I have been researching and ripping dvds all day trying to figure out how to rip to a single file w/o loosing alot of quality. my main concern is that i want to have all my movies on an HTPC for easy viewing but i want good quality also. i have no problem ripping into the .vob format but will MCE read a video_ts folder and play to movie fine or should i keep trying to figure out another way to rip the dvd's?
If you're going to ripping a lot of DVDs, I suggest you get a seperate media server. DVDs take up a lot of storage space, so having a seperate computer with a large case (for adding more drives) makes things a little easier. For a media server, any old computer will do (an old PIII, Celeron or Sempron), as it's basic function is just to store and serve the data - not process it. You can keep the server in a closet, or anywhere else that's out of the way (just make sure that it has enough breathing space for air circulation). I keep all of my movies, videos and music on mine, and it's networked to my MCE machines in the Living room and bedroom.
Magic DVD ripper will rip the movie in it's original format, and enable you to use a number of playback applications like; Power DVD, Win DVD, Nero Vision, etc.. $29.99 will get you an Nvidia Pure Video decoder for WMP that will enable you to play movies at 1080i, assuming you have a capable video card. I've ripped movies to my computer and can stream them to different pcs in my home. Magic DVD Copier will also rip DVDs in original format. You will need a lot of drive space for this since the average DVD is 8.5GB in original format. I've also tried Theater Tek and like it as well. It's more expensive that using WMP 10 or 11 with the Pure Video decoder, but it is more advanced as well. WMP with the decoder will do you fine.
The Pure video basic decoder will also support 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS.
