Advice on HDD archiving

[CV91913]

I have noticed that a number of you are opting to backup your BD collections to hard drive instead of BD media. I am thinking of doing the same with my collection.

I have been doing alternate output to mp4/mkv for playback on my tablet and phone for quite sometime but those are reduced res/bitrate. So, for those of you already doing this, what is your process? How are you playing them on your TV? I can currently use DLNP on my Sony player, but, I can't stream MKV. I use MKV when I need subtitles. Also, DLNP does not seem to work well with high bitrates.

I have read that Roku devices may facilitate this process, but have read good/bad about MKV support.

Anyway, any advice would be appreciated.

[Video Dude]

I do movie only backups with BD-RB and then use ImgBurn to create a Blu-ray iso. I play the iso on my WD TV Live box. Great thing about the WD TV Live are movie sheets so you can have full movie poster art and meta data.

I store it as iso since the WD TV plays Blu-ray iso and if I ever want to burn it to disc it is quick and easy.

[CV91913]

I do movie only backups with BD-RB and then use ImgBurn to create a Blu-ray iso. I play the iso on my WD TV Live box. Great thing about the WD TV Live are movie sheets so you can have full movie poster art and meta data.

I store it as iso since the WD TV plays Blu-ray iso and if I ever want to burn it to disc it is quick and easy.
Thanks for the info, I have read about the WD Play, is that the same device?

[jdobbs]

I have a Sony BD player that I use for playback. I store MKV files on a hard drive attached to a server I have running 24/7. I then use SERVIIO (freeware, but it also has a Pro version for $25) to serve the files to the Sony player via DLNA. I can browse through the files via the BD player, and play the movies. The Sony even recognizes the MKV chapter points.

I create all the MKV files with BD-RB using a CRF of 23 and AAC audio. It works very well. You can get the Sony BD player for less than most standalone playback devices (like ROKU or WD-TV). The one I use in my bedroom cost $47 at Costco (Sony BDP-BX320, which is the same as a BDP-S3200). If you prefer, you can also connect a USB hard drive directly to the BD player and browse it directly.

[CV91913]

I have a Sony BD player that I use for playback. I store MKV files on a hard drive attached to a server I have running 24/7. I then use SERVIIO (freeware, but it also has a Pro version for $25) to serve the files to the Sony player via DLNA. I can browse through the files via the BD player, and play the movies. The Sony even recognizes the MKV chapter points.

I create all the MKV files with BD-RB using a CRF of 23 and AAC audio. It works very well. You can get the Sony BD player for less than most standalone playback devices (like ROKU or WD-TV). The one I use in my bedroom cost $47 at Costco (Sony BDP-BX320, which is the same as a BDP-S3200). If you prefer, you can also connect a USB hard drive directly to the BD player and browse it directly.
Thanks for responding. I use the same settings for my MKV files. I have been using the Win7 Media Center as a server to my older Sony using DLNP. The problem is that it doesn't seem to serve MKV, just MP4. Does your Sony player allow an NTFS HDD to be connected through USB? Mine only seems to see Fat32.

[jdobbs]

Thanks for responding. I use the same settings for my MKV files. I have been using the Win7 Media Center as a server to my older Sony using DLNP. The problem is that it doesn't seem to serve MKV, just MP4. Does your Sony player allow an NTFS HDD to be connected through USB? Mine only seems to see Fat32.I noticed in the Serviio configuration that the older Sonys didn't seem to support MKV. I have two (one 2D and one 3D) that are less than a year old and they both support it.

I'm pretty sure the drive I tested with the player was NTFS, but I'm not positive. I have a small drive I'll hook up and test tonight.

[Edit] Ok, I can confirm, it supports NTFS via USB.

[Video Dude]

Thanks for the info, I have read about the WD Play, is that the same device?
Don't get the Play as it does not support MPEG-2 or DTS.

[Capsbackup]

I'm pretty sure the drive I tested with the player was NTFS, but I'm not positive. I have a small drive I'll hook up and test tonight.

