At this point I have no plans to rip my over 700 and growing DVD collection to hard drives.

I do use DVD Profiler to catalog this collection and I am looking for the most efficient way to physically store and retrieve them.

DVD Profiler assigns a number to each DVD and I'm thinking of storing them numerically in hanging DVD folders in some sort of drawer arrangement. Is anyone here doing something similar, if so what brand of folders are you using (hanging folder example: http://www.meritline.com/180-071-010-fs.html) and what brand of drawers are you using?

Is there a better way than the hanging folders to store a large number of DVD's?

Is there another place I might try to get answers to these questions?

Thank you.

http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?&langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&productId=17415&cmArea=SEARCH

I have something like this is a room near my home theater. I took up a full wall for open storage. I actually bought four of them and placed them side by side. Adjustable shelves and placed the DVDs in alphabetical order with plenty of space by adjusting the shelves. Bolted them together and secured them to the wall.

No inventory needed, easy to browse , because they are alpha order, and i just pull out the ones I am ready to watch. Only issue is dust on the cases but no big deal.

Occasionally the big box store have a sale , thats when I bought my matching cases for something like $30 each.

I use DVD profiler too.

Better to just place them in alpha order as its easier to keep track of and return them and if they get a little messed up , its no big deal. Like you can get sloppy and it still works as long as you kinda return them to the first letter of the title. Like all the W's are together. You can sort the DVD profiler list that way too.

So if you are looking for a title, you just look where the W's are , and at the most you look at a few dozen titles in the W area, and you don't have to be too anal about precise inventory management.

And you can also just roughly sort by letter groupings in a short period of time if things get messed up and don't have to find a number on a list somewhere.

You could even roughly sort by category and do that too.

Having the all in the open aids in WAF and browsing.

KISS

DVD Profiler assigns a number to each DVD and I'm thinking of storing them numerically in hanging DVD folders in some sort of drawer arrangement. Is anyone here doing something similar, if so what brand of folders are you using (Meritline sells several) and what brand of drawers are you using?

Is there a better way than the hanging folders to store a large number of DVD's?

Is there another place I might try to get answers to these questions?

Thank you.
The most space-efficient method to store any standard optical disc (CD/DVD/Blu-ray/HD DVD) is to get rid of the packaging and store them in binder pages like this:

http://www.sleevetown.com/cd-binder-pages.shtml

You can store hundreds of discs in the amount of space normally required by a dozen boxes.

I do this with my many hundreds of CDs, and I know a number of people who do it with other types of optical discs (video game discs, DVDs, though I've yet to see anyone with HDM do this).

The drawback of course, is that you don't get the box art as a visual aid, and in cases where there is no disc art (HD DVD/DVD combo discs, for instance), it can be tough to tell one disc from another, but if organized in some fashion that makes sense to you (alphabetical with tabs works for me), it is by far the fastest way to find and retrieve a disc when your collection is that large.

Something like this?

http://www.x-tremegeek.com/Templates/searchdetail.asp?productID=10670

I would really like to eliminate all the cases.

Wow elikhom, I REALLY like that carousel idea! Very cool, unfortunately you can only apparently link 5 of them together, 5X150=750, I'm close that limit now. If anyone knows of a simialr system let me know please. I would really like a system that has unlimited growth potential.

Thank you.

I use the Readerware suite to organize my books,Audio and Video collections. It uses the upc code to retrieve info from the net and then I can arrange the items however I want. It uses a different program for Books, Audio and Video but it is extensive in it's data collecting. I have my HD media separated (they pick fights with the sd media, don't you know). As you can see for storage I use racks and bookcases. I arrange the movies alphabetically by title. This works for me and my collection now stands at 1099 units, not counting Questionable material. Which is stripped from it's packaging (packaging, burned) and stored in a cd binder. Granted I don't know what I'll do when the collection grows past my ability to store it, probably buy another house once this one is full.

Wow elikhom, I REALLY like that carousel idea! Very cool, unfortunately you can only apparently link 5 of them together, 5X150=750, I'm close that limit now. If anyone knows of a simialr system let me know please. I would really like a system that has unlimited growth potential.

Thank you.

Get them in groups of 5 then.

Wow elikhom, I REALLY like that carousel idea! Very cool, unfortunately you can only apparently link 5 of them together, 5X150=750, I'm close that limit now. If anyone knows of a simialr system let me know please. I would really like a system that has unlimited growth potential.

Thank you.
At the bottom it says that you can hook up 127 units with the use of multiple USB hubs.....

Two 400 DVD megachangers would get the job done quite nicely. You can even control them with your PC, same benefits as if you ripped them, without even using hard drives.

thanks johnny, I missed that.

I just got off the phone with the carousel distributor and my only problem now is he says he does not think it is compatible with DVD Profiler and will call me back when he finds out.

I am ceratainly going to pursue this, right now I think it is exactly what I want, also gives me a good reason not to have to lend out my DVD's now.

Thank you.

DJ79,

I use a HTPC to scale and play back my DVD's.

I thought about using megacahngers for storage and retrieval but I'm not convinced they would be up to the constant opening and closing of the doors to get the DVD's in and out?

Thank you.

Of course, 2TB worth of hard drives would probably be less expensive and more practical, except for ripping. But once I ripped about 50 DVDs in about a couple of hours using a total of 7 (yes, seven) DVD drives on two desktops and two laptops at the same time.

Init® - 832-Disc Swivel CD/DVD Tower - Black (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6985612&type=product&id=1099389144857)

1,040-Disc Swivel Media Tower - Black (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=999928500050013&type=product&id=pcmprd28600050013)

You might check out Amazon. They have quite a few reviews for the Ziotek Carousel. One reveiwer claims that the carousel works well with Collectorz Movie Software (which might be worth switching to if you use the carousel).

