Linux : HandBrake – Streaming DVDs from my NAS…

 

When my TV broke a few months ago I made the decision not to replace it. That means I only get to watch DVDs on the computer or stuff streamed on the web (BBC iPlayer, ITV Player or 4OD) using my iPad. I’m pretty happy with the situation as it prevents me wasting too much time in front of the TV. My only issue was being tied to the computer for DVDs. Yesterday I entered the 21st century and started streaming DVDs to my iPad.

A little Googling revealed HandBrake is about as simple as it gets, where DVD video transcoders on Linux are concerned. With that installed I saved a copy of a DVD (Alien) into the “movies” folder on my NAS, which is pre-configured for streaming videos. That’s nice and simple.

The next step was to get an iPad app to allow me to watch the streamed content. There are a bunch of them around, but I ended up with PlugPlayer. It automatically detected my NAS and worked immediately.

So now I can watch DVDs streamed to my iPad. All I need is a 60TB hard disk so I can store all my DVDs. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

 

Author: Tim...

DBA, Developer, Author, Trainer.

9 thoughts on “Linux : HandBrake – Streaming DVDs from my NAS…”

  1. It’s kind aneat when you can do that. I have a Samsung lcd hd tv which has built in wireless and stream from my nas to my tv in HD. now to get rid of the pesky cable box and really cut the cord :-p

  2. I use Plex to do this. It downloads metadata & presents a really nice interface the iOS app. Well worth a look.

    Phil

  3. Yo cloud skip all that and just get a Netflix account. True, their movie library has gaps, but they’re filling them rather quickly. And the iPad app works great. When laying in bed, I actually use my iPad more than I use my 26″ wall-mounted flat screen TV. (No Netflix on the TV.)

  4. @Bob, @Tim, just cancelled my free Netflix trial, as the content was so woeful… Maybe things will get better with time…

  5. @Rob, @Bob : I wonder if the USA and UK have different content? I just signed up for a 30 day free trial and the film content does seem rather limited. I will probably use it to watch a few TV series I’ve missed, then decide if the monthly fee is worth it from then on.

    Cheers

    Tim…

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