How do I get started from square 1

[jamesalancobban 5]

All of the instructions that I have found for any of the media servers start with "point the server at your media library".  But I don't have a media library,  all I have is stacks of CDs, DVDs, and BluRays.  How do I create a media library from scratch?

[Guest asrequested]

Then you'll want to rip the discs, first. There are many apps that can do this. Makemkv, DVDfab (what I use), anydvd to name a few.

[jamesalancobban 5]

If I knew what you were talking about I wouldn't need to ask this question.

[Gilgamesh_48 1240]

All of the instructions that I have found for any of the media servers start with "point the server at your media library".  But I don't have a media library,  all I have is stacks of CDs, DVDs, and BluRays.  How do I create a media library from scratch?

 

It is much like the recipe for Gypsy chicken soup that begins "First you steal a chicken"

For Emby it is "First you create a library." You do that as @ says by using a tool to rip your content to digital files and put it in a structure that makes sense to you.

 

Emby has many pages of guides about what structure and naming works best. Be sure to follow the naming and structure recommended so you will have few problems later. 

 

Take a look at:

https://github.com/MediaBrowser/Wiki/wiki

Edited February 16, 2018 by Gilgamesh_48

[jamesalancobban 5]

Again, if I knew what you were talking about I wouldn't need to ask this question.  In order to put the files into the media library I have to have the files.  But I do not have files I have a stack of DVDs.  Every piece of documentation I ind keeps assuming too much basic knowledge.  For example I was inspired to start this project by the article in LinuxFormat issue 230 which pointed me at Emby.  Like the Emby documentation it discusses proper naming conventions, but does not answer the question of where you get the files in the first place.

[Guest asrequested]

Take a look at this

 

https://youtu.be/3aG_qLLHQUs

[jamesalancobban 5]

I tried to post screenshots of what I am actually seeing but nothing happened when I clicked on Post.

 

I am running Linux so that particular tutorial is not helpful.

 

I have put a DVD in the drive.

 

I start up Handbrake and click on Open Source.  All I get is a file selection dialog of my home directory. HandBrake does not seem to recognize the dvd drive.  If I select the DVD drive it shows two directories: AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS.  There is only one movie on this DVD but when I look in the directory VIDEO_TS there are 14 files, 8 with extension VOB, 3 BUPs and 3 IFOs.

 

I genuinely do not understand what I am expected to do to get the contents of that DVD into a file.

 

If I understood anything that you are telling me I wouldn't need to post this question.

[lorac 118]

I tried to post screenshots of what I am actually seeing but nothing happened when I clicked on Post.

 

I am running Linux so that particular tutorial is not helpful.

 

I have put a DVD in the drive.

 

I start up Handbrake and click on Open Source. All I get is a file selection dialog of my home directory. HandBrake does not seem to recognize the dvd drive. If I select the DVD drive it shows two directories: AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS. There is only one movie on this DVD but when I look in the directory VIDEO_TS there are 14 files, 8 with extension VOB, 3 BUPs and 3 IFOs.

 

I genuinely do not understand what I am expected to do to get the contents of that DVD into a file.

 

If I understood anything that you are telling me I wouldn't need to post this question.

Have you looked at Handbrake's website or the application for instructions?

 

You might want to make yourself a VM to install Windows on as I'd think it would make ripping much easier.

 

Although you might want to consider downloading pre-ripped versions of your movies as it might be faster. Depending on the quality you want and speed of your computer ripping BD can take some time.

 

Sent from my STV100-3 using Tapatalk

[Guest asrequested]

Ok, a few basics. The discs are protected by encryption. You need software that will decrypt and convert the movies on the disc to a single file that your computer can play. Handbrake can't decrypt. MakeMKV is one example of some software that can take the movie from your disc and make a video file for you to watch.

 

https://www.makemkv.com

 

Take a look at that, and see if any of this makes sense.

[jamesalancobban 5]

Have you looked at Handbrake's website or the application for instructions?

 

You might want to make yourself a VM to install Windows on as I'd think it would make ripping much easier.

 

Although you might want to consider downloading pre-ripped versions of your movies as it might be faster. Depending on the quality you want and speed of your computer ripping BD can take some time.

 

Sent from my STV100-3 using Tapatalk

Yes I have looked at the Handbrake web site.  It says click on Open Source and then select the source DVD.  But when I select the source DVD it shows me the two folders.  There is nothing under the bottom left selection list which just tells me nothing is selected.  I have searched dozens of help sites but they are all out of date and the instructions do not work on Ubuntu 17.10.

 

I do not have a license for Windows.  I have not run anything on Windows in over 10 years.  Paying $200 for an operating system I do not use and do not want to use is an unacceptable price for just being able to read a DVD.  And why should I pay a second time for DVDs that have already cost me thousands of dollars to collect?

[jamesalancobban 5]

Ok, a few basics. The discs are protected by encryption. You need software that will decrypt and convert the movies on the disc to a single file that your computer can play. Handbrake can't decrypt. MakeMKV is one example of some software that can take the movie from your disc and make a video file for you to watch.

