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Best wesite for downloading movies.
- Thread starter owazio
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The problem is that any site that legally sells movies will more than likely have some form of DRM on the videos to prevent piracy, and as far as I know the WDTV dosn't support DRM'd video.
One solution and what alot of people here do is to purchase the Blu-ray disk version and then encode your own file from it.
One solution and what alot of people here do is to purchase the Blu-ray disk version and then encode your own file from it.
If I had the time and inclination, I would agree that encoding the movies yourself would be the better option. That way for roughly the same money you get a physical copy of the movie as a backup. You also get subtitles and bonus features. And if you buy previously-viewed discs or otherwise get them used, or if you get lucky at Wal-Mart's $5 bin, they can be much cheaper than the digital versions.
One might also, hypothetically, justify that if one purchases a copy of a particular movie on Blu-Ray or DVD, then one could download the MP4 of said movie from a torrent with no guilty conscience. However, I'm not sure what the law has to say about that particular scenario.
One might also, hypothetically, justify that if one purchases a copy of a particular movie on Blu-Ray or DVD, then one could download the MP4 of said movie from a torrent with no guilty conscience. However, I'm not sure what the law has to say about that particular scenario.
This is a tough moral question. Personally, I have downloaded HD versions of movies that I bought and own on DVD. I have no desire for the extra features, so in essence, I'm just upgrading the quality of something I already have, not pirating a blu-ray.
To each their own, but at the end of the day, you either play by some company's DRM or you go out and pirate something that you wish you didn't have to.
To each their own, but at the end of the day, you either play by some company's DRM or you go out and pirate something that you wish you didn't have to.
Umm.... I don't want to start a war with anyone but from a moral point of view I don't agree with that.
It's fair enough if you make a copy of your DVD's/Blu-ray's as this could be argued as fair-usage for backup purposes ie you're not really gaining anything above what you've already payed for. But to purchase a SD version of a movie in this case a DVD and then download a HD version means your getting a better quality product than the one you purchased at no extra cost to yourself. You say that in essence your just upgrading the quality, but it's quality you haven't payed for.
Don't worry, you aren't starting a war. If you want the least amount of headaches (although there are a few), I would buy a blu-ray drive and rip them to another computer you have with Make MKV. Then reencode them for the ATV. Yes, that is time consuming and there are a bunch of steps, but this is probably the only way to insure you can do it for every movie. Plus, you get a blu-ray drive!
Plus the good thing about encoding them yourself is you know exactly what you're getting and you have total control over the process. Set them encoding while you're asleep or at work then you're not waiting around for them. Where as downloading off the net you're never sure what you're getting quality wise.
What would a good encoding software be for Blu-Ray on Mac?
I have a BR-drive, and I tried once MakeMKV: the result was good, but I didn't find any options, like choosing the subtitles; I'd be also interested in re-encoding in 720, since my TV-setup is based on an aging Mac Mini (and I don't plan to buy a new one just for that purpose).
Regarding website to purchase good-quality videos, I've also been looking for that, but in vain. Living in the Netherlands, there's not much you can find on iTunes. A local video-store ("videoland") proposes something, but in SD. I find mostly "DVD-like" qualities proposed on the net, and it's not what I'm looking for; usually bundled with the use of a special software, for DRM - and often only for Windows.
I also use a PS3 to watch Blu-Ray, but it's awfully noisy in the summer, and I'm limited to the BR's I buy or the BR's I can rent, which are not too many yet.
A.
I have a BR-drive, and I tried once MakeMKV: the result was good, but I didn't find any options, like choosing the subtitles; I'd be also interested in re-encoding in 720, since my TV-setup is based on an aging Mac Mini (and I don't plan to buy a new one just for that purpose).
Regarding website to purchase good-quality videos, I've also been looking for that, but in vain. Living in the Netherlands, there's not much you can find on iTunes. A local video-store ("videoland") proposes something, but in SD. I find mostly "DVD-like" qualities proposed on the net, and it's not what I'm looking for; usually bundled with the use of a special software, for DRM - and often only for Windows.
I also use a PS3 to watch Blu-Ray, but it's awfully noisy in the summer, and I'm limited to the BR's I buy or the BR's I can rent, which are not too many yet.
A.
Ok, thanks. I guess I was too much in a hurry last time I checked MakeMKV! And Handbrake should work indeed.
I recently picked up a plexor blu-ray drive and use Make MKV to rip all my blu-ray discs. I purchased most of these from Blockbuster as previously viewed for less than $9 each. I then use an Elgato Turbo H.264 HD to re-encode to a smaller file size for playback through XBMC on my Acer Aspire. Encoding is very quick at approx. 3 hours per 20G file. The Acer Aspire can handle the full 20G file for playback however I like to reduce file size to approx. 10G in order to save drive space.
Be aware that if the blu-ray has a DTS soundtrack, you will need to re-encode the track to DD using another program like MKVTools and mux back into the video using Subler in order to get sound in Plex or XBMC. Luckily this is a rather quick process, it only sounds complicated.
It feels wonderful to move away from a physical media based system and have all my media readily accessible at the click of a button
Be aware that if the blu-ray has a DTS soundtrack, you will need to re-encode the track to DD using another program like MKVTools and mux back into the video using Subler in order to get sound in Plex or XBMC. Luckily this is a rather quick process, it only sounds complicated.
It feels wonderful to move away from a physical media based system and have all my media readily accessible at the click of a button
Someone really needs to take the lead on video content downloading. It is so hard to get legal access to good material in some locations. The more the studios seek to lock down their content the more they suffer from theft.
Give us good quality and reasonable access to content and we will pay.
Give us good quality and reasonable access to content and we will pay.
Pretty frustrating to pay extra for a bluray disc (after owning the vhs and dvd previously too?), only to find out that the production companies have done an incredibly poor job on the transfer and encoding.
It seems to be a combination of not caring and/or wanting to ream you (film fans) again for alternative 'editions' of the same films on the same format.
It seems a shame to me that there's no legitimate way to get the best quality, easiest to play copies of films we love.