Here we have a hands on review of the new AVA Media RipNet add-in for Windows Home Server and Windows Media Center from Tranquil.
It’s only been a week since we exclusively revealed a new add-in called RipNet. Well now it is out and we have been using it in earnest.
There are two offerings from Tranquil – the RipNet Add-in and the RipNet plus AVA Media CD/DVD ripping software. If you already have the AVA Media software, for example, if you have a Tranquil Windows Home Server, then you would only need the RipNet add-in.
Here is how Tranquil describe RipNet:
RipNet is a innovative system that links your Media Centre optical drive to your Home Server, to provide a network based ripping service.
If your Home Server has the AVA Media disc ripping Add In already, and you also have a Media Centre or PC running Win7 Home Premium, you can now select to play the disks, as normal, on the PC or automatically rip them to your Home Server. The ripping process is as simple as insert the disc, wait and when it is ejected the process is complete.
There are two parts to the system, a new Home Server Add In, and a Media Centre (Win7 Home Premium) Add In.
And here is how they describe the AVA Media CD/DVD ripping software:
Your music can be copied either to lossless music formats such as Windows Media Audio Lossless or FLAC, and/or to highly compressed Windows Media Audio or MP3 files, or a combination, allowing you to store a primary format for in-house playback, and a secondary format for mobile devices.
Your Video disks can be copied to either VIDEO_TS formats for DVD’s, ISO format for DVD or Blu-ray, or a Media Centre Extender compatible MPEG-2 format for DVD’s, or you can copy both to a VIDEO_TS format as well as an MPEG-2 format for DVD’s, allowing the full VIDEO_TS structure to be played on the main Media Centre, and the MPEG-2 file on your Media Centre Extender.
The Movie Monitor will automatically identify movie folders in your Windows Home Server’s video libraries, and add high quality meta-data to the titles, making the meta-data available to several numerous Media Centre software products, as well as storing a folder image for the movie folders when browsing the folders with Windows Explorer.
The data is be stored directly in the movie folder as an XML file, front and back cover image files, as well as a folder.jpg file, making the data openly available to any program that supports them, including My Movies, Media Centres DVD library, using the “DVD library Connector etc.
See what AVA Media can do in this short movie
There are three parts to the system, the AVA Media Home Server Add In, the RipNet Home Server Add In, and a Media Centre (Win7 Home Premium) Add In.
For this review we will only be looking in depth at the RipNet add-in, but we will briefly mention AVA Media.
Installing RipNet to the Media Center
Just run the setup program on your Media Center. There is both a 32bit and a 64bit version of the software so make sure you get the version that matches your Media Center.
And that is it!
AVA Media RipNet Add-In for Media Center
If you now fire up Media Center, you will notice a new entry on the Menu called AVA Media.
If you click it you will be asked to enter your licence key which was provided when you purchased the add-in. Type it in and click Save.
You will then have the choice between Disk – Shared (Rip mode) or Disk – Local (Play mode).
Rip mode is what you want to set it to if you want to rip (kind of obvious) but just make sure you set it back to Play mode if you want to actually use the drive to watch something on Media Center.
If you have more than one optical drive in your Media Center then you will be presented with the choice of which one to use.
Thanks for the lengthy review 😉 Yeah, I'm one of those guys that think this is a repackaged MyMovies.
Can you explain the difference between this and Tranquil's http://usingwindowshomeserver.com/2010/01/21/tran… ?
Is this product still available ? Looks like it's only available for the Tranquil box, while RipNet can be installed on any WHS. I'm a pain, huh.
Anything for you mate 🙂
The AVA Media part (if you buy it) is the same as the one you pointed to which as I understand it up to now was only delivered on the Tranquil Windows Home Servers.
So now Tranquil are selling RipNet and also the AVA Media software either seperately or together, so if you already have the AVA Media part, then you only need the RipNet software.
My Movies uses the WHS to rip (so you need an optical drive in the WHS – which some or most people wont have) where as RipNet uses the Media Center (which I think you would agree most people have an optical drive in).
Andrew
So basically, this is just an automated ripping add-in that uses AnyDVD to break the encryption, MyMovies for the Meta Data and in essence all it really does is allow you to rip the discs by simply inserting them versus having to click a couple of buttons.
All for the low price of about a hundred dollars (plus the cost of AnyDVD)……..
color me unimpressed.
What folder structure does it set up for storing the movies?
does it just dump them into a folder inside the video folder?
What does it name that folder?
Basically, this review leaves out some very important details that i think most people would want to know…..
I'm all for automation, but to basically automate using one paid product and then get meta data from a free for personal use product and community supported database and charge that much for it?
I'd expect to see a lot more information on the product and WHY it would be a good addition other than "it does it automagically!"
