Digital Home Thoughts: Maximum PC Shows You How To Create Your Own Video Library

"Now, ripping DVDs is our great challenge. Copying and transcoding the disc’s video into more efficient formats involves math an order of magnitude scarier than what’s required to rip audio CDs. A machine that will rip the latest Miley Cyrus CD in mere moments could take hours to extract and convert your copy of Alien vs. Predator to an iPod-friendly format. But with the right software, a quad-core-equipped PC, and a little know-how, you can cut your disc-rip time from hours to 30 minutes. Plenty of tricks and traps still await first-time rippers, but we’ll show you the basics and then walk you through some of the most valuable power-user ripping secrets."

I actually don't see ripping DVDs as a great challenge, but I have had the pleasure of going through lots of different programs over the years to back up my library. For those of you just getting into the whole process, either for backing up, or to create an instant access media library for your home theater, Maximum PC has put up a fairly good tutorial that will probably save you a lot of time and effort. It's quite thorough and even covers Blu-ray discs if you've got any. It even touches on how to stream your new library around the house. The only part I find lacking is that it doesn't provide you with any instructions on how to stream outside of your domicile. All I can add to that is to consider services like orb.com, which can take your media library and make it available to you anywhere so long as you have an internet connection.