Completely automated DVD insert-rip-compress-eject workflow
- by Kevin L.
(Partially inspired by this question.)
Background: I have a PC hidden away behind an HD LCD in custom-built entertainment center. The only visible part of the PC is an external DVD drive, mounted above the Wii. The PC happens to have Windows XP on it; Hackintoshing and Linux might be possible, but I've had issues with drivers for the sound card before. Let's just assume that OS X and Linux are a no-go unless they provide a truly awesome and simple solution for this particular problem.
Goal: I would like to have a completely automated workflow for ripping DVDs. Something like this:
Push the eject button on the DVD drive, insert the DVD.
PC recognizes that this is a video DVD (as opposed to data).
PC rips DVD to hard drive.
PC finishes ripping, and ejects the DVD tray.
PC compresses DVD image into some format that an Xbox 360 can read.
PC copies finished compressed video file to a particular folder, so that it can be read into a WMP11 library and seamlessly played by the Xbox 360.
PC cleans up all temporary files.
Done.
The impetus to have this be completely automated is that I’ll never need to switch the TV to the PC’s input and fiddle with the wireless keyboard. That’s just needless user intervention.
The UI doesn’t have to be pretty. Nor do I care about speed. And I can probably bridge several of the gaps with some creative Perl use. But it seems likely that many (or all) of the parts should already exist.
Any thoughts?