Something like this?

http://www.x-tremegeek.com/Templates/searchdetail.asp?productID=10670
That is cool. $139 hmm.... fits 150 discs hmm ....link 5 together.... hmm

1,040-Disc Swivel Media Tower - Black (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=999928500050013&type=product&id=pcmprd28600050013)
That looks better than my multiple DVD bookcases that take up a wall solution. I would probably buy that now if I had to start over. You could put that anywhere.

Something like this?

http://www.x-tremegeek.com/Templates/searchdetail.asp?productID=10670

That is cool but what if the motor seizes up?

Buy 2 of this if you have the spare cash :D

http://gizmodo.com/360681/sony-nhs+130c-hd-entertainment-monolith-makes-monkeys-whole-homes-smart

You guys are making too complex a deal out of all this. Here's what I did:

1. Got a girlfriend with a spare bedroom that we store the DVDs in.

B. When I want to watch something, I send her to go fetch it from the room.

3. PROFIT!!!:D

You guys are making too complex a deal out of all this. Here's what I did:

1. Got a girlfriend with a spare bedroom that we store the DVDs in.

B. When I want to watch something, I send her to go fetch it from the room.

3. PROFIT!!!:D


This man is a genius.

bholliday,

I just learned that DVD Profiler already has a plug-in to make it work with Dacal/Ziotek carousels.

This looks like an interesting option too, is anyone here using it: http://www.meritline.com/400-capacity-hard-mega-case.html

Here is how I store up to 1500 movies. I catalog them here:


http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p83/Dennis1951/MovieCollector_sm.jpg


Then store them here:



http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p83/Dennis1951/ZIOTEK.jpg



If I need more space, just add another stack. I can eject them through the computer or manually. Works great for me. Right now I use six for DVD's, 2 for HDDVD's & 2 for Blu-Ray.

I bought two 400 disc Sony changers and a pronto and threw out the cases. I love it, I never have to leave the couch to watch a movie. Now if they just came out with a BD changer under $1000 (any profile) I would be in heaven.

I guess you dont have to organize them in any order inside the Media Carousels do you? what have you done with the cases?

I have organized them by naming each carousel for a specific format & numbered 1-150, 151-300 etc. But it isn't necessary to do that. You could mix them if you want.

I store the cases in large boxes in the basement.

Dennis,

How long have you been using those Dacal/Ziotek carousel units, have you had any trouble at all with them? What is the best price you have found for the units?

I use DVD Profiler to catalog my DVD's and there is a Profiler plug-in that works with the Dacal/Ziotek carousel units, is anyone here using this?

Thank you.

I have used the Disc Stakka's for about 1.5 years and had nothing but problems with them due to there design. They are driven by o'ring style belts which stretch with time.

I switched to the ZioTec's during last Xmas. These are driven by gears, no belts. The only problem so far is the periodic problem of XP not recognizing all the USB connections to the hub. Easy fix through the XP hardware manager. Disable then enable. Manually has been no problems period.

i am also curious about how the unit is put together and how difficult it would be to take apart to remove discs if the unit goes bad. But it looks like its just plastic so a pair of tin snips would open it up pretty quick.

The top has a large plastic see thru ring which is easily removed for manually removing the discs.

very nice. thanks for all the info. you have a good system going on. Is the movie collector software only available over the net or can it be purchased in a store? I really dont want to get into software that would require a net connection in case i decide to drop my internet connection. its not likely but who knows whats in store for the future.


Thank you, I am so far very pleased with the setup. You can read about the movie collector software here: http://www.collectorz.com/

The best price I found for the ZioTek was here:
http://www.cyberguys.com/
The 5 % off with signup along with the purchase of 5 or more.

I bought two 400 disc Sony changers and a pronto and threw out the cases. I love it, I never have to leave the couch to watch a movie. Now if they just came out with a BD changer under $1000 (any profile) I would be in heaven.

How do you choose the disc you want to watch? Is it a OSD built into the dvd changer, does it connect to a pc where you have catalog software? I don't think I can keep track of which disc is #326 :)

How do you choose the disc you want to watch? Is it a OSD built into the dvd changer, does it connect to a pc where you have catalog software? I don't think I can keep track of which disc is #326 :)

Take a look at the first picture in the small edit box. Just click on the box to the the right of the number 49. Bingo, out it comes. You also get software called CDLIB with the ZioTek that you can print out with all the discs stored in all units.

Take a look at the first picture in the small edit box. Just click on the box to the the right of the number 49. Bingo, out it comes. You also get software called CDLIB with the ZioTek that you can print out with all the discs stored in all units.

Thanks Dennis, I was actually asking about the Sony changer solution, not the Ziotek storage one, but both are great options. Your setup looks awesome by the way!

I had a unit much like the Ziotek's called CenturyCD 5 years back, at that time I paid the same price the Ziotek's are going for. The only reason I never used it much is because I had my computer crash twice and lost all the references to my CD locations. Should I have backed up this data..of course, would many people remember to back up the data frequently????

My unit didn't store the information on what CD/DVD was inside of it, that was all stored on my computer; so once that information is gone from the computer you have to manually eject every CD/DVD and start over again.

I will admit though those Zioteks look awful sexy!


Dregun

Dennis i have one more question for you reguarding those media units. do you have to turn them all on/off manually or do they have like a sleep mode where you can wake them up individually when needed through the computer program you are using?

i know i am kind of confusing sometimes so if you dont understand my question just say so. hehehehe. thanks.

oops one more bone head question. have you ever miss filed a disc and how difficult would it be to find the one you miss filed? hehehehe. i guess you would have to run through every disc.

