Backing up 5.1 collection for a dummy

[Heymattwalker]

I would appreciate being pointed in the right direction on making backup copies of all my 5.1 stuff: SACD/DVD-A/Dualdisc. I’m sure there’s a thread here for someone who isn’t a computer wizard. If there was a business offering this I’d gladly play, but most A/V conversion shops in Phoenix know nothing about 5.1 formats. In a perfect world, I could make a backup disc, of every format I have, in DTS or DVD-A (I can play DVD-A/DTS in the Acura). Can someone point me in the right direction? Thanks.

 

[dr. simple]

Converting Multichannel Discs 101

There are a lot of us here that know how to do this now, and many of us owe thanks to HomerJAU who wrote the threads on how to do so. Good luck, have fun, and don't be afraid to ask questions.

Paul

 

[Heymattwalker]

Converting Multichannel Discs 101

There are a lot of us here that know how to do this now, and many of us owe thanks to HomerJAU who wrote the threads on how to do so. Good luck, have fun, and don't be afraid to ask questions.

Paul

Thanks Paul. I will start reading through now. Can I ask - other than a capable disc burner, is there much more $$ that has to go into the computer setup to be capable? I’ve got an older Mac Pro but because of Apple being Apple, I think this will be easier if I use my windows laptop.

 

[marpow]

Heymattwalker,Good morning and welcome.
Very simple as far as the protocol goes.
1. Rip disc into digital file. Different formats require different software.
2. Keep digital file on your PC hard drive or copy/move to a external hard drive.
3. Cost would be an external disc burner $50.00-$125.00 and an external hard drive $35.00/more or not at all if for now you just keep your files on PC, not recommended.

I personally think it is a waste of time to make up a back up disc of an original disc just for back up however it is a back up to a broken or lost disc.

 

[dr. simple]

Thanks Paul. I will start reading through now. Can I ask - other than a capable disc burner, is there much more $$ that has to go into the computer setup to be capable? I’ve got an older Mac Pro but because of Apple being Apple, I think this will be easier if I use my windows laptop.

I’m not sure from your original post, but if you are thinking about making copies burned to discs I think most of us here would agree with @marpow and recommend that you rip and save to an external hard drive. So the cost there would depend on how much external space you already have versus what you think you will need. Most ripping software is free or $50 or less if you get annoyed with the shortcomings of the free versions.

 

[DuncanS]

I'd say rip to FLAC and store on a NAS Drive (with 2x HDD in the NAS, set up for RAID1 to secure the data (so data stored on both HDDs) + External USB Hard Drive to back up the NAS). The NAS would connect into your router, and most NAS allow you to directly connect the External USB HDD to it for backing up). It takes not much under 4GB to store a 5.1 96kHz/24-bit FLAC, and around 1.5GB for a stereo one, so scale the size of the NAS & USB HDDs accordingly (so I allow 5.5GB per disc). I have a 20TB, a 4TB, and a 1TB NASes connected all as RAID1 ( but I really must get round to doing more rip to FLACs! as I'm still way under 1TB of rips) + an External 4TB USB HDD. Certainly not the cheapest of options, but is normally cheaper than just cloud based back-up, and more convenient.

I use a program like mp3Tag to add the meta data like Album covers, Artist etc. to the FLAC files.

 

[Heymattwalker]

Heymattwalker,Good morning and welcome.
Very simple as far as the protocol goes.
1. Rip disc into digital file. Different formats require different software.
2. Keep digital file on your PC hard drive or copy/move to a external hard drive.
3. Cost would be an external disc burner $50.00-$125.00 and an external hard drive $35.00/more or not at all if for now you just keep your files on PC, not recommended.

I personally think it is a waste of time to make up a back up disc of an original disc just for back up however it is a back up to a broken or lost disc.

Thanks! Do external optical drives show whether they read DVD-A/SACD/DTS (the way the logos are on players)? I just want to be sure I get one that can read all the formats.

 

[Heymattwalker]

The reason I want individual backups of each album in DTS or DVD-A is so I can play them in the car, but also because my kiddos have broken or scratched many, so I want a set I can keep locked away (lost Ryan Adams Heartbreaker, Rumors, Nothing like the Sun, Brothers in Arms....I’ve bought replacements, but don’t want to need that again.

