helvis

OK over the last 12 months i've started to run into a problem with storage and keeping track of my dvds expecially DVDRs. I've long since lost the luxury of having them in plastic cases as i just ran out of room in the flat. My vhs i've put into paid storage but with the discs i have around 3000 or more. I've been using these flight case style boxes that hold betweem 500 and a 1000 discs (i think for DJ's) split alphabetically (little pieces of cut out card placed between the piles.) The problem is now it takes forever to find a disc! Others are stored in shoe boxes, dvd boxes well just any box really. As for keeping track of every title i have about 10 different lists at one time and a lot of titles not listed at all. Just wondering how others in the same position cope what system they use and am i way behind the times and there's some great way of using a computer program of sorts to help!

clitheroekid

Probably sacriledge, but in the case of commercially bought tiltes I generally dispose of the case and store them in one of those "portfolio" type cases with plastic pockets - I've just about filled up a 200 capacity one.

Nick Dando

We use Imation DiscStakkas at work and have 18 of them. Each unit can hold 100 discs, and they can then be daisy-chained together using a USB hub. The software that comes with it is OpdiTracker and can be used to catalogue your discs. When you want one, type in the title, select it and it will then be ejected. The discs can be returned and they will be recognised.
Pros - keeps a catalogue of all your discs if you put it the effort to type the details in. Amazingly, it works on Macs!
Cons - cheap and flimsy, takes up a lot of room

Imation - Imation Disc Stakka

Nick

Wolfgang

If there are DVDs you hardly ever watch (or are low priority for watching) just open some gmail accounts and upload them and then get rid of your DVDs.

image45

I us to systems one is the 100 DVD's/ CD holders that you just set the arrow to the number and it lifts if out and the other method is simple in that I use the paper envolopes in CD case card board holders that holds around 70 in an A-Z style way all kept in a dark cool room to minamize dye failings on DVD-R and DVD+R disks.

"Seya next time!"

aphra

I use cellophane sleeves and cardboard boxes (presently with no lids, but mean to change this, see below). As I record I add the disc to the box and make an entry on an Excel database. The outside of each box is labeled 1 to 200, 200 to 400, and so on. The discs, of course, are then in no particular order, but can easily be retrieved by referring to the Excel list and doing a simple search on a title.
Simply Boxes at

Cardboard Boxes, Archive Boxes, Packing and Packaging Items

make the sort of boxes I am aiming to buy. They stack and are not exorbitantly expensive.

helvis

Thanks for the input Aphra. So you search by number rather than title never used excel. I was going to use numbers and keep alphbetic but then along came the problem of adding new discs!

aphra

I search the Excel list for a title, find out what number it is filed under and go to the file and get the relevant disc out. You certainly don't have to use Excel, a simple two- or three-column Word list will do, but Excel gives you the choice of adding columns for director, country of origin and so on. I hasten to add that I seldom do this as I don't have time! Doing it this way gets round the question of what you file a disc under if it contains two shorter items and not a single one. Hope this helps.

John Rossington

I've also been considering disposing of the plastic cases for all my DVD's and storing them numerically in paper sleeves within a cardboard box as Aphra suggests. The only worry I have is, is it safe to store DVDs long-term in cardboard? The reason I ask is because I also collect 16mm films and it is a well known fact that they should be stored in plastic or metal cases since cardboard has a tendency to absorb any moisture in the air, leading to brittle and shrinking film. I wonder if this could also be a problem with DVDs - is it ok to store them in very dry conditions?

Thanks, John

Steve Crook

And even cross referencing by director, actors, genre etc - if you have the time to keep the database up to date

Steve

Carmel

I use CD wallets that look like photo albums they store about 60 films and i have them alphabetically i just stick a big "A" on Front and put all the films begging with "A" in that wallet and so on its handy and easy to see your films as they are in plastic sleeves inside so you just flick through them.

JohnB_Toronto

I've gone from full sized DVD cases to jewelcases, to slim jewelcases and I'm now down to paper sleeves in boxes designed to hold CDs. The biggest problem is not being able to browse the spine titles when you're not sure of what you feel like watching - most of the time I really don't feel like firing up my cataloguing software or reading through a paper printout. However, I do recommend getting a good cataloguing programme if you're going to get into bulk storage. I use Movie Collector Pro and it's a really top piece of database software. It does about 80% of the work for you, automatically downloading and inserting the film information from Amazon, IMBD and other sources and it's a snap to mail out lists to other traders. Well worth paying for if you have an extensive collection. I'm sure there must be other good progammes out there but this one suits me very well and it was worth every penny.

alex

I too use Movie Collector Pro and can thoroughly recommend it.

In the past I have stored my DVDs in Aluminium DJ cases in double-sided hanging sleeves which are individually numbered. I have now progressed to having a purpose-built cabinet made to take the hanging sleeves. This, coupled with Movie Collector Pro for indexing makes finding DVDs a breeze.

maturin

Does anyone else use Ant movie catalogue? I find it does everything i need - checking the internet for for details, downloading album art etc - and it's free! I keep discs in numbered hanging sleeves and rely on Ant to point me to the right file. I recently opened a film-wrapped copy of Moonstruck I'd bought 2 years ago in the States, and the Thai climate had done for the disc.
The other enemy is my high-end Sony dvd player which sniffs distainfully at home-copied discs andeats one now and then. The cheap 'n cheerful LG plays anything and cost 80% less.
R

essaljay

All single-disc DVDs that I buy are transferred to a wallet with plastic pockets. each wallet holds 96 discs. (I have 25 of these) each disc is numbered according to which wallet it is in and the whole list is kept on an excel file. All 2-disc films stay in their boxes and are on shelves. A big problem now is finding out how to get rid of 2000-odd plastic DVD cases.