Each unit has to be plugged into the wall to operate. I use two large wall strips to plug all ten into. I leave the wall strips turned on, so they can be used manually at any time. There is a sliding door in the front which keeps the dust out. This door also wakes the unit up when you open it & lights up the unit.

If your PC is on & the USB lines are connected, then you are able to use the movie collector software which is interconnected to the units. You now can eject discs within the software. I keep a backup of all software on another hard drive. I keep new movies on my desk until I have 4 or 5 to store, then make a backup of CDLIB & movie collector software at the same time.

I usually only take one movie out at a time. I just leave the door open on that unit until I return the disc. You can't blow it that way because its the only unit with the door open.

@Dennis1951

Jeeeezus.. Where do you keep the cases? I like the cases so I don't wanna just throw them away. Nice setup though, I have around 500 HD/Blu and 400+ SDs, maybe I will look into your setup. Thanks for the pictures.

I took most all mine out of the cases and put them in a couple of those big 320 disc binders. Boxes in the garage, binders in the living room. Never had a problem and cheap. I've never seen any wear on the discs from being in the binders.

If you figure that with that many movies, you probably aren't going to get to some of them maybe every couple of years, if you even watch them a second (or first) time, so they aren't sliding in and out of the sleeves very often.

How do you choose the disc you want to watch? Is it a OSD built into the dvd changer, does it connect to a pc where you have catalog software? I don't think I can keep track of which disc is #326 :)

You can have 400 DVD's/changer and enter the titles of the movies using a computer keyboard and sort them by number, alphabetical order, folder, etc. just access the titles using your TV. Take a look at the picture attached.

http://www.can-am.ca/

How do you choose the disc you want to watch? Is it a OSD built into the dvd changer, does it connect to a pc where you have catalog software? I don't think I can keep track of which disc is #326 :)

I use DVD Profiler to assign the DVD a number (Say it's DVD # 745, it goes in slot 345 in changer 2), then I use a macro that tells the changer to switch to number 345. The macro is liked to a picture of the DVD cover in alphabetical order. It sounds confusing, but it's rather simple.

Read through this thread, specifically for Lowpro's posts. It takes a little time to setup, but once you are done it's great.

http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboard/rc-prontong/thread.cgi?3189

bholliday,

I just learned that DVD Profiler already has a plug-in to make it work with Dacal/Ziotek carousels.

where did you find this info out? I use DVD Profiler and hope this does work. Great idea.
thanks
I did find the plug-in on the DVD Profiler site forums.

You can have 400 DVD's/changer and enter the titles of the movies using a computer keyboard and sort them by number, alphabetical order, folder, etc. just access the titles using your TV. Take a look at the picture attached.

Why haven't they added a USB port to download that information from a database or spreadsheet rather than have to type it?

The thought of having to type in the information for hundreds of CDs and DVDs is a big turnoff for me to use one of these units.

I think for cataloging and tracking your stuff - including movies, DVDs, music, books etc and exporting, borrowing, custom listing, reviewing etc - the best online place is Listal: http://www.listal.com
They even have Amazon bookmarklet for quickly adding to your collection, let alone integrated search functions with UK and other sources.

Why haven't they added a USB port to download that information from a database or spreadsheet rather than have to type it?

The thought of having to type in the information for hundreds of CDs and DVDs is a big turnoff for me to use one of these units.

See above. You can also buy a USB barcode reader or just use a webcam with any regular cataloging software and then export it and import it into Listal for online purposes.

I am glad to see someone else who uses collectorz.com software. I use both the cd and dvd. I used these: http://www.meritline.com/720-cd-dvd-storage-wallet-case.html

I have the 720 and 500. Love them. I just print up a sheet for each in pdf. Have them on my computer. When I want to watch/listen to something I just look it up and find what disk it is and pull it.

I put all the cd/dvd holders in boxes and stored them in my garage.

Is anyone here using Sony DVP-CX995V units like these just for physical storage and retrieval: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&langId=-1&productId=11038804&storeId=10151

If so how is it woking out for you, what are the downsides?

Thnak you.

This looks like a very nice option if you want to ditch the DVD boxes (which I do): http://www.meritline.com/400-capacity-hard-mega-case.html

Using this with DVD profiler might be a very nice inexpensive setup to catalog and store large numbers of DVD's in a simple efficient way.

where did you find this info out? I use DVD Profiler and hope this does work. Great idea.
thanks
I did find the plug-in on the DVD Profiler site forums.

Hi,

Could you please direct us to the appropriate plug-in? Name or link.

Thanks.

Larry

Rip them, transfer to BD, get one of the 200 disc players use up 140-150 BD50 or so. Can still index them with the appropriate software, etc.

I wouldn't be sanguine about that big of a RAID array being any cheaper (or reliable).

Here are the links to the DVD Profiler carousel plug-in, as I recall it is defaulted to the Ziotek carousels but will work with just about any brand of carousel:

DVD Profiler Load DVD (carousel) plug in: http://mysite.verizon.net/vze39sc9/mediadogg/id1.html

DVD Profiler/plug-in forum for LoadDVD: http://www.invelos.com/Forums.aspx?task=viewtopic&topicID=166395

I am a big fan of DVD Profiler and have used it to catalog my large DVD collection. Search and retrieval functions are very versitile, fast and easy to get your DVD's into it's database. Search your database of DVD's by genre, actor name even soundtrack (e.g., "show me all my DVD's with a DTS soundtrack") and lots more. Displays cover art too.

