![]() Once you set up a server for your movies, any other devices on your local network with Kodi installed can play the content. Kodi is an open-source media center application, with plug-ins available for playing content from a wide variety of platforms and services. Also, saving movies to watch offline your phone or tablet just takes one tap, and it's easy to set up access outside your local network. If your server has enough power for video encoding, Plex can even convert movies to different quality settings. ![]() Once you install the Plex Media Server on a spare PC (or Nvidia Shield, or NAS, or Raspberry Pi) and point it at your movies folder, it can stream that content to any other devices connected with the same Plex account. The two most popular options for this are Kodi (formerly XBMC) and Plex Media Server. Simply copying your movie files to each of your devices does work, but there are applications that let you stream content on-demand to other devices on your own network with a Netflix-style interface. That's only counting the movie file itself - if you want to store the bonus content as well, make more room on your PC. ![]() ![]() DVD movies are usually only a few gigabytes, but Blu-Ray movies can easily take up 20-60GB of space. You'll also need a fair amount of disk space, since the ripping process involves dumping the contents of a disc onto your PC. I use the ~$50 LG WH14NS40 for both DVDs and Blu-Rays, and it generally works well, but it's an internal drive that only works on desktops with a spare SATA slot. Blu-ray drives (which can also read all DVDs) are still significantly more expensive than DVD drives, especially external USB models - the Pioneer BDR-XD07B is a popular option for ripping, but it costs around $100. Not all drives are created equal for ripping, but the ASUS ZenDrive Silver is a great (and affordable) option for DVDs. If your PC already has a drive, or if you have an external DVD/Blu-Ray drive collecting dust in a closet or drawer, you're already one step ahead! There are a few things you need to rip DVDs or Blu-Rays.
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