So, I’ve talked about this DVD Server a few times online, and in real life a bunch. I figure it’s high time I lay out how it’s done.

The system I’m going to outline is built on entirely free software. Given a spare computer with decent specs, albeit a pretty huge hard drive, you could put this together for absolutely nothing. So let’s get to it shall we?

The operating system we’re using is Ubuntu 8.10, also called Intrepid Ibex, the current version as of this writing. I’m not gonna go over installation of the operating system, as there’s plenty of documentation for that, and honestly, it’s pretty straightforward.

We’ve got three main programs we need to install (hope you’re comfortable with the command line, but don’t get scared if you’re not, I’ll walk you through it). The first is the DVD ripping program called k9copy.

k9copy requires a few special packages to rip commercial DVDs (which you’ll likely want to rip). Fortunately, most of these packages are conveniently wrapped up in the Medibuntu repository. A repository is simply a place where one stores software packages. Most Linux distributions use repositories for all their software. Follow the above link to read about the Medibuntu repository, or issue the following three commands, one at a time, into a command line (Applications > Accessories > Terminal)

sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/intrepid.list –output-documents=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list

Once this has finished, enter the second command:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get update

It will ask you if you want to proceed. Type “y”. Don’t worry, Medibuntu is trustworthy. I’ll vouch for them. I promise. Next, one more command:

sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2

Between these three, you will have all the necessary packages installed in your system. Now, k9copy has all the tools it needs to rip DVDs. You just need to install k9copy. To do that, run this command from the terminal:

sudo apt-get install k9copy

It’s just that freaking simple. It’ll take a little bit of time to install, but then k9copy should appear in your applications list under Applications > Sound and Video > k9copy.

Ripping Movies with k9copy:

Run k9copy, load a DVD in the tray, and press the big “Open” button on the upper left side of the window. This will bring up the DVD menu tree. You can select individual parts of the DVD to include in this view, but I prefer to stick with the entire thing. Click the topmost check box in the tree, then click “Copy” in the toolbar. It will ask you where to save the .iso image you’re about to create. I’d suggest coming up with an organizational scheme early. The .iso file will be no bigger than 4.4 GB by default, though you can alter the max file size in k9copy’s settings.

In the interest of full-disclosure:

In my time using k9copy, I’ve found that it’s pretty flakey about how often it works. In ripping my collection, it would rip 2-3 movies, then refuse to open until I’d rebooted my machine. Admittedly, this was back on 8.04, and I don’t know if they’ve upgraded k9copy since then. I’m open to alternative methods for ripping DVDs, but now that my whole collection is in, I think I’ll stick with this and trust the software will get better as time goes by.

Alright, so now we’ve got a bunch of .isos floating around your hard drive, but we need a way to play them.

Enter VLC

VLC is, simply put, the only media player you will ever need, at all, forever and ever, till the end of the digital age. VLC will play anything. Fortuntaly for us, this includes .isos, even maintaining the interactive menu structure.

For 8.10, installing VLC is pretty simple. Run the following two commands in a terminal:

sudo apt-get update

Then:

sudo apt-get install vlc vlc-plugin-esd mozilla-plugin-vlc

If you’re using an older version of Ubuntu, you may need to enable a universe or multiverse repository. As this guide is for 8.10, I’ll leave that part out for now.

You can now open the .isos in VLC and play them as any standard DVD player would.

In all practicality, this is all you need. But let’s face it. This interface isn’t pretty. So let’s make it pretty.

The last program we’re gonna install is GCStar. This program will be mostly useless to you without an internet connection, as a warning.

The Star of the Show

Forgive my pun. I’m required by law to use at least three a year. I’d made two so far, and it’s already November. Anyways, installing GCStar was surprisingly simple, given their download sections instructions. Ok, are you ready for this:

sudo apt-get install gcstar

This might not be the best advice, but honestly, when I find a well-made piece of software with an installation that seems unnecessarily complex, first thing I try is “sudo apt-get install softwarename“. It’s a bit hit or miss, and this time, it was a hit.

Using GCStar

GCStar is first and foremost a library software. Which means you can keep track of more than just your movies. Books, music, board games, video games, even your wine collection. For us, though, select Movie Collection. Select File > Add to begin adding movies.

This will open a new panel. The top most search bar is your power tool. Enter the name of a movie here and press enter (or “Fetch Information”). By default this will bring up a list of places to search from. I find Amazon and IMDb among the most effective searches.

Though, they’re not perfect. For example, as an experiment, I used Amazon to search for the movie Jumper. It brought me back the cover art for Iron Man. Go figure.

But I digress.

Once you get your search correct, you’ll have a ton if metadata, and things start looking pretty. But there’s a couple more things we wanna do.

Under the Details tab of a movie, there’s a bunch of fun information here if you really get into dissecting your movies in a database style. But the important piece of info is Video File. Press the Open button next to this box, and navigate to your .iso that you have stored on your hard drive

Your movie is now directly linked to the entry on this page. You can now select the movie from your library list, click “Play”, and it will automatically launch.

Loose Ends

There’s a ton of fun ways to play around with these programs. You can modify your max file size in k9copy, or make use of the lending system in GCStar to keep track of who’s borrowing your movies. I’ll largely leave you to explore the programs on your own. But a couple more things need to be done, specifically in GCStar.

Go to Settings > Preferences. In the Paths tab, you can choose what application you start your movies in. Select “Use Specified Programs”, then click “Set Programs”. In the box marked Video player, enter “vlc” (no quotes), in place of “mplayer”.

This next one is a personal preference thing, but it’s worth showing, as I didn’t know it existed. Still in the Preferences menu, under the “Display” tab change the “Items list” setting from “Text” to “Image”. Select OK however many times you need to get back to the main page.

You now have a virtual shelf to display your movies. There are a couple of themes to choose from as well, under Preferences > Display tab > Items list settings. Personally, I like the Dark Glass skin the best.

The next (optional) thing. Open VLC (easiest to just launch a movie from GCStar). Then, go to Tools > Preferences. Under the Video tab, Display section, select Fullscreen. This one is a bit of a misnomer, as what it actually does is change VLC’s default behavior to open in fullscreen. Handy if we want to launch a movie from GCStar more seamlessly. Once in fullscreen mode, you can exit by double-clicking.

Finally, in the Preferences menu in VLC, under the Subtitles & OSD tab, deselect “Enable OSD”. This will get rid of an annoying little subtitle that feels the need to tell you what file you’re opening. This is new in this version of VLC.

And that’s all! Not that this isn’t enough, but the only thing left, really, is just adding all your movies. It’s a long process, made only longer by the size of your movie collection, but I find it’s worth it.

I wrote this article while setting up this very system on my friend’s computer. Special thanks to him, by the way, for letting me use his computer as a guinea pig for this set up. He’s gotten it twice now, and his computer has been in my possession for almost a month now. He’s been very supportive in helping me get this process refined.

If anyone has a problem with this setup, let me know, and I’ll see if I can figure it out. Or search online and let me know what solutions you come up with! ubuntuforums.org is a great resource for getting help. Probably more helpful than I’ll be.

Oh and apologies for the lack of screenshots. Unfortunately, I’m a bit unable at the moment.

Well, that’s all. If you do set this system up, do let me know. I’d love to hear about it.

Happy movie night!