitors

[cmozment]

I have a 50" lcd tv in my store that is connected to a dvd via hdmi. (This tv shows styles and ads for our store) However the dvd players only last 6 months or so (playing them about 12 hours a day). I have a PC that has hdmi video outputs that I hope I can replace the dvd players with.

I would like to know if there is a way to copy\convert the dvd videos from the dvd media to the hard and then play them in full screen from something like Windows Media?

Any help much appreciated

Cecil Ozment
cecil@ozment.com
800-242-9585

[iffybob]

Er. you coluld try here.

http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/mpg/hd-playback.htm

[Nick]

If this disc contains adverts for your store, presumably you either made it, had it made for you or were given it, perhaps as part of a franchise. Either way, I'd guess it is not copy-protected.

If not, it should be as easy as copying the VIDEO_TS folder from DVD to hard disc and playing with a media player. Probably the easiest, most lightweight, free one for the job is VLC ( http://www.videolan.org/ ). Select "Open Directory" from the Media menu and direct it to the copied VIDEO_TS folder.

If the disc is copy protected, you will need a DVD ripper. DVD Decrypter as suggested in iffybob's link will do the job. I can't for the life of me imagine it will have any copy protection more advanced than that software can handle. This will create a VIDEO_TS folder on your hard disc with the copy protection stripped.

You will note, however, that iffybob links you to a guide on this very site. Before asking future questions, please read and digest the guides on this site - it's what they're there for. They are a good way to learn the basics :)

[Ghitulescu]

It seems that you have a or belong to a company. Hasn't that company the 300$ to buy a damn professional DVD player, that is capable to loop a DVD non-stop for five years? And I mean non-stop... that's 44000 hours

[cmozment]

I was looking for a solution not a reprimand. Thanks for your advise. hahaha

I have about 80 dvd's that I hope to create a library and have the player ramdomly scroll through them. This was if a customer comes in repeatedly it will be unlikely that they will see the same video.

I have not looked for or heard of a player capable of that many dvd's and if it were available I doubt I could afford it.

I guess in Germany you don't have the golden rule... If you can't be helpful, then keep your mouth shut.

Bye

[Ghitulescu]

I was looking for a solution not a reprimand. Thanks for your advise. hahaha

I have about 80 dvd's that I hope to create a library and have the player ramdomly scroll through them. This was if a customer comes in repeatedly it will be unlikely that they will see the same video.

I have not looked for or heard of a player capable of that many dvd's and if it were available I doubt I could afford it.

I guess in Germany you don't have the golden rule... If you can't be helpful, then keep your mouth shut.

Bye

That you have 80 DVDs just out of the blue is a new information, not originally present in your first post. Nevertheless, there are DVD changers (Sony, Pioneer), but they don't hold for a non stop usage, even if they carry 200-300 DVDs (that's 3-4x more than you admited to have). Since they are no longer manufactured, you can have one of these babies for 100-250$ from eBay, even less if you're lucky.

Any DVD player has shuffle play (if the DVD allows it). Which I'm afraid no software player known to me to can do.

The "good" news: A regular HDD will not hold more than 1-2 years in this regime :) You need again a server HDD which is at least twice the price and comes regularly with a different connector than IDE/SATA.

I gave you a solution, but you refuse it because your mind is/was not open enough (you were set to PC + display). Luckily I'm not in the States to see the BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death in plain English) in your shop window :)
Well, this also happened to USS Yorktown so you wont be the first one ;)

PS: BTW, a DVD can hold in its best quality some 55-60 minutes of video. I have yet to see the customer that spend more than 5 minutes in front of a shop window (and it's not a beggar ;)). Also I would like to see that endangered species that is so keen in watching ads to that extent that s/he will complain about their quick repetition.

[setarip_old]

@cmozment

Hi!

Nice charm bracelet ;>}

Follow the suggestion made by moderator "Nick".

If you have a fairly recent version (v.9-11, I believe) of Windows Media Player installed in your system, it too should be able to play your harddrive-version DVD(s)

[CWR03]

I would add to the suggestion by Nick to use a PC and DVD Decrypter in IFO mode to extract every individual video into a separate VOB. Once the proper MPEG-2 playback filter is installed on that system, the files can be added to a playlist and played in a "loop forever" mode full-screen. It would look as good as, if not better than, the feed from a DVD player since PC upscaling can be set to an exact pixel match to the TV screen. It's not really hard to build a stable PC at a reasonable price that can run for five years non-stop.