How to play DVD from hard drive?
 

A classic noobish question, I know. But, er, there are a few simple things I don't seem to have down.

I tried DVD shrink 3.2. Using the defaults, it used no compression and created an iso file. I can xfer the iso onto a spare DVD, but I don't see how to play it from the hard drive. I'd also like the option of using current compression codecs, as I can't always use the full file size.

Related question: if a DVD does not use Macrovision, can it simply be dumped onto the hd and played from there? That would be inefficient but a useful fallback option.

-- tx

This is easy but not obvious. :)

To Play ISO File from Hard Drive:

Step 1. Rip the DVD to an ISO file, using a ripping/reading tool. If the original disc has copy protection, you'll require use of a tool like DVD Decrypter or AnyDVD to rip the disc.

Step 2. Use a virtual CD/DVD mounting program, like the freeware MagicDisc, Gizmo Drive, or Daemon Tools Lite. Mount the ISO file as a virtual CD/DVD drive.

Step 3. Play the video with your favorite DVD player software. For example, the freeware VLC Media Player.

Done.

try this?
 

LS will finish his post in more detail, but I think I can help you in the interim...
If using DVD Shrink, click "File", then "Open Disc Image... Crtl+I"
Point to the file where your .iso image is stored on your local hard drive, open.
In "Full Disc Mode", select desired files from disc structure under "DVD Structure" header.
In "Re-Author" mode, right click desired file and select "Add".
Right click image viewer window to control audio stream, playback action, volume control, screen size.
Hope this helps you...

How do I play everything from hard drive
 

I can't find whether this has been covered or not. I'd like to play not only DVDs but Huffyuv, DV and any other avi files outputting to projector. If the footage is interlaced, I would like to be able to split frames into fields, upconvert resolution and double frame rate. And if the interlaced footage has bottom field first, I would like to be able to swap fields within the frame first and then double frame rate and convert to progressive.

So the question is if it's possible, what hardware/software would I need? I would prefer to use laptop for it. Thank you.

--Leonid

@Leonid, I don't really think that's possible from current players.

I went back and edited post#2 quickly, too. So it's no incomplete.
No idea where that was going at the time, but at least it now has a brief description of ripping, mounting and playing ISO files.

Thanks.

This was an unanswered question or unresolved issue found during a site audit. It's hard to have an FAQ when the answers are missing, or final outcomes are unknown. At The Digital FAQ support forum, questions are never intentionally ignored, and may have been missed due to a forum glitch or human error. More details on the audit. (In some cases, threads have been edited/updated with newer information.)

That is wrong. :) I actually found a solution. My question was how to play any video files be it DVD, mpeg2, Huffyuv AVI, DV AVI etc. The solution is believe it or not VLC player. Plain and simple. They have deinterlacing doublers algorithms that work pretty well. I especially like Phosphor which immitates the conventional old school scan line TV. However, there's one problem. All the doublers work correctly with the interlaced footage that has bottom field first. All the top field first footage is deinterlaced incorrectly. I will have to submit the bug for that, but I just don't have time right now. I will get to it.

--Leonid