[Edit] Ok, I can confirm, it supports NTFS via USB.

Will it work with DTS HD audio or Dolby True HD too?
(I know your not a fan of HD audio ;))
Are subtitles and chapters supported too?
Any problems with Cinavia audio protection during playback via USB hard drive through Blu-ray player?

I have been considering an alternate way to play my backups, since burning to DVD-R or BD-R could have limited shelf life and requires more cumbersome storage and access. Hard drive storage has become ideal, but play back from hard drive without a PC isn't real easy for me.
I also like the sound I get from my 5.1 HDMI receiver and speakers / old Sony S360, so I don't want to sacrifice that either. :)
I appreciate your experience and suggestions! :cool:

[jdobbs]

Will it work with DTS HD audio or Dolby True HD too?
(I know your not a fan of HD audio ;))
Are subtitles and chapters supported too?
Any problems with Cinavia audio protection during playback via USB hard drive through Blu-ray player?

I have been considering an alternate way to play my backups, since burning to DVD-R or BD-R could have limited shelf life and requires more cumbersome storage and access. Hard drive storage has become ideal, but play back from hard drive without a PC isn't real easy for me.
I also like the sound I get from my 5.1 HDMI receiver and speakers / old Sony S360, so I don't want to sacrifice that either. :)
I appreciate your experience and suggestions! :cool:I know it supports DTS and Dolby Digital, but I haven't tried DTS-HD or True-HD. I suspect it would work, but you may end up playing back the core. I can't really say. I know the player supports HD audio playback, so it seems plausible.

[Ghitulescu]

I have noticed that a number of you are opting to backup your BD collections to hard drive instead of BD media. I am thinking of doing the same with my collection.

I have been doing alternate output to mp4/mkv for playback on my tablet and phone for quite sometime but those are reduced res/bitrate. So, for those of you already doing this, what is your process? How are you playing them on your TV? I can currently use DLNP on my Sony player, but, I can't stream MKV. I use MKV when I need subtitles. Also, DLNP does not seem to work well with high bitrates.

I have read that Roku devices may facilitate this process, but have read good/bad about MKV support.

Anyway, any advice would be appreciated.

I like to keep the BDs in their original format, not AVI not MKV, nor even the more recent MP4 for three main reasons, archival, compatibility and features.

Archival - I can always recreate the discs, if the originals get lost (sure, for BDRs there's cinavia)
Compatibility - many players (either standalone or embedded in any appliance) are not fully compatible with some of these formats (AVI, MKV, MP4), for instance a lot of the players I tested refuse to display subtitles from MKV and these must be laid separately in TXT format with the same name, and after this is solved then there's the Unicode/ANSI codepage problem
Features - most formats do not comprise all features the original format had

There is a sort of dependency between compatibility and features, so it may be that the format allows a certain feature but the player doesn't or the player accepts something (rarer) but the format can't support it.

In the age where 3TB costs under 100€, the electricity needed to convert all these BDs to 700/1400MB MKVs costs probably the double. :) Why bother?

I have two BD-players that can read BDs off USB-harddiskdrives, a Popcorn that does the same and a Dune which again does it. With menus, subtitles, all HD audio codecs... So I am covered, at leat for so long the BDs are the king...

[CV91913]

I noticed in the Serviio configuration that the older Sonys didn't seem to support MKV. I have two (one 2D and one 3D) that are less than a year old and they both support it.

I'm pretty sure the drive I tested with the player was NTFS, but I'm not positive. I have a small drive I'll hook up and test tonight.

[Edit] Ok, I can confirm, it supports NTFS via USB.

I installed Serviio and it does seem to serve MKV to my older Sony. The only problem I see is that I can't see or select subtitles in the MKV. I don't know if that is a function of the server or the player. Do your MKV files have subtitles and, if so, can you select them?

[jdobbs]

I don't think the Sony Player will play PGS subs from an MKV, but I'm not positive.

[soneca]

I don't think the Sony Player will play PGS subs from an MKV, but I'm not positive.