 

https://www.makemkv.com

 

Take a look at that, and see if any of this makes sense.

I have installed the licensed libdvdcss which is required for decrypting DVDs,  Once again the documentation says "select the input device" and that is where the process is failing, because I cannot figure out what I am supposed to click on.  All of the documentation is written by people who obviously use this stuff every day and have long forgotten whatever barriers they had to surmount the first time.

[arrbee99 1815]

If you try MakeMKV, I think there's a Linux version (there's a forum for it anyway), you install that and run it. Put a DVD in the drive. It should spin up and then show you this...

 

 

You click on the image of the DVD and it does stuff and then shows this

 

 

you tick or untick stuff you do or don't want then tell it to save what you selected, third icon with green arrow, and after a while you should end up with a movie in mkv format saved where you told it to be saved (there's a setting for that under options I think).

 

Think there's also an option somewhere to tell it to decrypt, which you tick, though that might be the default.

 

You might see more than one mkv file but they're most likely Trailers or something like that.

[Gilgamesh_48 1240]

...where you get the files in the first place.

 

You already have the files! All you need to do is rip your library from DVD etc to a format that can be read on a computer. 

 

Emby, and every other media playback system, assumes that you have your media ripped already. Ripping DVDs or other source is a completely different process from playing it back. You can use Google or other search engine to find all you need about the whole process.

[Guest asrequested]

Ok, so here's video with Linux and handbrake. A bit old but should help.

 

[lorac 118]

I have installed the licensed libdvdcss which is required for decrypting DVDs, Once again the documentation says "select the input device" and that is where the process is failing, because I cannot figure out what I am supposed to click on. All of the documentation is written by people who obviously use this stuff every day and have long forgotten whatever barriers they had to surmount the first time.

Pay? Personally I think you'd find it a lot easier to just download than rip... (which can be very time consuming).

The video_ts folder contains all the video files for DVD and stream folder has them for bluray. Those are the source files.

 

Sent from my STV100-3 using Tapatalk

[jamesalancobban 5]

Ok, so here's video with Linux and handbrake. A bit old but should help.

 

That tutorial transcodes a video that is already on the computer.  It contains nothing about how to get HandBrake to recognize that there is a DVD in the drive.

[jamesalancobban 5]

You already have the files! All you need to do is rip your library from DVD etc to a format that can be read on a computer. 

 

But that is the problem I cannot get any of the tools I have tried to actually read the DVD!

[jamesalancobban 5]

Pay? Personally I think you'd find it a lot easier to just download than rip... (which can be very time consuming).

The video_ts folder contains all the video files for DVD and stream folder has them for bluray. Those are the source files.

 

Sent from my STV100-3 using Tapatalk

How do I find where I can download these movies.  Everytime I do a search I am led to some scam site.

[arrbee99 1815]

Just ripped a DVD and it literally took 5 minutes. Was a really old movie though.

 

If you wanted to compress a bluray movie to save on storage, that's the slow bit.

[lorac 118]

Well there's usenet and torrents... probably best not to discuss actual sites in this forum. I'll send you a PM.

[Guest asrequested]

That tutorial transcodes a video that is already on the computer. It contains nothing about how to get HandBrake to recognize that there is a DVD in the drive.

It's the same process, you just choose your DVD drive and it will read the disc.

[jamesalancobban 5]

Just ripped a DVD and it literally took 5 minutes. Was a really old movie though.

 

If you wanted to compress a bluray movie to save on storage, that's the slow bit.

I cannot find anything that will tell me how to get the rip tool to actually open the damned DVD!  Once the DVD is opened I am sure the tool will create the file but none of the documentation on any of the tools explains that first step.

[jamesalancobban 5]

It's the same process, you just choose your DVD drive and it will read the disc.

But the tool does not give me the option to select the DVD.  When I click on the DVD all it does is open the file system.  I doesn't open the movie on the DVD,

[Guest asrequested]

But the tool does not give me the option to select the DVD. When I click on the DVD all it does is open the file system. I doesn't open the movie on the DVD,

Ok, so it wants you to choose them. I forget which ifo file, but one of those will be the movie.

[jamesalancobban 5]

Well there's usenet and torrents... probably best not to discuss actual sites in this forum. I'll send you a PM.

I do not want to go to some sleezy download site with illegal copies of the programs.  For one thing these days that can get you black-balled from the whole frigging Internet.  But I have spent days searching for videos that I wanted to watch and not found anywhere that I could do a legal download.  In some cases the original copyright holder has gone bankrupt and I have attempted to contact the companies that bought up the assets but apparently all of these media companies are too busy suing people for downloading and bribing politicians to make the process punitive to be able to actually SELL access to their properties.  For example I cannot find anything from EMI films since it went bankrupt.  I would also like to buy downloads of the CBS program JAG, but that program isn't even licensed for VIEWING in Canada since it is only available on CBS All Access which is only available in the USA.  So if I want to watch any of those programs I have to buy the DVD sets and that takes me back to "HOW DO I GET THE VIDEO OFF THE DVD AND INTO A FILE!"