Hi I would like to copy my dvd collection onto my WD my cloud mirror but I don’t really know where to start! I would like to stream movies to my Xbox 360 and Chromecast if possible. What I would like to know is if anyone has any software they reccomend to use and what file type I need to copy it to eg mkv/mp4 to play through the xbox/chromecast. The more of a dummies guide the better! I look forward to your replies and thanks in advance!
Hi,
Welcome to the WD Community.
First you need to check what file types your devices support over the network.
Please see the following link, for a detailed list of supported files over the network.
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/UM/ENG/4779-705122.pdf#page=102
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Hi 1hotspur,
I’ve just got my WD My Cloud Mirror as well for this same purpose.
I’ve started to backup my collection and glad I’ve only got to about 10!
Can I ask how you are getting along and what format you are using?
I created my backups with MakeMKV, included the DD5.1 sounds track and English Subs. For some reason the app doesn’t recognise these as Video file and won’t let me play them either on the phone or via Chromecast. I can send to a WebCaster App which connects to ChromeCast but then only Stereo sound and cannot enable subtitles.
Although the manual above say that MKV’s supported but doesn’t mention anything about AC3 or Subtitles.
I’ve just started my research, if I find a suitable solution I’ll reply in this thread! Otherwise, any tips from experianced users would be appreciated.
Kiz
I am doing the same thing. In addition to making MKV files out of them, you then have to use a program called handshake to convert them to mp4 files. I play mine across all platforms. iPad, iPhone, Xbox, TV anything that had media access.
Here is a link that might help explain it.
http://www.itworld.com/article/2827370/unified-communications/how-to-put-your-movies-on-your-media-server.html?page=1
Hope this helps
Randy
No simple guide to do this. First you have to ‘rip’ the DVDs which means removing the copy protection and copy to computer. Easiest program to do this MakeMKV which is currently free. MakeMKV is fairly simple to use and rips the files to your pc. The files end up being pretty big so you’ll want to compress them. This is probably only legal with DVDs you own.
To compress them and change the format you use a program called Handbrake. This is open source and free to download. Handbrake takes a little bit longer to get the hang of but you’ll find plenty of guides online.
The supposed universal format is mp4 but mkv is also fine. Googling this you’ll run into discussions about mp4 and mkv being containers and not formats. I haven’t had a problem with either.
Now playing them on anything you want is the tricky part. You can just store them on MCM and use the media app on the xbox to get to them if you have MCM media serving turned on. Cast to your Chromecast using ES file explorer, local cast, UPNP Bubble, etc. This get frustrating really fast and is not very user friendly.
The easiest way to stream your media is by installing Plex Media Server on a PC. Plex is awesome! doesn’t care what format you files are in, it will play them. Doesn’t care where you want to play it, it will send it. Only downside is you need a PC running. Plex will supposedly run on MCM but then you have to worry about the format because the MCM can’t convert on the fly like a PC can. There are Plex player apps for Xbox, android, Roku and some TVs. Its not hard to set up and will make watching your DVDs a joy.
so step by step:
1 Use MakeMKV to rip DVDs to PC
2 Use Handbrake to compress/convert files to mp4
3 Install Plex Media Server on a PC (now format/container doesn’t matter)
4 Install Plex Media Player on Xbox/Android/TV
5 Turn off all of the media serving features of MCM
Best part is all of the programs you need are Free! It is not as complicated as it sounds and there are lots of guides and videos about this.
