Buried alive under CDs, DVDs and BluRays - is there a cheap, easy solution?

leesonic

leesonic

Captured on security camera...
I moved into my new house November last year. I've been selling off stuff or taking it to the Goodwill, or even just throwing out stuff I've kept for years. I encouraged my daughter to do the same with her toys and books, and even she has reduced the volume of her stuff.

However, I still have boxes and boxes of CDs, DVDs, and slightly less Blu-Rays. It's almost like I'm buried alive by them. I'm wondering if there is a cheap and easy solution to store them either digitally or physically so they don't take up less space.

For the digital solution, I've heard of a product called Zappiti that will store all your movies and music on one NAS device. However, the prices seem to be in the several thousand dollar range, making it not very cheap. Someone at my job suggested something called Plex, I was wondering how cheap and easy that would be?

The physical solution might be to remove all the discs from their cases, and stash them in some of those CD binders that you can find online.

Anyone have any thoughts, or their own solutions?

Lee.
 
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I don't really own CDs anymore, but I have been buying bookshelves to put my DVDs and VHS tapes in. Getting rid of the DVD cases would be a last resort for me. If I could help it, I would not get rid of my physical media.

Records are my biggest problem. I have them in crates everywhere. When we get moved, I am going to have to build some shelving. I hate to, but I should also get rid of some of them.
 
They're all fairly easy to rip to storage but DVD and Blu-Ray in particular take a long time to rip and use quite a lot of space.

And, technically, I believe you still need to keep the original as that's your use license. You're not supposed to sell or give away the original and keep copies for your use too.

It's not my concern what anyone does in that regard, that's your problem. But, it is what it is legally, AFAIK.
 
Yes, There is an easy solution!

A $15/month subscription to Netflix, and $10 subscription to Spotify. Or any one of several alternatives.

I would go through your collection of physical media and keep only your favorite titles. The rest will likely be available in HD on Netflix, or Spotify. LP's are a different experience though. Those I would keep, At least your favorite LP's for when your in the mood.

Spotify is like having a collection of thousands of CD's on a dozen 200 disc cd changers connected to your network and having instant access to any song or CD in your collection. These can be downloaded to your phone for playback anywhere you have a Bluetooth or Spotify enabled device like in your car, Bluetooth speakers, Stereo and home theater receivers, etc even with no network connection.

And on Netflix there are so many programs on my favorite list, I always have something interesting to watch on any TV, on my laptop, or phone. They too have many titles that can be downloaded for playback anywhere, Anytime on multiple devices.

Who say's an old dog can't learn new tricks!
 
Do you have space to store them? If so, why not dig out those you want in regular rotation and store the rest in boxes. I've found that copy paper boxes hold a decent amount without being excessively heavy. When you feel like a change, you can then go exploring your stash.

I certainly would not put the disks in binders. You still have to store the artwork and jewel cases, so you're not gaining anything and risk damage to the disk.

If you don't have space to store them, probably the best bet (for the CDs anyway) is to rip them to a decent sized HDD and sell off the disks. (Never mind ethics - I'm aware of the arguments both for and against). Depends whether you are a collector of media, or are only interested in having the music available. Me, I can't see getting rid of many CDs unless they are duplicates, even though I seriously need to thin the herd.
 
leesonic said:
However, I still have boxes and boxes of CDs, DVDs, and slightly less Blu-Rays. It's almost like I'm buried alive by them. I'm wondering if there is a cheap and easy solution to store them either digitally or physically so they don't take up less space.
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While it has taken a bit of time, I've ripped all my CDs, DVDs and Blu Rays to files. I run Logitech Media Server (LMS) on a Synology NAS where the files reside.

For music playback, I use a range of devices. I'll be happy to provide more detail if desired. For video, I employ three Roku players.

It is a beautiful thing to be able to instantly view or listen to anything in one's library without having to shuffle physical media. All controlled by smart phone, pad or watch. And I also have subscriptions to both Netflix and Qobuz Studio but neither offers everything I enjoy online.

As for license concerns, my CD collection is on permanent loan to the local library system.
 
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E-Stat said:
As for license concerns, my CD collection is on permanent loan to the local library system.
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Nice. That's a neat solution. You still own them, so you are covered and presumably the library has the applicable licence for legally lending them.
 
KevinJS said:
Do you have space to store them? If so, why not dig out those you want in regular rotation and store the rest in boxes. .
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This, but ask yourself and answer honestly: "When was the last time I played this and will I ever play it again?" My answer in probably the case of 90% of my collection would be "I can't recall and I don't know"

I've literally played like 4 DVDs in the last year, so I should just load up all but a few masterpieces and get them gone. I'm doing the same with both my CDs and LPs as Quboz really does serve me adequately for many, many recordings as I tend to listen casually.

