is this a decent DVD case?

How much moving about of the box are you planning?

I don't have any of those (I use an entirely different approach), so I can't speak from experience. Even the "cheap" one (Steve...it's nearly identical to the first one!) might do the job for you.

It's just a matter of what you're actually going to need.

For recorded TV series I keep them in "clamshell" DVD boxes similar to what you'd get when buying a disc at a store (yep, you can get them empty), but for recorded movies I keep those discs in fairly sturdy boxes that are similar to a file cabinet. Inside there are supports on each side that vinyl "envelopes" hang from, a hook on each end. The DVD is slid into the envelope.

The type of box you're looking at would probably do the trick, provided the plastic isn't cheap and doesn't warp over time.

Also take into account how close the discs sit to each other, and if you can avoid having them touch each other as you remove and later replace them.

I'd avoid the one that seems to have a mechanism in it, since it's just something that might bust. Simple is often better.

Hope this has helped at least a little.

I'm kind of a wallet guy myself. My favorite sizes are 4 DVDs/page(2 back to back) and hold anywhere from 40 to 120 total/wallet. For my larger series I use 8/page or 4 back to back which hold anywhere from 200 to 520/wallet.
On occasion I also use 2/page(one back to back) and those come anywhere from 20 to 48/wallet.
With wallets nothing to really go wrong, I guess unless the pages rip which they don't really, I think wallets are also the most inexpensive way to store unless you do what Citibear does and just stores in recycled spindles

I went through all types of storage and kept running out of space. Finally settled on wallets as the way to keep the most disks in the smallest space.

I have a major aversion to sleeves. I know it's irrational, but I just don't like the idea of anything touching the readable side of the disc, especially the sliding in-and-out action of removing and storing in a sleeve. I know, I know.

So do I.

I use those hanging file type sleeves, and every time I put a disc in or take it out, I think "What if this stuff starts sticking to the disc one day?"

Thing is, even a clamshell DVD case has a hard surface against the back of the disc.

You just gotta be careful.

The good clamshells hold the disc by the center ring only, hovering the rest of the disc above the back surface, thus if you are careful, nothing ever touches the readable area of the disc. I use the half-height ones and store them vertically.

+1. Not only do clamshells not touch the recording surface but IMO clamshells also protect the inside edges of disc from accumulating dust and dirt further protecting the disc from slipping and dirtying your deck's spindle.

I have a few full size single disc clamshells for discs that have more than 2 short programs per disc (for easy cover labeling). But I mostly use the full size double disc ones for single program discs. I noticed that most of the clamshells that I have, for home made discs release the disc without much pressure.

Two of my double disc clamshells:

I am so totally a sleeve guy. Not paper ones, mind you -- no, no, no -- Tyvek double sided sleeves to hold two disks. The recorded side only touches a soft Tyvek mesh, the label side is a clear vinyl cover. Tyvek is softer than polycarbonate and won't scratch the disk. The only danger is if you are sloppy with your handling and get some abrasive grit in the sleeve. Then you have a chance of scratching the surface.

I store these sleeves in inexpensive disk boxes that are made to hold 160 of these sleeves. I find it to be the most compact method for me. The sleeves have tabs that are labeled with the disk title so the collection can be fanned to find the right disk without taking a single disk out of the box. Easy to rearrange, alphabetize and add new disks to the collection.

YMMV

I'm a wallet guy, but if I had it to do all over again, I'd take Kelson's route. Very hard to interfile new acquisitions into the collection, and when I want to get out a single disc, I have to (1) schlep out the binder, (2) find it, and (3) when I pull it out (say, to take to a friend's house) I have to put it......into one of those 2-disc Tyvek-lined slip cases.

Sure, I could go back and replace the binders, but I'd have to spend a lot of cabbage, and then what would I do with all the old binders? And....

.....the binders probably are the most space-efficient storage method, short of stacking the discs in old cake boxes (which some folks here do - and consider it a perfectly adequate storage method).

I'm approaching 12,000 home-recorded DVDs. That doesn't present much of a storage problem when using the so-called "wallet" albums stored upright on bookshelves. These photos are from 2010:

The 500s are way too heavy for me.

I agree and weight and bulk are the main reason I like the 2/side or 4/page wallets. The only problem is they max out at ~120 and for some of my larger collections that I want to keep together I have to resort to the 4/side or 8/page models. I have a couple 520s and while it's amazing on how much they hold, they are rather awkward to hold, nice for just storing or very occasional use though.