Here are the links to the DVD Profiler carousel plug-in, as I recall it is defaulted to the Ziotek carousels but will work with just about any brand of carousel:

DVD Profiler Load DVD (carousel) plug in: http://mysite.verizon.net/vze39sc9/mediadogg/id1.html

DVD Profiler/plug-in forum for LoadDVD: http://www.invelos.com/Forums.aspx?task=viewtopic&topicID=166395

I am a big fan of DVD Profiler and have used it to catalog my large DVD collection. Search and retrieval functions are very versitile, fast and easy to get your DVD's into it's database. Search by genre, actor name even soundtrack ("show me all my DVD's with a DTS soundtrack") and lots more. Displays cover art too.

Hi Big,

Thanks.

I'm glad you started this thread.

Yes, I'm a big DVD Profiler fan as well, and with this plug-in and Ziotek carousels it looks like a winning combination.

Notwithstanding Dennis' encouraging experience, in reading the reviews of Amazon.com reviewers I'm still a bit concerned about the build quality.

Larry

Is anyone here using Sony DVP-CX995V units like these just for physical storage and retrieval: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&langId=-1&productId=11038804&storeId=10151

If so how is it woking out for you, what are the downsides?

Thnak you.

I have a 985V; the 995V is the latest version (see my post#46). There are no negatives from my point of view in 2 years of use. There is even a way to piggy-back 2 of these units but I only have 1 unit. I use mine to play CD's, DVD's, DVD+R DL, DVD-R, SACD's to complement a Pioneer 300+1 CD Changer.

Saves a bunch of clutter in the house :)

Wish List: BluRay Disc capability

The Sony 995 does not upscale SD DVD's to 1080i over component, I use a HTPC for that with excellent results. My projector does not have an HDMI input. I am curious about the feasibility of using 995 units just for storage and retrieval, is anyone using them just for this?

I dont see any reason why you cant use the 995 just for storage and retrieval although there have been many posts in this thread which seem to be better for this simple purpose.
It would make better sense IMHO to use the 995 as a player if you could find a "box" that could (decode the upscaled HDMI video from the 995) spit it out on it's component outputs....OR...upgrade to a projector with HDMI inputs :)

FWIW, I hate freakin HDMI and how it threw everybody to a loop in the video and audio world ;)

ff,

I think the main issue in using the 995 just for storage and retrieval is the durability of the door with constant open and closing use plus the physical act of actually getting the discs in and out and returning them to the correct slot, I found this to be an awkward process with Sony carousel players that held 300 CD's unless it was located at eye level even then it was a little awkward.

There is a hardware adapter solution to convert 1080p HDMI to component here: http://www.hdfury.com/ but my HTPC will still produce better results over component and I will always use a HTPC for all the other neat things it can do in a home theater.

I really do like the concept of 400 DVD's stored in such a small space and DVD Profiler can be easily linked to the 995. The Sony 995's would also be more cost effective for storage for larger DVD collections than the ZioTek carousel units which only hold 150 DVD's though.

Big Picture, I believe there are megachangers on the market (some higher-end Sony models, if I'm not mistaken) that you can hook up to an HTPC and transfer data in the digital domain (just like from an external DVD-ROM) and play the movies through the HTPC. You might want to do some research there, it could be just the thing you need. By the way, MyMovies supports some of these changers.

Some of these automated solutions scare me. :eek:

I like a computerized list, , but I like now the 4 sided towers for cost and WAF browsing , like looking at your own video rental store shelf. Even though I have a dediated Wall o' DVDs" no, thats what I would do if I had to do it over.

The advantages of a computerized cataloging system are many, especially in the retrieval area such as search by genre and actor name etc., my memory can't handle the 700+ and growing collection I have. So I need this.

To anyone interested in exploring a computerized cataloging system DVD Profile has a free use system to try out, there are other programs out there but I am only familiar with DVD profiler, it is simple to setup, easy to use and can also be linked to various hardware playback setups. I have no connection to DVD Profiler.

I like the idea of using DVD profiler or Catalogz for inventory , but I'm not convinced on the computerized storage systems. I like the artwork and cases and ease o physically browsing. Plus cost is a factor .

I am very glad of the info in this thread. Thanks to all that are contributing.

My HTPC is on all the time so once my projector is turned on it is just a matter of two mouse clicks on my wireless USB mouse and I can see and search all my movies by individual categories or actor name with cover art and the synopsis descriptions, from where I sit, right on the screen that I'm using to watch the movies on.

It doesn't get any better than this as far cataloging and retrieval goes to find a movie to watch, easy for the wife to handle too.

Everyone's situation is a little different and different solutions obviously work better for different people.

DJ79,

I am not familiar with the digital changers you are refererring to, do you have more information? I seem to recall that someone was offering a modification service to do that and it was quite expensive...? I also seem to recall that MyMovies has a plug-in to accept DVD Profiler collections? So yes that could be a great alternative if those changers are available and cost effective.

As far as the big silver cases being sturdy, they are! The over all feel of these is one of toughness IMHO.

Here's what I found on the MyMovies site http://www.mymovies.dk/media/FireWire%20DVD%20Media%20Changers%201.01.pdf. Those are FireWire changers that appear as extenal DVD-ROMs. They list several units that MyMovies supports, but I'd imagine there might be others on the maket as well (the Sony 777ES?), and that they include software to control them from the tool you are using.

I remember seeing these some time ago, but I thought hard drives are far more convenient, so I didn't pursue it further.

Here's a few points:

- A typical movie (if you strip down the menus, interviews, and foreign tracks, which you can always access on the disk if you really want to) is about 4-5GB. A 750GB hard-drive (about $150) will store about 150 of those.

- No warnings, previes, menus, etc. -- you go straight to your movie.

- Instant access -- you have to experience this for yourself -- it provides a totally new dimension to your movie enjoyment. Yesterday, for instance, I watched my favorite Clint Eastwood western final showdown scenes from several different movies. This would have been very different had I had to get up to change the disks, or even wait ten seconds for the megachanger to do the switch, go through previews, menus, etc.

