How do you watch x.BUP, x.IFO and/or x.VOB Files?

[drgrafix]

Hi... I have archived movies on a USB drive while using my PC. I'm a bit new to figuring out the actual video files technical names so bear with me. So I plug that USB drive into my iMac and I see my directories and movies. When I open the actual movie folder, I see multiple files, a row of dark grey boxes that say "exec" on them and under them VIDEO_TS.BUP, VIDEO_TS.IFO, VTS_01.BUP, VTS_01_0.IFO.

Under that row I find several files with a different icon, and VTS_01_1.VOB, and in this case there are five (5) of these VOB files, each numbered sequentially so the last one is VTS_01_5.VOB.

I have a AppleTV (Gen1/40Gig internal drive), and what I want to do is set up my external USB drive as the source, and then use the ATV to stream my movies, by-passing the internal drive. But what I want to know is what the above files are, and how to play a movie direct from the files start to finish? If I click on one of the VOB files the movie starts playing but its only a section of the movie.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

[Kerry56]

Most software players look for the Video_TS folder, rather than the individual files within them.

Using a player like VLC on a computer, you can also use the Video_TS.IFO file as the input. Don’t know about your AppleTV however, as I’ve never even seen one.

[drgrafix]

Thanks for the rply… So will a player like VLC actually sift through all the files itself and just play the entire movie or do you have to load one file at a time?

[Kerry56]

VLC will play the entire movie from the Video_TS folder. Go to Media, then Open Folder to navigate to the place on the hard drive where you have the folder. Ctrl F does the same thing.

I was just using VLC as an example though. Since I don’t use Apple products, I’m not sure which player is considered best for dvd playback in that system.

[chef]

.ifo files have no content and cannot be played back, same for .bup, because they are backup files of .ifo…

[t0nee1]

While IFO files may not contain content, SW players e.g. VLC, Mediaplayerclassic for instance will play complete flick by importing/opening VIDEO_TS.IFO or VTS_01_0.IFO for example…

[Kerry56]

^Correct. IFO files contain navigational information for the video and software players can use them as the input for playback of the entire dvd video.

I normally just use the Video_TS folder as the input into my software player however.

[cholla]

[QUOTE=t0nee1;2557349]While IFO files may not contain content, SW players e.g. VLC, Mediaplayerclassic for instance will play complete flick by importing/opening VIDEO_TS.IFO or VTS_01_0.IFO for example…[/QUOTE]
Might as well add WMP to the list. The only way I’ve found to play a DVD compliant folder (VIDEO_TS) from the hard drive with WMP is to open the
VIDEO_TS.ifo file. WMP 11 in my case.
Most of the time I don’t use WMP though.

[drgrafix]

What I’m wanting to do is eventually either hook up the drive to the AppleTV or the iMac and stream the movies via ethernet from the Airport/Switch to the ATV upstairs where my TV is. So would I have to access the drive from the iMac (downstairs) then run up and watch the movie or is there a hack that will let the ATV “find” these movies on the system and play them with either VLC, MediaPlayerClassic, or WMP?

Would I be better off transferring the movies to a “native” mac format?

[Kerry56]

MediaPlayer Classic and Windows Media Player are Windows based programs, so if you are using Mac OS X operating system, you won’t be able to use these.

VLC does have a version for Macs, and can be used to stream video. But as I mentioned before, I am ignorant of the capabilities of your Apple TV. Perhaps you should inquire at a forum dedicated to that system? http://forums.macrumors.com/forumdisplay.php?f=100

[chef]

[QUOTE=Kerry56;2557360]^Correct. IFO files contain navigational information for the video and software players can use them as the input for playback of the entire dvd video.

I normally just use the Video_TS folder as the input into my software player however.[/QUOTE]

I fully agree. I did say nothing else.

[drgrafix]

Just thought I’d come back and post an update for anyone using a mac and a Gen1 AppleTV… although I think you could do most of this with a PC as well. I’m using the jailbroken AppleTV upstairs which is connected to my TV via HDMI, and to my iMac via ethernet Cat6 (brand-new), and in turn… the movies are archived on a USB drive sitting on my desktop down here. Playback is excellent, and I think its because I’m using original DVD source material and its hard-wired although I tested wireless and it also worked.

Quite happy with XMBC and BOXEE… actually using the BOXEE app to select, view, control, and catalogue the movies with thumbnails and descriptions. Its a pretty smooth setup, max resolution is 720P, but then most of my videos are 480p anyway. Optimized movie playback format is MP4 and Handbrake is the tool I use to archive in that format.

Bluerays are an altogether different animal, and I don’t have that many yet in my collection. I really haven’t delved into that yet… given that the quality would be limited to 720P. Maybe someday.