HD300 - Won't play DVD ISO in Extender Mode! Plz Help.

[palehorse]

I have a few DVDs that I ripped to ISO a while ago, so I don't remember exactly which method I used to rip each one.

(Most of my files are now single-file mkv's, but I have a few Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD's that are still in this ISO format because their episodes arent divided properly for ripping purposes)

They are full-menu ISO's, and they play perfectly in standalone mode. However, when I enter into Extender mode and browse to the ISO files through the file browser, the following happens when I hit play:

1. It loads straight to the menu
2. I cannot interact with the menu using the remote
3. It then jumps to the Spanish Language menu
4. It then starts playing with no audio, but it has English subtitles on.
5. It then stops abruptly and returns to the file browser menu

(On one of the ISOs, it doesnt even get to the DVD menu before crashing back out to the browser).

I have v7.0.15.237 on the server, and the latest beta firmware on the HD300. Like I said, the same ISO's play great in standalone mode -- intro sequences, menus, and all -- but I can't do anything with them in Extender mode. They also work fine in VLC on my HTPC.

Any ideas?

[paulbeers]

What is your setup like?

[palehorse]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

What is your setup like?

My setup? Which aspect?

[wrems]

If I were you I would convert your ISO’s into folder structure or into MKV’s like your other media and be done with it. It’s very easy and fast to do with free tools. Why fight with ISO’s?

[stanger89]

You need VirtualCloneDrive installed for SageTV to handle ISOs correctly on the PC (which is required in extender mode).

I personally would just extract them to folders.

[palehorse]

OK, fair enough... so what you're telling me is that the HD300 cannot play DVD ISO's in Extender mode?

Or, that I must install VirtualCloneDrive on my WHS server to "serve" them to the HD300's Extender client? But, that's only if I run the HD300 in Extender mode, and not standalone mode where they already work perfectly fine?

Why would they work perfectly fine in Standalone mode, but not in Extender mode? Aren't they leveraging the same playback software once you hit play? If not, why not?



Something isn't making sense...

[paulbeers]

No it makes perfect sense which is why I was asking for your setup.

Windows can not handle ISO's natively which is what your server is based on.

The Extenders are based on Linux which can natively handle ISO's.

That's why in standalone mode (when only the linux is the OS being used) works just fine, but when in Extender mode (when Windows is what is being used) doesn't.

[palehorse]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

No it makes perfect sense which is why I was asking for your setup.

Windows can not handle ISO's natively which is what your server is based on.

The Extenders are based on Linux which can natively handle ISO's.

That's why in standalone mode (when only the linux is the OS being used) works just fine, but when in Extender mode (when Windows is what is being used) doesn't.

So what is the exact procedure for installing VCD on my WHS to make this work? Is a simple install-and-forget enough, or are there settings I need to change in the SageTV server software and/or VCD?

Is there a specific version of VCD that is necessary? Is it free?

My Setup:
-SageTV Server v7.0.15 running on WHS with all service packs.
-HD300 running latest (11/18) beta firmware with SMM plugin.
-hardwired ethernet connection for both the HD300 and WHS.

I did extract the folders to use, for now, but I'd really like to get DVD ISO's working in Extender Mode as well...

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by palehorse

I did extract the folders to use, for now, but I'd really like to get DVD ISO's working in Extender Mode as well...

Can I ask you why? I have always done folders, and have yet to figure out the desire for using .iso files. As far as i can tell, the only 'valid' reason is filesharing is easier with a single file. In most cases, an ISO file is actually bigger than the extracted folders - due to it having all the unneccesary file system information in it.

[palehorse]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Can I ask you why? I have always done folders, and have yet to figure out the desire for using .iso files. As far as i can tell, the only 'valid' reason is filesharing is easier with a single file. In most cases, an ISO file is actually bigger than the extracted folders - due to it having all the unneccesary file system information in it.

For one, I'm intentionally not adding these kids movies to my MyMovies database until I can figure out a way to separate them, completely, from the rest of my movie collection in the SMM interface. (Or until the new SMM comes out that supposedly allows for separate movie/video categories -- TV Shows, Exercise Videos, Kids Movies, SD Movies, HD Movies, etc).

Until that time, I'm using the simple "Search" file browser to browse to the folder containing these movies, and then playing them from there. Do you understand how annoying it is to scroll to the proper VOB file in the VIDEO_TS folder to play each one, versus simply clicking on a single appropriately named ISO file in the root directory?

Maybe you're ok with that, but it's annoying as hell to me, and it fails WAF completely.

EDIT: By the way, your theory that file-sharing is the only legitimate reason to use ISO's is simply wrong.

make sense?

[Fuzzy]

The ISO vs. Folder debate has been around LONG before SMM has, so I can't believe that's the reason most use it. Aside from that, if you just put your kids movies in a separate folder, and NOT att that fodler to MyMovies, that will remove them.. then just use the standard sage folder viewer for them until SMM can filter as you like (by the way, i thought there were Genre views and such in SMM already?).