- You can combine two-part movies into a single image (think of Frodo and Sam being captured by Faramir in the Two Towers)

- Hookup and compatibility - not everyone has FireWire.

- Rack space

- Not sure about expense, but I'd imagine hard drives should be more cost-effective.

The biggest negative appears to be the ripping. But you don't have to do it all at once. Start with those you're most likely to watch first. I still have a bunch of stuff that's on the shelf that I may or may not rip. If you have multiple DVD drives it can go very quickly. The HTPC section has a lot of information on this if you decide to go this way. Good luck,

DJ

DJ,

Apparently Sony XL1B changers talked about here can be used to batch rip DVD's to hard drives: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=692413&highlight=XL1B

My main hang ups with using hard drives for movie storage is the inevitable failure of those drives at some point and being faced with the prospect of having to do it all over again and the daunting task of ripping a large collection to the hard drives.

From a cost standpoint the Ziotek carousel units that hold 150 DVD's can be purchased for around $139.

Having the movies on hard drives seems like the ultimate in convienence though.

The hard drive solution is not on the top of my list for convenience. It will take days to rip my 700+ discs to the drives, and even stripped down to bare movies that would take 3.5TB. Plus I would need RAID1, so I would need (8) 1TB drives. Ouch. I could only see that option possible if you have around 100 discs. Most people here have way more than that.

At this point I have no plans to rip my over 700 and growing DVD collection to hard drives........<SNIP>.......

There are a bunch of great suggestions introduced here but I guess we are all looking for the perfect solution and there is NO magic bullet that works so it might be time for you to figure out what compromises can you live with.

You obviously love the HTPC route; so short of ripping them into multi TB drives then this is a no-go. The use of 2 V995's seems like a pretty elegant answer if you can find some hardware/software solution to control 2 V995's to output to your HTPC and then the latter to output via component to your projector.

Buy 4 XL1B's (you can daisy chain more than 2 but no video upconversion, I think) and make your HTPC control them. Expensive and might be out of stock but it works :) .......or get 2 V995's and use the HD Fury to output via component. Cheap, Elegant and Functional :cool:

The wife loves it when you get rid of ~320 DVD/SACD jackets and the room becomes something she can be proud of again instead of a glorified Video rental store :)

Good Luck in your quest

There are a bunch of great suggestions introduced here but I guess we are all looking for the perfect solution and there is NO magic bullet that works so it might be time for you to figure out what compromises can you live with.

You obviously love the HTPC route; so short of ripping them into multi TB drives then this is a no-go. The use of 2 V995's seems like a pretty elegant answer if you can find some hardware/software solution to control 2 V995's to output to your HTPC and then the latter to output via component to your projector.

Buy 4 XL1B's (you can daisy chain more than 2 but no video upconversion, I think) and make your HTPC control them. Expensive and might be out of stock but it works :) .......or get 2 V995's and use the HD Fury to output via component. Cheap, Elegant and Functional :cool:

The wife loves it when you get rid of ~320 DVD/SACD jackets and the room becomes something she can be proud of again instead of a glorified Video rental store :)

Good Luck in your quest

Thanks ff,

Unfortunately Sony Xl1B2 units that hold 200 DVD's list for $399 each, I would need four of them with my current 700+ and growing DVD collection. From a cost standpoint that's hard to accept and I am not runnning XP MCE, just XP Home, so I would have to upgrade my OS (I think?) which is never a fun endeavor. As I understand it now the firewire output to my HTPC from the XL1B could be upscaled by the HTPC so from that standpoint it is an attractive idea.

Using the V995 units, which I would like to do because of their compact 400 DVD storage capcity and good price, $250 refurbished from Sony, means that I would have to bypass using my HTPC as a DVD scaler. It would involve an outboard scaler because V995 scaling is not as good as my HTPC. A good scaler is expensive so I'm not convinced that this is a great idea either but in the end could very well be the ultimate solution.

DVD Profiler cataloging and retrieval is compatible with both options above.

So right now it's looking like my best option is using DVD Profiler with the Ziotek 150 ($139) DVD capacity carousels, could be worse!

WHAT A GREAT THREAD THIS HAS BEEN AND HOPEFULLY WILL CONTINUE TO BE. A BIG THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE STAYING ON TOPIC AND CONTRIBUTING THE EXCELLENT IDEAS!!!

I got my ZioTek carousal yesterday. What I wanted to do is use my laptop (Vista) with DVD Profiler to use the carousal. But I cannot get the program that came with the carousal to work. CDLB doesn't open after loading. I did get V4.0 software from ZioTek.
I loaded the software on my XP desktop and all seamed to work fine.
Has anyone had a Ziotek carousal hooked to Vista OS?

I want to keep my cases. I'm looking for something like a DVD chest that will hold the dvd's in their original cases. Anybody know where I can find some type of chest that closes and maybe locks as well?

I have a small house and about 400 DVD's. In my theatre area I have enough shelves to hold about 350 of those DVD's. When I run out of space I look thru the collection and take out the one's that I rarely watch and put them in the closet to make space for newer one's. I keep an inventory list for reference and store all alphabetically.

how many dvds are you talking about?

Well right now I have close to 80 HD DVD's and Blu Rays. I have about another 10 ordered. I'm buying losts of movies 2 times a month. I would need something that will hold at least 200 or so.