Probably not.
I have the WDTV and the Dune but only Dune read pgs subs and also supports full menus (only older models, the new models do not support full menus, only the lite).

[CV91913]

Thank you to all who responded to my request for advice. It looks like I have a number of options. The cheapest, but most time consuming, would be the conversion of the collection to MP4/MKV and use DLNP to play them. That could be done with less than 3TB of disk space and existing hardware. Big downside is no subtitle support and the 1000's of hours to do the conversions.

The highest quality but far more expensive option seems to be ripping the collection to ISO and investing in hardware to play them. Less time consuming, but the playback hardware and the 15-16TB of disk space would be significant $$.

So, the bottom line is...I still don't know what I am going to do, but, thank you all for your thoughts.

[rotty]

I noticed in the Serviio configuration that the older Sonys didn't seem to support MKV. I have two (one 2D and one 3D) that are less than a year old and they both support it.

I'm pretty sure the drive I tested with the player was NTFS, but I'm not positive. I have a small drive I'll hook up and test tonight.

[Edit] Ok, I can confirm, it supports NTFS via USB.

Hi JD

Could you do me a favour, is it possible for you to try the USB with a drive over 2 TB's.

I use a WD Live box which works fine with any size drive, , BUT my BD Standalone will play files straight from Hard Drive via USB but NOT a large drive, i.e. its fine with a small HD or Flash stick but not large storage.

[Mark_Venture]

PMJI a little late here...

I too do movie only backups to MKV's via BD-Rebuilder and store them on a "local server." I have played back via my Old LG BD390 and BD570 bluray players. These LG's can connect to windows file shares and natively play many file formats, including MTS, MKV, MP4, AVI and others.

I have two Sony TV's that support DLNA for video (KDL40W5100 and KDL55HX750). Unfortunately DLNA is different than accessing windows shares, and the TV's don't natively support all the file formats of my old LG Bluray players. They do not natively support the MKV files BD-Rebuilder makes.

I've been looking for options for other rooms, as well as giving me the ability to stream Netflix and Amazon Instant (prime) video. The LG's do Netflix, but not Amazon, and their netflix app is "old"

I have tried PS3Media server, Serviio, and Plex as DLNA servers for the TVs. The DLNA servers should transcode the MKV files into formats the DLNA Player (the TVs) can playback. Serviio was the best. After the author's assistance, it worked for a time with my TV's. But recent updates have caused that to stop, and most of my MKVs do not show as available on my TV. I will likely need to submit another post in Serviio's forums when I get time asking for help. (the profiles file has changed along with the serviio version increase, and replacing the lines of the profiles.xml with the older "working" ones doesn't fix it on the newer version of Serviio). It has prevented me from looking at new Bluray players with DLNA built in. (Thanks @jdobbs for confirming the Sony BDP-BX320/BDP-S3200 works for you!!)

So I continue looking for "easy to use" options for other rooms, as well as giving me the ability to stream Netflix and Amazon Instant (prime) video in those rooms if possible.

I picked up a Amazon FireTV stick while it was on sale at BestBuy for $25. I'm evaluating Plex and XBMC/Kodi/SPMC with the Stick and they are working pretty well. I'm not a fan of Wifi only, although it does support 2.4 and 5Ghz which helps it over my Chromecast.

Plex is an App for the "server pc" with a companion app for "client playback device" as well. The "server" app transcodes the movie file on the fly if needed. It also keeps a database and "scrapes the web" to give you move cover art, synopsis, etc. It works pretty well, but some of my back ups are not properly identified by the Plex "GUI" (so I have to fix them to get the proper cover art, etc) and I'm still dealing with subtitle issues (getting them recognized by plex). I am able to skip forward and back. Plex will not play subtitles embedded into the MKV files. I need external .SRT files, and they need to be named "correctly" for them to be select-able on playback.

Plex also seems to combine the listing for 3D/Extended/Standard (like for Avatar), or the 3D and 2D together (like the Lego Movie), so I'm still trying to figure how to keep the separated.