I do remember another reason to use ISO's, and that was because PowerDVD wont' play from a fodler (so you'd ahve to mount the .iso). Again, i dont' use PowerDVD, sticking with either SageTV, or ArcSoft - both of which CAN play from a folder. And since Sage is the most common viewer I use, i'd prefer to keep my library in the format it works best with. For now, that's folders.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by palehorse

Do you understand how annoying it is to scroll to the proper VOB file in the VIDEO_TS folder to play each one, versus simply clicking on a single appropriately named ISO file in the root directory?

Not really, because I've never had to do that in Sage. I just pick the movie from the DVDs/BDs view and it plays. Folders behave exactly like ISOs (full menu support and everything) but don't require extra software to work.

[Nelbert]

So is VCD an install and forget on a WHS, or does SageTV need extra config?

Is this a case where a Linux server has the advantage over the Windows based machines?

I too have many ISOs and now the kitchen work is over will be getting time to sort out the SageTV server and actually plug the 300 in. It arrived the same week as the kitchen was ripped out, so became low priority.

As for why ISOs?
1) It's easier to burn back to dvd for use in the car or when travelling.
2) My TViX player is simpler to use with ISOs.
3) I'm not going to spend the next few weeks extracting all the ISO rips out to folder format, or drag all the DVDs out the attic and re-rip them.

[Fuzzy]

WinRAR can make the extraction a cinch. Right click on a bunch of them, and choose extract to ... folders, and it will extract the ISO's to folders named for the ISO. Simple - one time - just works. (WinRAR works for DVD ISO's, but not BluRay ISO's, as it doens't support the bluray file system. For those, you'd have to mount them, and copy the files from the virtual drive. either way, it's a one time thing, and it's mostly unattended.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by Nelbert

So is VCD an install and forget on a WHS, or does SageTV need extra config?

I think it's just install and forget. I'm not 100% sure if you need to configure it for more than one drive or not though.

Is this a case where a Linux server has the advantage over the Windows based machines?

I haven't heard any reports on how ISOs work on a linux server, would probably be a good question for the linux subforum.

[JetreL]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

WinRAR can make the extraction a cinch.

7Zip works great for this too.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by Nelbert

As for why ISOs?
1) It's easier to burn back to dvd for use in the car or when travelling.
2) My TViX player is simpler to use with ISOs.
3) I'm not going to spend the next few weeks extracting all the ISO rips out to folder format, or drag all the DVDs out the attic and re-rip them.

1) No more difficult than using DVDFab and pointing to the title folder of the ripped DVD that contains the video_ts and audio_ts folders.
2) Your Tivx akso supports playing a ripped dvd by pointing to the .ifo file. Supportd menu play if you want. Just like SageTV.
3) no one is saying you have to. Several solutions will use the .ISO to convert. DVDFab allows you to drag and drop the .iso file and rip the whole iso or just the movie, with or without menus.

The point is there really isn't an advantage to the .iso format with most media players and their apps.

Gerry

[Nelbert]

Thanks Stanger89, hopefully it'll be that simple.

Having looked through the manuals it does mention the need for VCD in the SageTV manual, but I only found it tucked away in "Chapter 8: Version History". Maybe this would be better in the DVD playback section of the manual or maybe I'm blind and it is elsewhere.

If it doesn't work that simply then I'll get to stress test the disk system in the server for a 30+ hours as it extracts all the isos.

Gerry,
1) When using dvdfab to burn a folder format back to a dvd does it halt asking for the layer break location or does it correctly use the original layer break location? Am sure last time I tried it kept asking me to select the correct layer break location.
2) WAF on selecting an ifo from a list of vob and ifo files rather than a single iso in a folder is not very high. Tried the icon view but performance sucks and it's unreadable on the 4100

[wrems]

Not sure if the menus, extras and alternate audio tracks are extremely important to you, but I would say most folks here don't rip the entire disc. They're extracting only the main movie and an audio track and keeping it in folder structure. This keeps the sizes down and gets rid of all the nonsense on the physical disc. Why waste space storing previews and extras, commentaries on every disc? Maybe for a few of them that are really important to you, but that's what the physical discs are for, if you need drag it out and play all the extras from the original. But as far as having a nice collection of movies on your server instantly accessible nothing beats just a ready to go main movie imo. Plus, it's easier for kids and parents to play movies when they don't have to navigate special menus, when they find something they like they hit play and the movie just starts playing.

[Nelbert]

I understand what you mean and had considered it, but everyone has different needs and main movie only isn't really that useful for our house.

My wife is russian and while she translates english, french and italian, the mumbling some actors get away with (Harrison Ford a prime example) or very broad accents can make it difficult to follow especially when they speak quickly and quietly.

We get DVDs from all over the world with different main languages and rather than having to decide which soundtracks/subtitles to rip it's easier just to rip the whole dvd. Disk space is cheap, so I'm not concerned about storage space.

Once ripped all our dvds and cds go into storage in the loft (attic) and aren't easily accessible. The amount of space we gained in the room by doing this was very unexpected.