I got my ZioTek carousal yesterday. What I wanted to do is use my laptop (Vista) with DVD Profiler to use the carousal. But I cannot get the program that came with the carousal to work. CDLB doesn't open after loading. I did get V4.0 software from ZioTek.
I loaded the software on my XP desktop and all seamed to work fine.
Has anyone had a Ziotek carousal hooked to Vista OS?Hey guys. Pleased to find this thread. I am also having trouble with my Ziotek unit on Vista. I wrote the LoadDVD plugin for DVD Profiler, but I had to test on XP only because of this problem. But I do know of LoadDVD users that have Vista and the Ziotek carousel working. Go figure. So I will be watching this thread eagerly for a solution if somebody finds it.

@Big Picture. I've enjoyed reading your posts and learned some cool stuff, especially that neat device for HDMI to component. Sorry if I missed a prior post, but what video card does your HTPC upscaling? One idea that came to mind from reading all the ideas here, would be if there were a quality component or HDMI video switcher PCI card. That way, you could indeed use something like DVDProfiler with LoadDVD to load and view from (most) all sources and get virtually identical scaling characteristics. Does this make sense? Anyway, I'm off to Google to see if there is such a device.

Hi Mediadogg,
this is nwrobel from the profiler forum. After I got the DVD Profiler working with the ZioTek, 3 miniutes into loading disk it stoped working. So I'm going to try another one.

Hi Mediadogg,
this is nwrobel from the profiler forum. After I got the DVD Profiler working with the ZioTek, 3 miniutes into loading disk it stoped working. So I'm going to try another one.Bummer! And here I was using you as a success story! (I didn't know it was you of course. :p) Keep us posted!

MediaDogg,

My HTPC video card scaling is done with an ATI/Radeon 9800 PRO AGP card. I know AGP is "old school" but my setup works very well for me and I have no short range plans to replace it. I use a DVI to VGA adapter from the card to my projector.

I have these exact hanging file things with the metal case (500 count size) and I love it...thinking about getting a second one. Bought it at Meritline too.

Would someone please explain to me the main differences between DVD Profiler and Collectorz.com's Movie Collector. In your opinion, which one is better and why? Thanks.

I currently have two large spinners to hold a lot of my movies. Problem is that they wear out very fast. Is anyone aware to some good quality 4 sided spinning racks? I have ~ 1200 dvds (~150 are tv series so take more space) and ~ 200 hd dvd and blu-ray.

My wife wants to be able to look at the cases and frankly so do I, but plain racks take up too much wall space.

thnx

I was looking at those Ziotek changers on their website as my interest in a BD management system is pretty great. However, nowhere on the website (that I found) says they support BD or HD. What did I miss?

I was looking at those Ziotek changers on their website as my interest in a BD management system is pretty great. However, nowhere on the website (that I found) says they support BD or HD. What did I miss?

Hi Chadly,

As I understand it these are mechanical devices that merely store and serve-up discs on demand. The user then removes the disc from storage and manually inserts it in their player of choice. They do not play any discs anymore than a filing cabinet plays discs. The only requirement is that the size of the disc be compatible.

Larry

thanks for the clarification. Looks neat but I think I'll wait for a player version.

if the rack just isnt spinning good anymore the best thing you could do would be to just mount a lazy suszn bearing on the bottom of it.
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=1061

Actually, the bearings that came with the unit are o.k., it's the cheap material they use for the base and shelves that's the problem. I have one of those jumbo spinners and after a few months, it's caving under it's own weight. There are solid wood versions, but they're very expensive and aren't as large.

I had an Onkyo megaplayer for a while. The problem is that playback technology (upscaling etc.) rapidly surpassed what the Onkyo could do so I ended up giving up on the Onkyo. The Onkyo also jammed once on me, and fixing that was a real pain in the neck. So all-in-all I'm not in favor of mechanical retrieval.

What I use now are simple CD binders made by UniKeep, which I keep indexed in a database. It is extremely compact storage; I have over 1000 DVDs in 6' of 6" high shelf space.

i know this is probably completely out of budget but its cool to look at. http://www.racksandstands.com/NPSG-480404-NPS1017.html

what kind of budget are you working with? do you have a link to what you are currently using?

Basically I have this, though I'm not sure if it's the same manufacturer. It was o.k. until I had it completely full of DVDs. After that, the rollers on the bottom started eating into the "boards".

I'm contemplating 2 or 3 of these http://www.racksandstands.com/Leslie-Dame-Enterprises-MS-1400-X-LE1114.html but they're a lot of money.

Being tall, I'd like to see an 8' tall rack and just have a step stool for wife and kids. I might have to resort to getting custom shelves built.

1,040-Disc Swivel Media Tower - Black (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=999928500050013&type=product&id=pcmprd28600050013)

I purchased two of these (in maple, not black) from an online retailer and just assembled them this past weekend. Verdict: not impressed. I realize that "ready to assemble furniture" is a bit of a contradiction (if it's ready to assemble, it can't be good furniture), so I shouldn't expect too much. But amongst ready to assemble furniture, this particular piece/brand (PrePac) is exceptionally cheaply designed/manufactured. If I could go backwards in time and not order it, I would (by the time I un-boxed it, sending it back would have been a PITA -- go ahead, call me lazy).

Notable items:
->exceptionally thin veneers -- I've seen some thin veneers in my day, the veneers on this product are wafer thin
->dimpled/rippled veneers -- thankfully on an inside panel likely to be not seen due to the DVDs stacked in front of it, but obviously poorly applied veneer
->small chips/nicks -- several corners/edges with visible (to my eye) nicks/chips; would chalk it up to shipping damage, but . . .
->poorly drilled/finished shelf holes -- you know the little hole you insert the metal peg into that holds the shelf? yeah, those were poorly chamfered (sp?), with bits of veneer hanging off
->pressboard shelves -- I am used to glass shelves, but the ones included in this unit are made of pressboard with ultra-thin veneer on them. I can't imagine that they won't disintegrate over time.
->poorly designed base -- this thing (probably weighs 200 lbs. when assembled and loaded with DVDs) rotates on what looks like a $0.25 piece of plastic that is BORN to crack/break.

