TV Series metadata

[HDRoadKing]

Hi all,

I've seen tutorials regarding getting metadata for TV series, but I'm having a bit of an issue maybe someone can shed some light on it. Most people I've seen have their series split into individual episodes (typically in .avi or some other format) but I have the original disks that I'm ripping to my media server and the disks typically have more than 1 episode per disc.

My questions is this:

How can I rip the dvd's and have the synopsis and episodes show up correctly? My current file structure is:

-TV Series
-Rome
-Season 1
-Rome_S1D1

Would it be better to rip the discs to individual episodes? If so, how? I want to retain the original quality of the DVD (space isn't an issue). Ideally, I'd like to keep the discs like they are in case I need to burn them back to their original state.

Sorry if this doesn't make sense, I'll be happy to provide any further information you need.

Thanks!
Mike

 

[BWK]

What program are you trying to use to rip the disc with? Any program you use to rip a disc should unless user intervention is initiated, will keep original formatting and disc size. Also I just thought of it, Tv series disc are usually dual layer or larger, so if you have intentions on burning make sure you have the appropriate type of burner...aka dual layer burner, blueray burner or what not. If not then you will want to shrink the size of your copy, this will make the quality go down some, not very noticeable unless you intend on shrinking it to half of it's size. Then you would want to try changing the format of it inorder to get it onto one disc. Say Divx, Xvid, AVI...and so on. Then your getting into programs for converting as well and there are ripping and converting programs out there. Just let us know and we will try to help you out.

 

[DreadStarX]

Hey HDRoadKing,

I do alot of video encoding to MKV/MP4. Retaining the original quality with a DVD rip is EASY. MKV uses a codec called "x264", which is what Blu-ray is using, only under a different name. I can post a few tutorials on here from another website, that show you how to rip a DVD, Setup the proper settings, and encode it. The process depends on how fast your computer is, for me it takes me 15 minutes or less without filters, with filters its 30 minutes.

If your interested, let me know.

About the MetaData, the only application that I know that works with that sorta deal is YAMMM, but it doesn't support TV-Shows up. I'm hoping to work with the creator of YAMMM to push out faster releases, but so far no dice D:.


To Rip a DVD:

I use the latest version of "DVD Decrypter"

http://www.mrbass.org/dvdrip/SetupDVDDecrypter_3.5.4.0.exe

Once you have it downloaded, run the installation, install it. So far, I haven't had any issues on Windows XP 32bit/64bit, Windows Vista 32bit/64bit, and Windows 7 32bit/64 version. Go into the settings, go to IFO Mode, change the Drop down box to "None". Save your changes. Now, go to "File Mode", select IFO Mode.

Now when you rip your DVD, it will rip it the way a DVD Player will read it. It will give you all the proper chapters, the exact episodes, etc.. It's a very handy program, if you need a video tutorial to figure out what to do next, lemme know.

 

[HDRoadKing]

Thanks for the replies...let me clarify my situation:

I'm currently ripping the entire dvd of the series. In this case I'm using Rome as an example. Rome has 2 seasons with 6 DVD's in each season. So when I rip a DVD i'm actually getting 2 - 4 episodes per disc. My file structure is:

TV Series -> Rome - Season 1 -> Rome_S1D1 (season1 disc1) and then inside of this folder is the VIDEO_TS folder. So I'd prefer to keep the video in it's original DVD format in case I ever needed to burn it back to DVD, but I'm beginning to suspect that if I do, then I won't be able to get the metadata for each episode or synopsis.

If I download the episodes in .avi format, they are split already into individual episodes (Rome.S01E01) which I'm guessing using this format, and since they are an individual episode then MediaScout can find the correct metadata for each episode.

So to sum up, I already own the series on DVD, I just want to get it on my media server and have the correct metadata for the series as well as the synopsis for each episode. So can I do that by just ripping the ENTIRE dvd with multiple episodes per disc or will I have to rip each individual episode as a seperate file? If I do have to rip them as separate files, what's the best way?

Thanks!
Mike

 

[BWK]

Ok...I think you want to rip the entire disc? If so, as I explained earlier just rip it to your hard drive and you should be good. Everything will remain intact just as the original. the only thing you will need to be concerned with is for burning. Make sure you have the appropriate burner for the appropriate format. Also the correct disc will be needed. Burners can make a difference in results as well. The better your make/quality of burner the better your end results will be in comparison to making a lot of coasters. Plextor makes a really good burner for the high end burning results. Also make sure if your going for high end results to make sure you have a decent quality disc. The higher end/priced disc are a good investment, little more pricey but well worth it in the long run. Hope I'm understanding you correctly and pointing you in the right direction.

Here's some helpful stuff for ya.
TVScout
media browser
HandBrake
dvdshrink.org: FREE Backup Solution for your DVD movies!

and here's a discussion on the issue as well
Best way to rip TV series? [Text View] - AVS Forum

I hope these solutions help you out.

 

[DreadStarX]

Ok...I think you want to rip the entire disc? If so, as I explained earlier just rip it to your hard drive and you should be good. Everything will remain intact just as the original. the only thing you will need to be concerned with is for burning. Make sure you have the appropriate burner for the appropriate format. Also the correct disc will be needed. Burners can make a difference in results as well. The better your make/quality of burner the better your end results will be in comparison to making a lot of coasters. Plextor makes a really good burner for the high end burning results. Also make sure if your going for high end results to make sure you have a decent quality disc. The higher end/priced disc are a good investment, little more pricey but well worth it in the long run. Hope I'm understanding you correctly and pointing you in the right direction.

Here's some helpful stuff for ya.
TVScout
media browser
HandBrake
dvdshrink.org: FREE Backup Solution for your DVD movies!

and here's a discussion on the issue as well
Best way to rip TV series? [Text View] - AVS Forum

I hope these solutions help you out.

Good Advice, except the HandBrake. That program will eat your CPU like a monster. Everytime I run it, I have to end the process, which takes about 30 minutes to even get it to respond.

I use MeGUI for all my encoding/splitting/editting, along with Windows Media Editor deal.

 

[Wishmaster]

For DVD/Bluray series i encode each episode individually.
Using MeGUI (H264) with FFDshow decoders.

If you happen to have Nero, it makes it easy to get DVD episodes. just doesnt work for bluray
Nero Recode/ Compile DVD/ choose each episode individually in its own folder
fewer steps for for MeGUI to encode each episode.

After I have all the Episodes I put them in a folder structures such as:

(Firefly) // (Season 1) // 1-Serenity.MKV 2-Train Tob.MKV

then use meta browser/ media Browser in WMC to organize it all ...
((tutorials for that here as well))