I'm pondering doing for my modest DVD collection (~50 titles) what I've already done for my CD collection (1200+ CDs): ripping everything and packing the DVDs away for good.

Option #1 would be ripping them in their raw form (5GB each), saving them on the RAID box, and sorting out the right playback gadget. I've been pondering the use of a Mac Mini as an HTPC, making this all pretty simple to do, but it could also work with cheaper "network DVD players", assuming I could get them to work. The downside is that I'd have to bump up the disk capacity of my RAID to hold all those DVD images.

Option #2 would be some sort of transcoding (MPEG-4 or otherwise). This tends to force you to stick with the Mac, as it can decode anything, and it avoids needing to upgrade the RAID. However, the quality will presumably be visibly lower than the original DVD.

Option #3 is to wait it out for another six months. By then, the Mac Mini (or equivalent) will be that much faster and cheaper, as will the storage upgrade for the RAID box. Also, by then I'll probably take the plunge for a flat panel (versus my current CRT rear-pro with component digital in).

Anybody tried any variants on options #1 or #2? Is Mac better than PC for this?

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Unrelated but kinda related question: I make a point of using the TiVo to grab music shows (e.g., Austin City Limits or Legends of Jazz on PBS). Before I went HD, I hooked up my USB sound card to capture the digital S/PDIF output of my TiVo, then trimmed and MP3 encoded. It was difficult, but it worked, as the content was never anything fancier than 2 channel PCM (maybe Dolby Pro-Logic encoded, but that's easy to ignore). Now, the sound is Dolby Digital over HD. As far as I can tell, the easiest way to go is probably to use the analog hole, and just tap the 2-channel outputs on the HD-TiVo. Is it worth the bother to figure out a way to capture the 5.1 Dolby Digital stream and transcode it to two-channel MP3?