Again, overall, if you are thinking about buying this item: steer clear. I am (admittedly) a bit of a quality-monger when it comes to furniture (I have a "buy it once" motto), but relative to the Sanus NFCDIIm units I have -- which I had a couple of "nits to pick" on themselves -- this PrePac unit is embarrassingly poorly made. Both of them are sitting in my great room right now and I'm trying to figure out what to do with them? Hide them in a closet? If I could, I would. I think my better bet (this is going to sound insane, but it may be what I end up doing) is to take measurements/tracing of the parts and pieces and build my own version out of solid maple and glass . . . I have a decent enough workshop that I might be able to pull this off.

Agree, the toughest part (i.e., no "do-over") would be drilling the holes for the adjustable shelves. I'm thinking of taking a large piece of paper and simply tracing the outline of the holes and using it as a template for one piece. Once that first piece is complete, the rest should be relatively easy to copy.

This is likely not a Spring/Summer project for me. More likely that it will be a Fall/Winter project . . . too many "honey do" projects right now that take priority by virtue of the source of the request. ;-)

Agree, the toughest part (i.e., no "do-over") would be drilling the holes for the adjustable shelves. I'm thinking of taking a large piece of paper and simply tracing the outline of the holes and using it as a template for one piece. Once that first piece is complete, the rest should be relatively easy to copy.

This is likely not a Spring/Summer project for me. More likely that it will be a Fall/Winter project . . . too many "honey do" projects right now that take priority by virtue of the source of the request. ;-)

I bought a quarter sheet of peg board, marked the holes I was going to use and it made an excellent firm template for drilling the holes.

Excellent idea. just need to figure out if the peg board spacing will work for both CDs and DVDs (without wasting too much space between shelves).

After considering all the options talked about in this thread I decided to get these storage cases to store my 700+ DVD collection in: http://www.meritline.com/400-capacity-hard-mega-case.html They are available at a good discount on ebay. The hanging folders work very nicely.

Combined with the DVD Profiler computerized library, catalog and retrieval system I am quite pleased with the results.

I wanted: compact storage, which this very definitly is; a good computerized retrieval setup (DVD Profiler does search by genre: "show me all my action movies", and/or actor name: "show me all my Bruce Willis movies" etc., displays front and back cover art too) and elimination of the DVD rental store look. Mission accomplished!

Thank you.

are they sturdy? do the draws slide easy? how many did you get to store your dvds? are they really heavy when they are full of dvds?

Sturdy enough and stackable, drawer slides work well, the drawers don't drop down when pulled out, I have three, each one will hold around 250 DVD's if you use one folder for each DVD (which I did),

It is not practical to put two DVD's in one folder unless you file them numerically which I may do down the road, right now I have them alphabetically. The folders keep them separated so they don't physically touch each other, very efficient storage. DVD Profiler assigns a number to each DVD so it is easy to store them numerically in which case it would be easy to get 400 DVD's in one cabinet.

I can carry one cabinet easy enough when full.

Sturdy enough and stackable, drawer slides work well, the drawers don't drop down when pulled out, I have three, each one will hold around 250 DVD's if you use one folder for each DVD (which I did),

It is not practical to put two DVD's in one folder unless you file them numerically which I may do down the road, right now I have them alphabetically. The folders keep them separated so they don't physically touch each other, very efficient storage. DVD Profiler assigns a number to each DVD so it is easy to store them numerically in which case it would be easy to get 400 DVD's in one cabinet.

I can carry one cabinet easy enough when full.

Has anyone spotted another source for these 400 disc drawer cabinets? I was planning on ordering a few but they have disappear from Meritline & eBay both!

I have well over 1000 dvds and when we moved x-country, I knew I had to get rid of cases. So I got a nice Lorentz cube: http://www.lorentzdesign.com/CD_DVD_Storage-CD3_CD_DVD_Storage_Cube.html, a whole bunch of cd sleeves, and then resealable plastic sleeves that held artwork, liner notes, and the disc: https://www.american-digital.com/prodsite/product.asp?p=1381 The Lorentz cube actually makes a nice endtable next to our sofa.

It's a similar set up to the Disc Sox storage solution. While it may not be as pleasing to the eye, my set up is much more economical (around $50 for 1000 cd sleeves and plastic outer sleeves and $275 for the cube).

The plastic outer sleves fit into the drawers of the cube sideways, and two across. I folded the dvd artwork so that the title on the spine would be on top and could be read while flipping through the drawer. I think I fit about 750 dvds in the cube. However, WB's snappers are a problem. I'll post pics over the weekend.

Has anyone purchased any of these 400 capacity DVD cases lately: http://www.merax.com/products/MedianStorage/180-078-case.html

I bought them from Meritline before but they apparently no longer carry them. Does anyone know a current source for this item?

I have searched the internet with no luck.

Thank you.

Has anyone purchased any of these 400 capacity DVD cases lately: http://www.merax.com/products/MedianStorage/180-078-case.html

I bought them from Meritline before but they apparently no longer carry them. Does anyone know a current source for this item?

I have searched the internet with no luck.

Thank you.

I've looked all over too, the closest thing I can find is this somewhat similar case from Vaultz... there are several of them on TigerDirect http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3179222&CatId=66

cpalmer,

Does the Vaultz cabinet take the hanging folders like the ones used in the Merax cabinet to store the DVD's? Did you have the odor problem that some have reported with the Vaultz cabinet?

Did you purchase the hanging folders at a good deal somewhere. Seems like it may be worthwhile to buy one of the cheap 500-1000 DVD capacity Meritline cases just to get the folders?