Ok, all reasonable comments, so let me try and respond to what I can…
Yes, it is an automated ripping add-in, but what it also does is give the WHS access to and control over the optical drive, or drives in your Windows Media Center. Yes, you could do it using other software and a few clicks, and if you already had all that software and didnt have an issue with using it then you probably wouldnt want to buy this add-in.
But if you didnt already have that software, and you wanted something simple, that just works, didnt need a lot of configuration or understanding to get it to work (ie, the original target audience for Windows Home Server) then you might be interested in this.
If you had a pile of things you want to rip, you just have to feed in each disc and that is it. Ok, only saves a few moments per disc, but what if your Windows Home Server was locked away under the stairs for example and you didnt have an optical drive on it?
Again, this might make it easier for some people to use this rather than another set of tools, but again this is going to be down to personal preferance.
Personally I stand by the review and I think for what it is and what it does, if you want all the software and you want something simple to use, then this is a good product and is value for money, but again, I can understand that some people might think its expensive.
As for your specific questions, as I said in the review, I was not covering the AVA Media part of the software (which is the elements you are asking about), I was only covering the RipNet part, but as you have asked, here are the answers:
What folder structure does it set up for storing the movies – within the newly created movie folder there is a VIDEO_TS folder, a number of jpgs and a xml file with the meta data.
does it just dump them into a folder inside the video folder – yes, if you have selected the video folder as the target
What does it name that folder – the folder is named whatever the movie is, so in the two example rips I did, one folder is called Serenity and the other Iron Man.
Happy to try and answer any other questions or forward them to Tranquil if you want to know more.
Andrew
Hi Andrew, thanks for the explanation. You commented that "My Movies uses the WHS to rip (so you need an optical drive in the WHS
Hi John
To be honest, I dont know if it would work and I dont have a copy of My Movies installed. Brian has provided with with a copy in the past so I will give it a go 🙂
Andrew
Hi all,
To clear up some confusion.
AVA Media is a rebranding of My Movies for Windows Home Server.
Tranquil have build the RipNet themselves on top of this, which means that the software running on the WHS is the rebranded My Movies for Windows Home Server, but the option to use the drive from a Media Center is the difference here.
My Movies for Windows Media Center's ripping function can't be compared, as it does not rip CD's, it have a different ripping logic than My Movies for WHS, and, it is not fully automated.
Regards,
Brian
thanks Brian 🙂
Thanks for all the comments on this subject.
If we can make a few comments which may help the viewers :
1. AVA Media for WHS is a re-branded version of My Movies WHS ripping engine, with a life time subscription to the premium GD3 meta data base (it's not free)
2. WHS My Movies or WHS AVA Media both require a 'locally' connected optical drive to perform the automated and effective ripping of disks, using the rather well put together My Movies automated systems – the only solution at this time is to purchase an external USB – CD/DVD drive typically costing
Sorry folks…I'm still a bit confused. (I also listed to the Digital Lifestyle Podcast, which is always excellent, no matter what they call it)
I run MyMovies3 on both my WHS and Media Center PCs. Whenever I select a DVD or Blu-Ray from my collection to back-up, I simply put it into my drive on one of the Media Center PCs (Home Server is in the basement on a shelf). A dialog box pops up when the disk is recognized, giving me the option to "Copy Disk". After selecting that option, MyMovies (using AnyDVD, I think) copies the disk into VIDEO_TS (if a DVD) or .iso (if Blu-Ray) to the "DVD Library" share on my WHS. I simply hit eject when done.
I can't understand the additional functionality (beyond the ability to copy CDs) that this product adds. If it's just a competing product (Coke vs. Pepsi) then I guess I understand and would feel that, for me, MyMovies offers a host of additional features that I find valuable at a lower cost.
The AVA Media Software is My Movies repackaged. The additional functionality is the ability for WHS to directly utilise the cd/dvd/blu-ray drive and to remove the "copy disk" click you mention. See both Brians comment (the author of My Movies) and TPC's comments above for more info.
Hi Andrew, thanks for a decent explanation of what exactly this add-in does. I've got a SQA-5H which I bought this year and I have still not been able to make the AVA Movies part of it work, only the CD ripping part. I've been meaning to chase this with Tranquil for some time – now that this add-in is available I will definitely do it as this add-in could be great for me. Having said that byronomo's approach could work as well.
Hi,
Unfortunately this software is only available if you buy the hardware. So a bit misleading to say it’s an addin for WHS.
Hi,
Unfortunately this software is only available if you buy the hardware. So a bit misleading to say it’s an addin for WHS.
Hi,
Unfortunately this software is only available if you buy the hardware. So a bit misleading to say it’s an addin for WHS.
Hi,
Unfortunately this software is only available if you buy the hardware. So a bit misleading to say it’s an addin for WHS.
Hi,
Unfortunately this software is only available if you buy the hardware. So a bit misleading to say it’s an addin for WHS.
Actually it is an add-in and at the time of the review you could buy it as an addin from Tranquil as per the links on page 3 of the review.