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  1. Hi all - new here today, but used to look at the vcdhelp.com about 15 years ago and found it very helpful.

    I'm looking for advice on a network media player or NAS set up that I can rip my DVD / Blu-Rays to so that I can access them from my Smart TV.

    I want to be able to rip the movies and keep the chapter / navigation points. The initial menu and chapter choice would be great too (I'm not bothered by extras). Almost like using the old DVD Decrypter / DVD Shrink but putting it on the network to be accessed by the TV.

    I had a quick skim of the threads but couldn't obviously see anything - if anyone could post a couple of links that would be great.

    Thanks

    Justin
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    TVs don't understand how to use the DVD files and folder structure or the Blu-ray files and folder structure so you can't keep the menus.

    Check your TV manual to see if it will play MKV files and how it expects subtitles to be presented for MKV. MakeMKV can produce you an MKV with the chapter points. I haven't yet seen any Smart TV media players that are able to display SUP or PGS subs, which means if you want subtitles, you will probably need to convert them from their native SUP or PGS format to SRT. Many TVs also want the subtitles in the same folder with the MKV file and not muxed into the MKV.
    Ignore list: hello_hello, tried, TechLord, Snoopy329
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  3. I'm a Super Moderator johns0's Avatar
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    JustinUK-In the future use a more descriptive title rather than 'newbie here,help me" etc.I changed the title this time.
    I think,therefore i am a hamster.
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  4. you need a htpc that plays files from the pc.. your tv is just a display.
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    Originally Posted by teodz1984 View Post
    you need a htpc that plays files from the pc.. your tv is just a display.
    It's true that an HTPC would provide more versatility and reliability than a smart TV's media player, but there are still problems connected with playing Blu-ray rips with menus. There are some free or lower-cost unlicensed software players for playing Blu-ray but they don't provide complete access to Blu-ray menus. Unfortunately, complete access to Blu-ray menus requires more expensive paid software, like PowerDVD Ultra or Corel WinDVD Pro.

    I have used a smart TV with DLNA capability for playing files stored on a network-connected PC. It can work, but the container file type must be supported and the video, audio, and subtitles may need to be converted to match what the TV will accept.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 13th Oct 2019 at 16:25.
    Ignore list: hello_hello, tried, TechLord, Snoopy329
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  6. aBigMeanie aedipuss's Avatar
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    i use chromecast or firetv devices hooked up to smart tvs, as all tvs are as dumb as a box of rocks when it comes to playing video files. even with those networked devices i install vlc on them to be the actual video renderer. vlc has network access and can play files off any "shared" local network device. even so i rip all blurays and dvds to "movie only" for compatibility.
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  7. I'm a Super Moderator johns0's Avatar
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    I use my ps3 to play my mkv files with no issues.
    I think,therefore i am a hamster.
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  8. Member Ennio's Avatar
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    Another matter to consider is audio. Even if a tv could process blu-ray disc-structures and/or read mkv files, you may run into issues when you want to play tracks that contain later generation formats that may have lossless high resolution audio, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X etc.
    Chances are that your tv will not be able to decode those and/or to forward the bitstream to a HDMI receiver.

    When you use something like Plex you can configure the audio output in the settings.

    Buying a separate network-mediaplayer is IMO the best solution in case you want to be able to play the latest audio formats via a surroundreceiver (that has support for these audio formats, of course). Especially for non-4K content they are cheap nowadays.
    Last edited by Ennio; 14th Oct 2019 at 19:33.
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