How do I play a DVD over a network in vb6?

[tedsmith]

I have 2 computers on a network. One computer A has a DVD drive keyboard and mouse, Computer B has no keyboard, mouse or DVD drive and is unattended in a shop window.

I want to put a standard DVD disk in computer A and play it on the second unattended computer B.

With an AVI, using Winsock, I would simply instruct WMP at computer B to play the file from a folder in Computer A.
This does not work with a DVD and sometimes the DVD consists of a number of files.

Is there another DVD player that I can control with VB6 or something I am missing on with WMP?

Any suggestions?

 

[AndyGroom]

I don't think VB can help you with this issue.

If it was me I'd download a utility to convert the DVD into an AVI file and then copy the AVI file across your network onto computer B. Presumably if it in a shop window you just want it to play on a continuous loop anyway, so ideally you need to you come up with a solution that doesn't involve computer A playing the DVD 24/7.

- Andy
___________________________________________________________________
If you think nobody cares you're alive, try missing a couple of mortgage payments

 

[tedsmith]

Problem is I wont be there to convert the video so the problem still remains how to automate the conversion process. The salesman will get a number of disks and choose one for a period depending on the time of day and conditions (eg. Sales running slow indicating specials but when there are many customers, remove the sale message! Sneaky isn't it?

 

[tedsmith]

Actually I found that Windows Media Player DOES play DVD's when you start them from the list that appears when you first put the disk in the drive.

It should therefore be able to be used in VB6 using the WMP.dll

On the disk there are a quite a number of files that appear to represent chapters and other stuff.

What is the file you have to feed to the
Windowsmediaplayer.url to get it to work?

 

[strongm]

>Computer B has no keyboard, mouse or DVD drive

It may surprise you to know that XP typically does not ship with the necessary codecs to play back a DVD in Windows Media Player. Prebuilt machines that have a DVD drive normally have the necessary codec installed by the supplier. But if you have a PC with no DVD drive it is highly likely that it does not have the codec installed.

You can check whether this is part of the problem by opening Media Player's the Tools menu, then click Options to see if the DVD tab is available. No DVD tab = no appropriate codec.

If this is there, then you should indeed be able to open a DVD remotely. Basically you want to open the first VOB file.

For example, if I automate medai player through the OCX, I might have something like:

Dim wmp As WindowsMediaPlayer

Set wmp = Form1.WindowsMediaPlayer1
wmp.openPlayer "F:\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_0.VOB"

where VTS_01_0.VOB is the first of 4 VOBs on the DVD I tested this against.

 

[Error7]

Two alternatives:

1) Computer A - Output video from the PC's TV out card into wireless video TX/RX and playback through standard television or video monitor.

2) Computer A - Output video from the PC's TV out card into RJ45 converter (Video over IP converter). Reconvert at Computer B location but playback through standard television or video monitor.

[gray]Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.[/gray]

 

[tedsmith]

Yes, I had noticed when XP first came out that WMP didn't play DVD's until you installed some other player. I thought it was the earlier WMP version's fault!

Thanks for the info on the first file - I though I had tried that but there nay have been something else stopping that working.

The computers are on a fibre optic LAN separated by 10km so I have to use the network.

In the case of a copy protected DVD, will this still work
if the actual disk is in an external computer?

Also is it technically possible to first copy the data to solid memory or a hard drive then play that instead of the plastic disk? (This also is to save wearing out the DVD player because it might be repeating continuously over a long period - not to defeat copyright)

 

[strongm]

>In the case of a copy protected DVD

No idea, I'm afraid. My guess would be not.

>is it technically possible to first copy the data

I'm guessing the copy-protection would defeat that. Still, one method for doing this, if you can take an ISO image of the DVD is to use something like Ahead Nero's ImageDrive or Daemon Tools to mount it as a virtual DVD on the target computer

 

[AndyGroom]

I think my suggestion of converting the DVDs into AVI files would get you around this problem and it would also mean you can play the videos without requiring any codecs to be installed.

- Andy
___________________________________________________________________
If you think nobody cares you're alive, try missing a couple of mortgage payments

 

[strongm]

>it would also mean you can play the videos without requiring any codecs to be installed

Well, that's not entirely true. AVI isn't really a format itself. It is basically a container. So it would very much depend on what codecs (sound and video) you used to to rip the DVD.

 

[yacyac]

If you copy the DVD to a hard drive and then just change the file extension of the video files to mpg, they should play.

VTS_01_0.VOB becomes VTS_01_0.mpg

 

[strongm]

Yes, but the VOBs should play as well ...

However, ted has hinted that these DVDs are copy-protected, whcih means that the VOBs (and thus the renamed files as well) are encrypted, which is probably why they won't play ...

 

[Error7]

Using either of my two suggestions will not interfere with the copy protection but otherwise there are plenty of DVD rippers available and also DVD to AVI converters that will get round the copy protection, strictly for archiving purposes of course. Magic DVD

http://www.magicdvdripper.com/

is an excellent 'one click' programme with a free trial version.

[gray]Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.[/gray]

 

[Andrzejek]

Just an idea here, may be totally wrong….

I don’t know what Computer B is doing other than playing some movies, it may do a bunch of other stuff, too. But if it is not. How about the double monitor set up for Computer A? You just need a video card and some software, and hook both monitors to Computer A.

Play a video on one monitor (you have a DVD drive and all software needed), and do whatever you want on the other.

I know it is not a VB 6.0 solution, but it could be a solution to your problem…


Have fun.

---- Andy

 

[strongm]

Given ted's statement that the computers (and therefore, presumably, the locations) are "separated by 10km" this might not be an option ...

 

[CaptainD]

How about computer B having the shared DVD drive or hard drive with the file(s) on what ever location mapped and then create a program that shells to the program you want to luanch and runs the video.

You could place a link to the shell program in the startup so that a restart would luanch it or you possibly use a remote assistance program to start and stop it.

I've never tried that but I do not see why it would not work.