Too many DVDs scattered all over the house? Friends borrowing your DVDs forever? Little ones scratching up your favorite DVD? You can alleviate all this by copying all your DVDs to a hard drive. I’ll show you how using a Mac.
This is idea for those who are using a Mac as a HTPC. My current HTPC setup consists of a Mac Pro connected to a 32″ Toshiba Regza LCD with 2.1 sound system and a Logitech diNovo Edge wireless keyboard. Most of the time it’s playing Disney movies.
If you have Netflix, you can copy all the DVDs they ship to you and return them the same day without having to watch the DVDs right away.
Or if you have a Mac notebook, you can just go to your friends house who already has a vast DVD library and start copying to your hard drive without having to borrow the DVD.
With all your DVDs on a hard drive, you have your entire library at your fingertips. No more opening a DVD case with the wrong DVD inside, browsing through spindles or binders, or building shelves to hold all your DVDs. You can use all those discs as ammo for a CD gun or use them as coasters.
If you get truly prolific with your DVD copies, you might want to consider getting this baby and a bunch of hard drives. You’d have to number the hard drives and catalog what’s on them to keep track of your epic collection. You can also setup a RAID system if you’re savvy enough and have the extra cash.
Also, with your DVDs on your hard drive, you can easily burn another copy, convert to formats that play on your PMP, or you can stream any movie in your library to any device with an internet connection. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, those will be for future posts. Right now, view the screencast below to learn how to copy a single DVD using your Mac.
--- # Checklist:
– Leopard
– DVD-ROM
– Roomy Hard Drive
– FairMount
– VLC
– Your favorite DVD
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--- # Overview:
– Insert DVD
– Quit any players that open automatically
– Remount DVD with FairMount
– Create image with Disk Utility
– Play ISO with VLC
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ozz314 