How To: Rip and stream your DVD collection

So, you’ve got a huge pile of DVDs and Blu-Rays, and you’d like to be able to stream them on your computer around the house, or on the TV in your bedroom on the Roku, and finally clear out some space.

No, you don’t need a 700-disc DVD changer. You need some time, some patience, some software, and about two hundred to three hundred bucks. But once you’re done, you’ll have a DVD library you can stream anywhere.

First and foremost: this is technically illegal under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, but realistically speaking, nobody is going to care as long as you don’t start sharing your collection on the Internet.

What You Need:

- A Windows PC with a DVD or Blu-Ray drive: ripping DVDs in bulk on any other platform is a pain in the ass.

- A network-attached storage drive, at least two terabytes in size. This is basically a hard drive that plugs into your wireless router. This has two advantages: it means not storing your rips on your computer’s hard drive, and it means you can access your DVDs anywhere, even on the road; most NAS devices have web logins.

- MakeMKV: It’s simple and it’s free while in beta (and it’s unlikely to ever leave beta). This turns your DVD into a file that can be encoded by…

- Handbrake. Handbrake is what will turn the raw video ripped off your discs into a viewable file.

- A lot of time: unless you have no job or a tiny DVD collection, this isn’t going to take an afternoon.

What To Do

Install Your NAS: this is as simple as plugging it into your router and the wall. Fiddle with the settings if necessary; most of them come with everything you need preinstalled, and will autoconfigure to play back information on your PS3, XBox 360, or Roku. Take the time to lock it down with a password; if people are stealing your WiFi, they can also steal your movies, and that can have legal implications.

Pick a Disc to Rip and Run MakeMKV: basically, you’ll pop in the disc, and it will show you all the content on the disc: trailers, special features, and the movie itself. As a rule? The movie is the one with the longest run time. Rip that: it will take the full file and put it on your hard drive. Remember, save it somewhere you can actually find it.

Apply Handbrake: Next, open that MKV file in Handbrake. Handbrake has a lot of options, so, here’s the simplest:

- Keep the resolution as native to the file unless you have a huge TV, then consider upscaling to 720p.
- Set the video codec to H.264
- Set the audio to either PCM, AC3, or DTS Passthru (format will be automatically chosen by Handbrake)
- Under the video tab, choose Constant Quality and set the slider to an RF of 18 or so. If you want, rip a short item like a movie trailer and play with a few settings to see what you like.

Move It To Your NAS and Stream It: Just check to make sure the first few minutes are running without problems, and you’re done.

Rinse and repeat until done. And now you can watch your movies anywhere. Yes, even the airplane. Isn’t technology wonderful.

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