 

[sjcorne]

Do external optical drives show whether they read DVD-A/SACD/DTS (the way the logos are on players)? I just want to be sure I get one that can read all the formats.

Regular DVDs and DVD-A use the same optical media, but they have a different internal file structure. To access the high-resolution DVD-A content, you'll need special software (DVD-Audio Explorer, DVD-Audio Extractor, etc), but any DVD drive will do.

Same thing with the DTS-CDs - any CD drive will rip them.

SACD is a different story - those cannot be ripped with a standard optical drive. The only way to rip them digitally is to use a certain brand of Blu-Ray player in conjunction with computer software. More information here.

The reason I want individual backups of each album in DTS or DVD-A is so I can play them in the car,

You might run into trouble here as the Acura DVD-A player has a watermark detector - if you try to copy a DVD-A disc onto another DVD-R, the player will spit it out. Tricky form of copy protection.

 

[bgf1973]

Hi:

I am very interested in this. Could you recommend?

-External blu ray drive for ripp dvd-a and blu ray
-Ripper software. I suppose PC is better than Mac for this
-NAS
-Storage hard drives for The NAS


Do I need a PC with software (foobar) for play the stored files? or I can play through my Blu ray player (I have an OPPO-UDP 203 in the living room and a SONY- BDP-S790)?

Thanks

 

[DuncanS]

Hi:

I am very interested in this. Could you recommend?

-External blu ray drive for ripp dvd-a and blu ray
-Ripper software. I suppose PC is better than Mac for this
-NAS
-Storage hard drives for The NAS


Do I need a PC with software (foobar) for play the stored files? or I can play through my Blu ray player (I have an OPPO-UDP 203 in the living room and a SONY- BDP-S790)?

Thanks

External BD: Pioneer BDR-XU03 - though it is becoming difficult to get
Software: see Converting MCH discs 101: Overview
(I use DVD audio Extractor, MakeMKV, and AudioMuxer along with HomerJAU's MMH)
NAS: Synology set up as RAID 1 (so 2xHDD required)
HDD for NAS: Western Digital - I use WD Red Pro HDDs for reliability (calculate HDD size for stereo & 5.1 around 5.5GB in total per disc you rip)
Playback: Oppo 203 works well (I have HDCP issues with my i7 NUC {HDCP 2.2} & 2013 AV Amp {HDCP 1.4} and without a splitter/HDCP converter on the HDMI into the Amp I get no output! connecting the NUC through the Oppo also works)

 

[bgf1973]

External BD: Pioneer BDR-XU03 - though it is becoming difficult to get
Software: see Converting MCH discs 101: Overview
(I use DVD audio Extractor, MakeMKV, and AudioMuxer along with HomerJAU's MMH)
NAS: Synology set up as RAID 1 (so 2xHDD required)
HDD for NAS: Western Digital - I use WD Red Pro HDDs for reliability (calculate HDD size for stereo & 5.1 around 5.5GB in total per disc you rip)
Playback: Oppo 203 works well (I have HDCP issues with my i7 NUC {HDCP 2.2} & 2013 AV Amp {HDCP 1.4} and without a splitter/HDCP converter on the HDMI into the Amp I get no output! connecting the NUC through the Oppo also works)

Thanks DuncanS

Really PIONEER BDR-XU03 seems difficult to get.
NAS is a world for me. Sinology DS218 could be a good option?

 

[GOS]

Thanks DuncanS

Really PIONEER BDR-XU03 seems difficult to get.
NAS is a world for me. Sinology DS218 could be a good option?

DS218 is a good entry level NAS. I have that one, but have since replaced with a much larger one. Yes, they are expensive. The other consideration is, if you buy the DS218 (or many others) they are just the shell. You have to buy the drives separately. Yep, more money. I too have pioneer external drive. I have a model someone else mentioned. It very well could be you need to buy one on ebay...though I haven't looked at the usual online stores to see if they can be found.

 

[djstephan]

Really PIONEER BDR-XU03 seems difficult to get.

