Member Since: 06 Dec 2006
Location: Adrift........
Posts: 3095
Eee PC and DVD's
Thinking about getting one of these for general stuff when out and about to replace one of the two laptops we always seem to haul everywhere with us. (Never left in the car in case you are thinking along those lines )
As I am not IT literate, is there a legal way of transferring DVD's to a "solid state" media such that it could be then viewed by offspring in the car on an Eee PC?
....or would I just need to live with an external DVD drive to do that?
or is there a better way??end of an era ....... maybe a Defender when it appears.......
12th Aug 2008 7:44 am
PaulP
Member Since: 04 May 2007
Location: Barcelona
Posts: 4317
Re: Eee PC and DVD's
SPOTTER wrote:
is there a legal way of transferring DVD's to a "solid state" media such that it could be then viewed by offspring in the car on an Eee PC?
No.....however, if you were 'hypothetically' thinking of an illegal way for a friend of a friend, then I'm sure your mate's mate would be able to do it easily
SPOTTER wrote:
....or would I just need to live with an external DVD drive to do that?
It's one option, but hardly ideal and negates the point of a mini-PC IMO.
Simon,
There's currently no legal way of copying commercial DVDs to HDD, but thousands of people do it and there is free software to do it. I'd say it would be extremely unlikely that a distributor would bring a civil case of copyright infringement against someone who owns the physical DVD; record companies have gone on record saying that they won't do this to people who "rip" CDs for their iPod (other music players are available).
The second issue is size; DVDs are usually either 4.3 or 8.6GB, which would swamp the memory of an EEE or similar netbook; it's best to convert the DVD to a more compact format - avi is the most popular. I find that a DVD can make a good avi of around 700-900MB, so a cheapish 4GB USB key can hold 4 or 5 films.
You'll probably need a media player on the laptop; VLC is great and will please your wife, being French.
So:
DVDdecrypter to rip
handbrake to convert to avi
VLC to watch
You can see why many people prefer to get an iPod and download films from iTunes to save time and possible legal issues.Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana
Member Since: 06 Dec 2006
Location: Adrift........
Posts: 3095
all this technology and nothing is easy............
may thanks all, will have a look end of an era ....... maybe a Defender when it appears.......
12th Aug 2008 8:57 am
SPOTTER
Member Since: 06 Dec 2006
Location: Adrift........
Posts: 3095
Is Linux an issue for media applications???
I know the Eee PC comes with either Linux of XP but Linux seems to me to be the point of these things..........
I am trying to avoid i-products (rebel against the family members who worship all things apple )
Thank goodness for D3 forums end of an era ....... maybe a Defender when it appears.......
12th Aug 2008 9:02 am
PaulP
Member Since: 04 May 2007
Location: Barcelona
Posts: 4317
SPOTTER wrote:
Is Linux an issue for media applications???
I know the Eee PC comes with either Linux of XP but Linux seems to me to be the point of these things..........
Linux is a great alternative - nearly all of the software is open-source (i.e. free) and once you've gotten used to it you'll be able to do nearly everything that you can on a Windows PC. I use Linux at home and love it, however taking into account your own admission about being IT illiterate (no offence intented ) I would suggest buying one with Win XP .
You (and your family) will be able to use all of the software that you're familiar with and as per the links above, you can still get lots of good quality free software for windows PCs.2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 SE AutoBuckingham Blue 2007 Golf GT DSG
12th Aug 2008 9:13 am
SPOTTER
Member Since: 06 Dec 2006
Location: Adrift........
Posts: 3095
noted Paul end of an era ....... maybe a Defender when it appears.......
12th Aug 2008 9:20 am
TallPaul
Member Since: 03 Jan 2008
Location: Near Reading
Posts: 1214
If you do buy an Eee PC, there is a newer model just came out that has an Intel Atom chip in it, not the older celeron type.
bytes, code, nerd talk, yeah I know.
Bottom line is the new model is faster, and has about 5 hours battery life versus 3 on the old one, price is about the same, although you pay £50 more Micro$oft tax of course on an XP one over the Linux one.
Just thought you might want to know...Disco3 is now gone but not forgotten. Waiting for Disco6 with full aluminium construction weight reduction and hybrid engine...
Member Since: 16 Jan 2005
Location: On the sofa
Posts: 2185
A mate of mine has bought the Linux version (as you get move storage space as standard) and blown Windows XP for Legacy PCs onto it. This gives you a higher spec machine with all the advantages of the WIndows XP platform, but only uses a fraction of the space that bog-standard XP uses. It works really nicely and supports all the normal Microsoft products.
cheers
robAll opinions expressed in this posting are my own and are not necessarily those of someone who knows what they are talking about.
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) I would suggest buying one with Win XP 
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