Plex also has clients available for Android and iOS tablets and phones, and (if you pay) can be accessed remotely for "on the go" use.

The other option is XBMC, being renamed to Kodi, and a customized fork of it called SPMC. XBMC/Kodi gets "side loaded" onto the Fire TV Box/Stick. SPMC seems to work better than XBMC(gotham 13.2) and Kodi(Helix 14) so far. It can access windows file shares, and play the files back clearly. It is easier to get subtitles working too. SPMC is easier to get working, so I've been using that, not the regular XBMC/Kodi. SPMC is available in Amazon's app store for the FireTV (box), but shows as incompatible for the FireTV Stick. On the stick you need to side load it. If you load the version that matches the AMazon store, SPMC shows under "recent apps." If you don't, you have to go Settings -> Manage Apps -> find SPMC from list -> Launch.

SPMC does support PGS subs embedded in the MKV file. In some cases they display by default, other times I have to go in and turn them on. By using MKVMerge GUI, and changing the values for Default and Forced for the subtitles in the MKV file, can help with this, so I don't have to do it while the movie is playing. SPMC also seems to pickup external .SRT files as well.

SPMC also seems to pickup one copy of the movie when there are multiples (2D, 3D, Extended, standard)... but at least I can go Video -> files... and navigate the folder structure to grab the file to play back.

That being said, I'm happy enough with the Fire TV stick with Plex and SPMC that I have a Fire TV box coming. The Fire TV "box" has more processing power, memory, and supposedly handles more content formats natively compared to the FireTV Stick. But more importantly it has WIRED ethernet port and optical audio out that (with XBMC/SPMC) can pass thru audio to a receiver. And I've ordered another FireTV stick to give to my mom. The TV Sticks will be good in bedrooms where I don't have surround sound receivers setup.

As for my "server" its an old Intel Q6600 Core2Quad CPU. 8Gig ram, Intel DG33TL board. I added an IO Crest SI-PEX40057 SATA card so that I can run 6 of WD 4TB Red drives, and use Windows Server 2012 and its built in storage pools to make a quasi raid-5 array so I can survive a single disk failure and not lose my movies. The OS is on a 1TB WD Black drive.

Yes the "server" is probably more expensive, but I don't have to go up to the rack and get a disc when I want to watch, and return them when I'm done which is PRICELESS!!

EDIT: I have found that Plex IS picking up the PGS subs in some MKV files. I need to look at it a little closer to check its settings.

I got a Fire TV Box for Christmas.. So far, the Fire TV stick and the Fire TV Box have been fine with my TV's. The only issue is the Sticks are 2.4/5Ghz N wifi only, and do suffer when further way from my router (Netgear R6300 AC1750). So having the Fire TV Box (with wired Ethernet port, and faster processor) is best. The higher bitrate videos can be choppy and report "buffering" over wifi with SPMC. While I've seen tweaks to fix the "buffering..." (http://kodi.wiki/view/HOW-TO:Modify_the_video_cache) problem, I haven't tried them. I haven't seen this with Plex, which also has an option for "max bandwidth" which could help (I haven't changed it from the Max Available setting yet, but can lower it to 20mbps, 10mbps, 8, and a few lower ones), but it has been working fine with BD-Rebuilder made MKVs. Plex isn't completely free like SPMC is.

While the Fire TV "Box" has optical audio out, and is supposed to support Audio pass through in SPMC/XBMC/Kodi that way, I haven't hooked it up to my receiver yet to confirm it outputs the DTS audio (there are posts in different forms saying that it does). So far I've just been using/testing it in my bedroom connected only to my TV.

I moved the Stick into my son's play room, and he loves it the ability to watch Netflix and our movie library.

[jdobbs]

One thing I had to do in Serviio in order to play all file types: Set the profile for the Sony player to "Sony Bravia TV 2013". The default profile that shows up doesn't support them all. I could also create a new profile for the newer Sony players (I have a Sony BDP-VX320 and BDP-S5200) -- but since this profile worked I never created one.

