TIP'S & HOW TO'S: MediaBrowser for Dummies

[birkoff]

sure can. Instead of entering the folder that has all the episodes, just hover over it and press play. You'll love what comes up! :D

Thanks, but that''s not working for me. Do i have to have mediabrowser set up in a certain way? A certain setting in the media options maybe?

You will have to press the play button on your remote to show the play menu. or use the * button on your keyboard (or SHIFT+8 if on a laptop without keypad)

[seanrabin]

Ok guys, I am back... your favorite noob.

I am am finally getting used to the little in's and out's of MB and I love it more and more...

Ok, I am building my system up now. thinking about the design and getting stuff in order.

Got a few questions (with more to come I am sure).

What is the best way to rip my DVD's ? I have DVDFab6, and can rip the full movie with almost no compression. I want to have full 5.1 sound and full resolution. Do you then convert it to another file format for size sake ?

I am projecting onto a 120" screen so VQ is important.

Is there anything available to upconvert my files to 1080p via HDMI ?

[ulrick65]

Ok guys, I am back... your favorite noob.

I am am finally getting used to the little in's and out's of MB and I love it more and more...

Ok, I am building my system up now. thinking about the design and getting stuff in order.

Got a few questions (with more to come I am sure).

What is the best way to rip my DVD's ? I have DVDFab6, and can rip the full movie with almost no compression. I want to have full 5.1 sound and full resolution. Do you then convert it to another file format for size sake ?

I am projecting onto a 120" screen so VQ is important.

Is there anything available to upconvert my files to 1080p via HDMI ?

I use MakeMKV as it is fast and makes the MKV file at full resolution...no loss in quality. Of course the file takes up disc space...but you did say "full resolution". I prefer MKV format to the DVD folder format, because I dont have to navigate DVD menus, etc. The problem of course is being able to do fast forward and rewind is clunky....but honestly I don't use it that much to kill me and I am hopeful that as things mature this funcationality will improve (after all MKV is THE container of choice! ;) )

[seanrabin]

But if you choose to copy the main movie only... there should be no DVD menus to deal with.

What do you think ?

How does the MKV file size compare to the straight DVD ?

Is there a free program available to do that process ?

[seanrabin]

Also, when I did a standard DVD burn with Video TS and Audio TS folder, it played, but when I used Media Center Master to pull in metadata it tried to say there was no video file... But I went in and it played fine :?:

[ulrick65]

I just prefer the single file myself and the mkv format allows for multiple audio and subtitle formats. Personal preference I guess... I started out doing all folder format, but switched over a while back and never looked back.

I use metabrowser for the metadata rather than media center master, but I don't see any reason that Media Center Master should be reporting a problem...as long as the files are in the VIDEO_TS folder there shouldn't be an issue.

[seanrabin]

What is the best tool to use for mkv files?

[ulrick65]

What is the best tool to use for mkv files?

I use MakeMkv and MKVToolnix for most all of my MKV needs. Handbrake is also very nice to have around. ;)

[seanrabin]

What is Handbrake used for ?

Do you need all three ?

[ulrick65]

What is Handbrake used for ?

Do you need all three ?

No, you don't need all three. Handbrake is for re-encoding. If you just want to move a DVD to MKV, then you don't really need it.