Using the Player without a DVD drive?

[JClay]

Sorry if there's info for this somewhere but I've not found it (yet) - I have a 3tb media server where I'm currently storing a number of my favorite movies - some that I would love to play with a Riff.

Is there anyway to get the player to work off a hard drive location?  The full disk image is on the media server (and it works well with WinDVD).  I 'store' the master disks away for archive purposes but of course I can get them out...just would prefer not to.

Thanks.

Jamie

[MrTorso]

I have run the Rifftrax player with a image drive.

[JClay]

I have run the Rifftrax player with a image drive.

How do you get it to load the image?  I've tried opening the VOB with the player but (currently) haven't found it to work.

[RoninFox]

Maybe you could try loading the image to a virtual drive.

[MrTorso]

I have run the Rifftrax player with a image drive.

How do you get it to load the image?  I've tried opening the VOB with the player but (currently) haven't found it to work.

You have to have an actual image file of the DVD (.iso) and then using any of the many virtual drive software packages out there you load it up. I use nero image drive myself.

[JClay]

You have to have an actual image file of the DVD (.iso) and then using any of the many virtual drive software packages out there you load it up. I use nero image drive myself.

Yeah...I was afraid that was what it was.  (For me) that's a PITA because I've archived them in 'open' format - more work than I'm willing to do right now. 

WinDVD plays the folders just fine, I guess a WISHLIST would be that the Rifftrax player could do the same.

Or someone writes virtual drive software that works with folders instead of ISO files.

So it goes - thanks.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Does your server have the folders in the original dvd format (with the video_ts folders)?

If so just map a network drive to the root folder of the DVD.

As long as you have something like this on your computer the player will use it:

S:\video_ts\"dvd vob files"

I've done this on a USB flash drive and it works.

If you don't have the correct folder structure on the server I guess the other option would be to put a video_ts folder on your C: drive and copy the files from the movie you want to watch into it.  If you've got a fast network it might be as fast as getting the original disk out of storage...  Of course you would have to erase the files and load another set in each time you want to watch a different movie.