[Mark_Venture]

One thing I had to do in Serviio in order to play all file types: Set the profile for the Sony player to "Sony Bravia TV 2013". The default profile that shows up doesn't support them all. I could also create a new profile for the newer Sony players (I have a Sony BDP-VX320 and BDP-S5200) -- but since this profile worked I never created one.

The newer Sony tv's support more file types. The 2013 has support for MKV.

I worked with Illico, the mod of serviio's forum, to refine the 2009 Sony profile to get the MKV's to show up and play on my 2009 kdl40w5100, and it helped my 2012 hx750.

With an update to Serviio, the profile xml got updated. I could not get it working again, even when using the config that was previously working based on the thread. (either just changing lines, or completely replacing the profiles.xml.)

[jdobbs]

The newer Sony tv's support more file types. The 2013 has support for MKV.

I worked with Illico, the mod of serviio's forum, to refine the 2009 Sony profile to get the MKV's to show up and play on my 2009 kdl40w5100, and it helped my 2012 hx750.

With an update to Serviio, the profile xml got updated. I could not get it working again, even when using the config that was previously working based on the thread. (either just changing lines, or completely replacing the profiles.xml.) The "Sony TV/Player 2013" also supports .M4A files with AAC audio, where the default one didn't. So my Serviio server also holds a few hundred musical albums that I've encoded.

[Sharc]

As Serviio can also stream .m2ts files from blu-ray compliant encodes from BD-RB, there is no need for an additional formats/containers, no?

[jdobbs]

As Serviio can also stream .m2ts files from blu-ray compliant encodes from BD-RB, there is no need for an additional formats/containers, no?I like MKV. It's much more efficient, is compatible with more players, and has fewer problems (e.g. chapters). I personally only use M2TS for BD discs. Of course that's JMHO, and since its just a container the actual video/audio is the same either way.

Most movies I do these days are done to both BD-25 and to MKV.

[Sharc]

I like MKV. It's much more efficient, is compatible with more players, and has fewer problems (e.g. chapters). I personally only use M2TS for BD discs. Of course that's JMHO, and since its just a container the actual video/audio is the same either way.

Most movies I do these days are done to both BD-25 and to MKV.
Yes, .mkv is very flexible and has less muxing overhead than .m2ts, but being a transport stream I thought .m2ts is more "robust" against impairments like short signal interruptions or bit errors during streaming. Maybe I am misled.

[jdobbs]

Definitely so when there are those kinds of dangers (like over-the-air or long range transmission). But for watching video through a local area network, those kinds of problems are pretty much non-existent.

[Mark_Venture]

...While the Fire TV "Box" has optical audio out, and is supposed to support Audio pass through in SPMC/XBMC/Kodi that way, I haven't hooked it up to my receiver yet to confirm it outputs the DTS audio (there are posts in different forms saying that it does). So far I've just been using/testing it in my bedroom connected only to my TV.As a follow up, my receiver in our family room is an older Pioneer Elite VSX-21. It supports 5.1 for DTS, DD, AC3, Prologic, etc. When playing blurays and DVDs, it recognizes DTS-HD, DTS-ES, and other greater than 5.1 DTS soundtracks as DTS (based on the front panel lights).

Last night I did hook my Fire TV box to my receiver via Optical Audio cable and enabled pass through in Kodi 14.0 and SPMC 13.4.0, I did get DTS, and other 5.1 audio out put (DTS and the 5.1 lights lit up).

Using Plex was a different story. It gave me no audio when playing movies, even 2 channel. MP3's work fine and sound good. So I have into look into this.

[RocKKer]

Sorry a little late to this thread....

I rip all my BRD and store as MKV on my NAS. I include PGS subtitles in my files which Plex plays fine.

I also use Plex to handle most all my playback (Local LAN or across internet). It can stream properly to any device that I care about (Apple, Android, Roku, Amazon Fire, NUC). ALL my movies play with proper subtitles and are butter smooth. I have no reason to make a device specific video anymore...and no reason to burn a disk. I haven't gotten up to insert a disk in any player for several years now. In fact I only have one BRD player in the house - on my computer...no burners at all.