Thank you.

I haven't bought any of them yet myself, just saw them the other day on TigerDirect... I don't believe they come with the hanging folders though... I personally decided to go with the Lorentz Cube others have mentioned

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1046513 :D

I was just tweaking my storage and I browsed through this thread and I have something a little different than what I have seen.

My GF and I are not big on cases and media out in the open. I love to see everyone elses cool racks full of DVDs but I don't want to see it everyday in my house. I know how many discs I have, I don't need to see them everyday to be reminded.

We decided physical storage had to be alphabetical so guests could find media.

Binders are a no go because they require a numbering system to stay organized since Alphabetical ordering would mean bumping dozens if not hundreds of discs when you try to find a home for a new disc.

I use Movie Collector version 5.5 pro and then store my discs in these:

http://i37.tinypic.com/mn5hh.jpg

They also make a size 2.5 larger as well. We found the larger version at Best Buy on sale for $10 a piece and bought all 7 they had. We now have 9 large boxes and 10 small ones. 3 hold retail DVDs and Hi def discs, one holds DVD backups of FLAC and MP3s, 2 hold Divx and Xvid rips and 1 holds extra remotes, SD cards and flash drives. I have 2 left for future expansion. The small ones hold retail CDs and SACDs sorted alphabetically.

Case Logic has since discontinued them. I have a feeling the "Rip and Burn" name that the collection had was frowned upon. If you can find them, they offer a much nice appearance than most of the media storage boxes out there under $100.


I simply add new movies in Movie Collector and use the location field to denote which box they reside in: DVD, Hi-Def Discs, or Divx. The boxes are then sorted alphabetically with dividers and case logic sleeves. The boxes are labeled using a small labelmaker (Over time what the box contains does change as the collection grows but the labels do peel off the vinyl cleanly). Finding a movie is as simple as opening Movie Collector picking a title and opening a box. Keeping it organized has been very simple and I am NOT an organized person by any means.

I've been using these for about a year. I'm surprised they were never mentioned, until now. No need for motorized machines that will eventually break, or usb ports and electrical outlets. Using Movie Collector 5.5 (with the new MCE Viewer)and the Vaulz 660 DVD storage cubes are great! Everything is stored in alphabetical order, so anybody can figure it out. I use Tyvek sleeves ala Netflix, instead of the ones Vaultz sells, to keep the discs from getting scratched. I also remove the covers from the dvds and store them according the genre in Discgear literature albums.

Unfortunately the Vaultz 660 units will not accept hanging folders and has permanent partitions in the drawers.

Does anyone know a source for cabinets that hold a large number of DVD hanging/suspension folders that are not the case type with tops that open and fold back but are more like a hanging folder cabinet?

What I'm looking for ideally is something along the lines of the Merex 440 units that Meritline used to sell that would hold 400 plus DVD's per cabinet.


Thank you.

Does anyone know a current source for the Merax 440 DVD hanging/suspension file folder storage cabinets that Meritline used to sell?

Thank you.

Something like this?

http://www.x-tremegeek.com/Templates/searchdetail.asp?productID=10670

OMG that is awesome.

Very timely - overall thread (search does work) - for my current needs. haha

Can't believe there are no large capacity DVD/CD storage cabinets out there that will hold a large quantity of the suspension type CD/DVD file folders?

It's such a neat way to store DVD's. I have spent a lot of time looking without success. The Merax 440 units that Meritline sold for a while were the right concept but they were a little flimsy and I suspect that's why they don't have them anymore, wish they would bring them back a little more beefed up.

Anybody have any other info on DVD file suspension cabinets available anywhere?

Just reviving this thread to see if anyone has come up with any new great storage ideas, or located any cabinets similar to the ones Meritline use to sell?

i came across the slappa line of products, which looks pretty good, but have not tried it yet. you remove from the cases and use their pages which hold both the cover/inserts and the discs. The pages can be filed in their file boxes or attached into their binders. i wish they had a larger box or shelf system though.

http://www.slappa.com/catalog/dvd-storage-boxes

I'm still looking for something better to store my DVD collection in. has anyone found anything new/interesting in the last few months?

Thank you.

Regarding my post about the Slappa system a couple posts back, I've rejected it for now because it forces you to fold the dvd cover sheet (not on one of the existing folds) to fit it in the sleeve.

I really like the discsox system with the DVD Pro sleeves since they keep everything together and without adding creases to the artwork, but it is quite expensive. I think I did a rough estimate of what it would cost to completely convert my collection of ~500 CDs, ~150 HDDVD & Blu-ray and ~400 DVDs and it added up to slightly over $1000. That sticker shock kinda put me in a holding pattern on that since, in my mind, that isn't storage level money, that's like new tv kinda money!

So like the others here, I'm still looking for good, affordable options.

i moved my 800 dvd's and games to Slappa d2i sleeves and they are excellent. yeah you have to fold down the spine of the cover, but it takes a second and doesn't (IMO) offset the value of the system and the pages. every page is stitched (I've never seen this before) and the d2i pages and d3i pages slide into and out of the books and also fit into their storage boxes. I use both and find the system to be excellent for storing discs and saving space. just one mans opinion I guess. good luck

i moved my 800 dvd's and games to Slappa d2i sleeves and they are excellent. yeah you have to fold down the spine of the cover, but it takes a second and doesn't (IMO) offset the value of the system and the pages. every page is stitched (I've never seen this before) and the d2i pages and d3i pages slide into and out of the books and also fit into their storage boxes. I use both and find the system to be excellent for storing discs and saving space. just one mans opinion I guess. good luck

can you describe exactly how and where you need to fold for the slappa system?