if you plan to use linux then an application called dvdbackup may work for you. as far as using a dvd drive as video server that has more issues. especially when more that 1 client is trying to access the server. my guess is if it did manage to feed to 2 or
more clients at once, so that the video was actually watchable, that the excessive strain put on the drive would shorten its lifespan considerably. most commercial dvd servers copy the dvd to a hard disk first before and do not use the dvd as the actual hardware server. dvd are designed to pretty much be sequential read/write and really get hacked up doing random. while they can do random just listening to a dvd do random leaves me with the conclusion it's outside of long term health. it's just not a very good idea, imo.
more clients at once, so that the video was actually watchable, that the excessive strain put on the drive would shorten its lifespan considerably. most commercial dvd servers copy the dvd to a hard disk first before and do not use the dvd as the actual hardware server. dvd are designed to pretty much be sequential read/write and really get hacked up doing random. while they can do random just listening to a dvd do random leaves me with the conclusion it's outside of long term health. it's just not a very good idea, imo.