Plex also adds fanart, movie descriptions and other metadata. It can be setup to auto-get subtitles from outside sources, if they are available.

I let it manage all my videos, pics and music on it and serve it out easily.

The best part is Plex is free! (There is a pay version as well)

[jdobbs]

Sorry a little late to this thread....

I rip all my BRD and store as MKV on my NAS. I include PGS subtitles in my files which Plex plays fine.

I also use Plex to handle most all my playback (Local LAN or across internet). It can stream properly to any device that I care about (Apple, Android, Roku, Amazon Fire, NUC). ALL my movies play with proper subtitles and are butter smooth. I have no reason to make a device specific video anymore...and no reason to burn a disk. I haven't gotten up to insert a disk in any player for several years now. In fact I only have one BRD player in the house - on my computer...no burners at all.

Plex also adds fanart, movie descriptions and other metadata. It can be setup to auto-get subtitles from outside sources, if they are available.

I let it manage all my videos, pics and music on it and serve it out easily.

The best part is Plex is free! (There is a pay version as well)I'll check it out.

[Ch3vr0n]

The plex MEDIA server is free. The android /iOS apps arent

[Mark_Venture]

The plex MEDIA server is free. The android /iOS apps arent
Amazon has run a sale every once in a while, on the Plex app in their app store (which is fine for both the FireTV and an Android Phone/tablet).

Its even been included in the "free app a day"

[writersblock29]

@Jdobbs

I'll second any vote for Plex. It's turned our media server into our own private Netflix. I love how quickly support is added for new devices, and the server software receives regular updates that aren't disruptive to the other devices on your network (ie, there's no need to log back in on... say... a Roku because of having updated the server software). Any Plex client on your network automatically searches for your server, so configuring new devices is a flash.

Yes, some of the apps cost money... but I haven't seen an app for over $5. It's reasonable. If you're accessing on a laptop or desktop, Plex Home Theater is free. Ties in nicely with Windows Media Center, too.

I'll rave about Plex until I'm drooling.

It should probably be noted that MediaBrowser has become a nice Plex alternative in its own right, and also well worth checking out.

Plex:
https://plex.tv/

MediaBrowser 3
http://mediabrowser.tv/

[jdobbs]

@Jdobbs

I'll second any vote for Plex. It's turned our media server into our own private Netflix. I love how quickly support is added for new devices, and the server software receives regular updates that aren't disruptive to the other devices on your network (ie, there's no need to log back in on... say... a Roku because of having updated the server software). Any Plex client on your network automatically searches for your server, so configuring new devices is a flash.

Yes, some of the apps cost money... but I haven't seen an app for over $5. It's reasonable. If you're accessing on a laptop or desktop, Plex Home Theater is free. Ties in nicely with Windows Media Center, too.

I'll rave about Plex until I'm drooling.

It should probably be noted that MediaBrowser has become a nice Plex alternative in its own right, and also well worth checking out.

Plex:
https://plex.tv/

MediaBrowser 3
http://mediabrowser.tv/How well does it work as a DLNA server? While apps are nice and all -- I like to stay within defined and universally supported standards. I'm not going to replace my BD players or add other devices just to use a specific media server.

[writersblock29]

How well does it work as a DLNA server?

I can say it works well on my old Panasonic Blu-ray player. Unfortunately, that's both the beginning as well as the end of my experience using Plex for the DNLA functionality.

The DNLA option can be toggled on or off, but I believe it's on by default. I don't recall having to do anything special, and the Panasonic "just worked" when it came to seeing it.

[writersblock29]

Using Plex was a different story. It gave me no audio when playing movies, even 2 channel. MP3's work fine and sound good. So I have into look into this.

Even though your devices are capable of DTS output, I wonder if the Plex app you're using is optimized for it. Might want to see if there's an update available.