I have 4 rather large wallets.They seem to be well made,not as cheaply made as they might look.I've had my oldest ones for several years and have had no wear and tear problems. The stitching is strong,the zippers are fairly heavy duty and never snag, and as many times as i've taken discs in/out of the sleeves, i have yet to see any scratches appear on the discs. I store the wallets upright and have no complaints about the weight.I wouldn't leave the wallets laying on their side for very long though cuz then i'm afraid the weight on the discs would be damaging.The wallets are inexpensive too!

This has been bothering me for sometime. Trying to figure out how to store all my discs.

I dont like the thin clear sleeves or the sleeves with that fiber material stuff on one side and a clear section on the other side. It is too hard to slide discs in an and out with out draging the surface across the sleeve

What i do like is paper sleeves. I bought 1500 of them real cheap. At the moment my temporary soloution is to place all new discs i buy into paper sleeves and then put that into commercial case they come in (normal DVD case). I dont like it how some are so loose on the centers that te discs can come loose inside and the discs can spin and if the case gets squashed, the rough plastic sandpaper like surface can press onto the data side and mark the disc.

I like the paper ones as i can hold them in one hand and easily and carefully slide in a disc with minimal to no rubbbing on the disc surface. They are the only sleeve that gives me piece of mind right now.

The long term plan is to take out all the cover artworks and put those in clear sleeves in a 3 ring folder and then stash the factory boxes out the way, then put all the discs into one of those briefcase/box type cases that kinda have a filing cabnet set up,
eg
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Aluminium-CD-DVD-Bluray-Storage-Case-Box-500-Discs-SL-/270948321152?pt=Blank_Media&hash=item3f15c74780

but my only concern was what material the sleeves in those boxs are made from.

So at the moment they can sit safely in the paper sleeves. I know once i back them all up to HDD's i wont need to access the master discs much but i would still like them in some sort of compact storage that allows easy removal of discs with no rubbing against the disc surface.
Edited by Cyclone82 - 6/8/12 at 1:48am

IMHO - a potential mistake on your part.
That "fiber material" in the window sleeves is softer than the polycarbonate disk surface -- the best ones are made from DuPont Tyvek which is flash-spun polyethylene porous sheeting. These will never scratch a disk no matter how many times you take it in or out. These are all that I use.

Paper -- real paper -- sleeves are the worst. Paper is very abrasive. White paper is white because it is filled with TiO2 (titanium dioxide) the white pigment common to the paper and paint industry. TiO2 is a hard abrasive and can scratch polycarbonate. That is why people will tell you to wash and dry DVD disks with soft cotton towels and never use paper towels. You can buy "paper" sleeves that are made from DuPont Tyvek. They cost more but they won't scratch either. If you bought 1500 sleeves "real cheap" I have no doubt they are cheap and abrasive paper. Be very gentle inserting & removing your disks.

^^^ Thanks for the info. Kelson.I always wondered what those sleeves are made of in my wallets. Their sooo soft,never had one scratch a disc.

I also much prefer a 4 disc/page(2/side) wallet but truthfully I've never seen one larger than 144 and even that was a fluke, 96 is more common with 108 or usually 120 tops for size. Keep in mind that 200 discs is the equivalent to 2 100 spindles next to each other and since a spindle is 100% efficient you'll be adding a piece of material between each DVD so it will be even higher than a spindle. It's really hard to believe they've crammed so many discs in a 4/page wallet......I'd be a little worried about flipping the pages but I guess you could try.
Whenever I've went over 120( generally in the 208 size) I've had to resort to the 8/page(4/side) wallets. Truthfully I'm kind of getting used to them, that is until they get over 400 I have several 520 wallets and they are quite hard to handle(imagine 5 spindles, 4 rows with the 5th spread over the other 4) now thats one hard to handle wallet
The price for your wallet while being more than a comparably sized 8/page wallet seems pretty good to me, I might even think of grabbing one or two to try......except I'm really not a ebay'er, more of a Amazon guy myself

How about this?

http://www.supermediastore.com/product/u/cd-dvd-wallet-wallets-cd-holders-cd-storages-organizer-epv-104

^^^^ I have oodles and oodles of those and they are probably the best buy for the money. Unfortunatly I have some collections larger than 104 that I'd like to keep together so I'm forced to go 8/page(4/side)
If you could split your collections then by all means those are the ones to get!

At nearly $14 shipping that is not a good choice.

For storage options visit the "media accessories" sections at SuperMediaStore or Shop4Tech for reasonable prices:

http://www.supermediastore.com/category/u/cd-dvd-blu-ray-media-storage-accessories

http://www.shop4tech.com/