This blu ray player/sound-card,/headphone amp has served me well for the last 3 years or so, not sure if its still available, although it's still listed in the ASUS website. It's not the cheapest option out there, but besides being a solid blu ray player,it boasts a 7.1 Xonar soundcard which helped turn my home office into a nice little 5.1 setup...And who doesn't need a home office nowadays...

https://www.asus.com/Optical-Drives-Storage/ImpresarioSBWS1PRO/

 

[DuncanS]

Thanks DuncanS

Really PIONEER BDR-XU03 seems difficult to get.
NAS is a world for me. Sinology DS218 could be a good option?

I would go for an External Blu-ray burner from either LG or Pioneer (as they have good software drivers), but the availability of them isn't great when I went and had a look. I have 3 Synology NAS (though I have hardly had time to rip discs, so they're mainly empty!). A DS218 is good, the Synology NAS have good support and software, and as GOS says you'll need to add HDDs, as an entry level I'd use 2x 4TB HDD in a DS218 set-up for RAID 1 so discs mirror each other, that should give you space for over 700 stereo & 5.1 FLAC files. You might find a company which is selling them with the HDDs fitted and set up as RIAD 1, which saves the hassle of setting them up, probably cost more. Also use fixed IP Address on the NAS box, it makes connecting from Oppo etc. much easier.

 

[HomerJAU]

I am very interested in this. Could you recommend?

-External blu ray drive for ripp dvd-a and blu ray
-Ripper software. I suppose PC is better than Mac for this
-NAS
-Storage hard drives for The NAS


Do I need a PC with software (foobar) for play the stored files? or I can play through my Blu ray player (I have an OPPO-UDP 203 in the living room and a SONY- BDP-S790)?

Seriously consider using dedicated media player. If you are going to the trouble and expense of ripping and converting your entire music collection to a NAS. Why not add instant play pack from your collection from a device that will show artist photos and fanart, album images, disc images, live artist discography, artist history, support play queues, play lists, remote control from anywhere in your house from a smart phone or tablet.

BD players are clunky and slow at navigating file systems on disc. Check out some other threads here in the QQ Media Player section.

 

[scottm18]

DVD-Fab should work for your DVD Audio discs (I can't imagine you'd have too many). Those can only be played off disc or on the few machines that can play ISO (old Oppo 95 particularly). You can't play the AFO files directly. I personally have more than a few--basically all the good ones that were released for both DVD and SACD--so that's the *main* reason I was so disappointed when they killed that format! So sad...

Incidentally, I was not aware that 7-Zip can extract ISO files for free.

BTW--the above poster is right. Watermarking is a tricky thing to navigate with DVD-Audio backup. I *think* DVD-Fab removes this if you use the clone disc function, but not 100% sure. Luckily my Audi S5 B&O surround system appears to ignore them. And about to FINALLY hear that Bose studio surround with the distinctive shoulder speakers (after 15 years of searching!) in a M35h later this week to test that one...

 

[HomerJAU]

Luckily my Audi S5 B&O surround system appears to ignore them

The B&O surround system only plays the DVDV section not DVDA in my A5.

 

[scottm18]

he B&O surround system only plays the DVDV section not DVDA in my A5.

That's true...just realized that's probably why the watermark isn't an issue. It would only show on the DVDA portion.

It would be nice, but not sure you really need DVDA resolution in a car...

 

[ddahl44]

New to this thread. Here is my situation. I have successfully made copies of my DTS CDs (Clapton, Sting, Steely Dan, McCartney, Altman Bro’s, etc). That was easy enough - rip and burn with Nero. So I have a copy each for my two surround set ups on different floors of my house. So I decided to try to do the same with my DualDiscs and DVD-As. I ripped using DVD Audio Extractor using the make DTS CD option. I started off with DualDisc Talking Heads 77 and DVD-A A Night at the Opera. They ripped to a cue file and dtswav file. Then using ImgBurn I burned to CD. I get 5.1 on the CD but there are annoying blips throughout. Tried different burner with same results. CD-Rs look clean without scratches. Images were stored to clean partition of HD. Any ideas? Both of my receivers are oldish and not connected to Internet or computers so making discs like I did with the DTS CDs seemed like the best option. Thanks.