If not, a workaround might be to set your transcoder for a ridiculous bitrate. So long as your source's video bitrate is below this setting, it will still transmit unscathed, but any audio that doesn't pass the devices' muster will be transcoded. At least, it sure works for Roku. I would imagine there would be some carry-over to Amazon Fire. It's not a perfect solution, and you will lose some quality... but it may not be all that noticeable.

[DVD Maniac]

I went the HDD route years ago when I got fedup burning endless coasters and realising the £/GB ratio for DVD and especially BD was a no brainer - even more so these days.

After many years of experimenting I have got what I feel is an optimised setup -

Decryption - AnyDVD
Compression - DVDR / BDR of course! I use CRF MKV with intact audio
Playback - Custom built Media Center. Zoom Player seems to be the most reliable for playnack performance.

I discovered Media Portal a few years back. Its a fantastic FREE HTPC application with loads of bells and whistles plus no more faffing around with disc storage.

If you are thinking of going HDD only route I STRONGLY recommend using -

Top end HDD brands (WD / Hitachi) with NAS specs with at least 7200 speed and 64MB cache
Primary storage location, internal RAID 5 setup
Belt and braces - NAS daily nackup!


This ensures consistent playback performance but more importantly protection against HDD failure which WILL happen - I know and learnt the hard way.

[Mark_Venture]

Even though your devices are capable of DTS output, I wonder if the Plex app you're using is optimized for it. Might want to see if there's an update available.I'm using the latest Plex app available via the Amazon app store for the Fire TV.

My server has the latest downloadable copy from their web site.
If not, a workaround might be to set your transcoder for a ridiculous bitrate. So long as your source's video bitrate is below this setting, it will still transmit unscathed, but any audio that doesn't pass the devices' muster will be transcoded. At least, it sure works for Roku. I would imagine there would be some carry-over to Amazon Fire. It's not a perfect solution, and you will lose some quality... but it may not be all that noticeable.Already set to Max, checked the boxes for supports AC3 and DTS in the app too. I haven't really tried it anymore. I'm letting my son use Plex on his Fire TV stick, and built into his Vizio TV.

I'm just using SPMC on my Fire TV box, since it works.

[Ghitulescu]

Keeping the media (I assume legally acquired :) ) as they are is the key to success. Universality is the trump.

90% or more of this forum concerns issues caused by conversions from one format into another and the workarounds needed to make them work on various platforms.

On the other hand, keeping CDs as WAV (now, after 20-30 years it is also possible to have another format, FLAC), DVDs as VOBs+IFO, and Blu-rays as M2TS (maybe with some info, but not necessarily) seems to me the most compatible way on all apparatuses and devices I have used.

Some alternative formats appear to be functionally-identical if one decides to drop some features - like multi-channel, multi-audio, HD audio, subtitles. While it's true that some issues of the past have been solved, their solution is noway universal.

When a 2TB HDD costs like 50-60€, the craze of converting for hours the BDs to fit each 700MB (or even 400MB) is sheer idiocy.

If people wouldn't have been so cheap to swear on MP3 we have had good players and solutions in good quality since day 1, not waiting 20 years to have WAV- or FLAC-enabled players. We also would have had good quality online music providers, not only in MP3 or AAC.

[datman]

It has been years since I posted here, I guess that shows how well BDRB has been working.
I don't know why but I had problems converting to MKV about 4years ago when I tried it. So I have Stuck with BD files. I have used a HTPC for playback from the start. I often had countless issues with this setup mostly because a PC was involved. Also further complicated this my gear is in another room. So most movies required a trip or 2 to the equipment room to figure out what was wrong. I still use analog inputs so down sampling has always been a concern.

I recently got an Oppo BDP 105D, not a cheap player. This has worked beautifully. Plays all my files music and movies. The audio is correctly output and sounds better than the PC ever did. One really cool feature is the APP that lets you control it from your device. You can que up movies or music files without the need of a monitor. I have 2 4tb drive's so for years I will be Ok. The other thing my wife can now watch movies all by herself. ;)