Having dealt with several estates and a former scrounger, I prefer to minimize the "legacy" for my family and start to move out the unused stuff, as I can use the room and any money would be a treat.
 
Andyman said:
"When was the last time I played this and will I ever play it again?"
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Spot on. The question I've been asking myself is "What's the worst that could happen if I didn't have this disk?"

Considering a vast amount are completely unknown to me, it's quite easy to be honest.
 
In my experience, streaming services don't have a lot of what I listen to or watch, so that is not an option for me. Netflix actually really sucked when I tried it. I am also constantly frustrated when what I am looking for isn't on Spotify, too. Ironically, I have better luck with Youtube most of the time when looking for music.

Also, relying on streaming is not a great idea because media can be removed at any time for various reasons, like contracts changing, snowflakes getting offended and causing the PC police to take things down, etc.

I will be keeping most of my physical media.
 
I prefer physical media and have thousands of CDs. What saved me were Jazzloft sleeves. Jazzloft closed but the company still sells the sleeves. Been using the system for over a decade now. You don't lose any artwork and nothing is damaged. I put my sleeved discs in boxes and they get stacked on a shelf. This way they take up much less space. Note that you can use any type of box that has the correct dimensions - these are just boxes I use. Some people put their sleeves on a shelf also.

Here are some examples.

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Here is a link to the site:

https://spacesavingsleeves.com/
 
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leesonic said:
Someone at my job suggested something called Plex, I was wondering how cheap and easy that would be?
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Plex is not a storage system. Plex is a way to stream music wirelessly from a NAS or disk drive using software. I tried Plex once a couple years back and quickly hated it. Very buggy, gaps between songs, and seemed to transcode everything in a way I didn't like. Uninstalled after less than a week.

At some point I will be moving to a NAS for backup purposes mainly. Right now I use a docking station with HDDs (one a clone of the other) and also an emergency cloud backup system.

NAS requires some up front $ investment and time to get set up. If playback is the goal, there are many different commercial and open source solutions that work with NAS. However, it's not dirt cheap even if you go the open source route. You still have to spend hundreds on drives and NAS enclosure system.
 
I agree about keeping some physical media, Especially videos where one disc may provide 2 hrs of entertainment. Here I would carefully go through my disc collection. You may have many titles that you like, But may have some that if they were removed wouldn't be missed.

I suggest trying a video streaming service like netflix. There are many programs I like but they don't have, So I combine about 250 of my favorite disc's, and a cable TV PVR with a subscription to Netflix. This works well for me.

But for music I find Spotify alone satisfies 90%+ of my music entertainment. I will still keep a couple hundred of my favorite CD'S though, but the rest I toss.

You can subscribe for a couple months for a few dollars and if you don't like it, always un subscribe. I like Spotify and Netflix because you can subscribe with gift cards. You needn't give them your credit card number.

For me, Spotify was a game changer. No more commercials on fm, no more changing CD's. And while not quite CD quality sound, pretty darn close at their highest bit rate.
 
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patient_ot said:
Plex is not a storage system. Plex is a way to stream music wirelessly from a NAS or disk drive using software. I tried Plex once a couple years back and quickly hated it. Very buggy, gaps between songs, and seemed to transcode everything in a way I didn't like. Uninstalled after less than a week.

At some point I will be moving to a NAS for backup purposes mainly. Right now I use a docking station with HDDs (one a clone of the other) and also an emergency cloud backup system.

NAS requires some up front $ investment and time to get set up. If playback is the goal, there are many different commercial and open source solutions that work with NAS. However, it's not dirt cheap even if you go the open source route. You still have to spend hundreds on drives and NAS enclosure system.
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I have Plex, but it seems to have more issues now with media that is on a drive not showing up. Haven't had time to look into it, but it definitely isn't headache free.

I kept my media and tossed out most of the packaging (still have a few boxed sets and things like that around). I have them in CD binders that hold 500 or more each. I have the CDs in a closet, but keep the DVDs and Blurays on a shelf in my office.

At one time, you could pay a few bucks and rip to Vudu/Walmart the DVDs you owned ( I seem to remember a discount if you did 5 or more). I copied the discs it would take and they even eventually showed up in my Apple Movies (probably through MovieAnywhere which also took them). I have no idea if that service is still around, but it is definitely more convenient and expensive than Plex. They even replaced some of the movies to their version of 4k. I do have a few that I was unable to copy, so I will occasionally get out my case an find a movie I want to watch. On the other hand, if I am feeling lazy, I will just buy it off of AppleTV if it is less than $5. Not the cheapest way to do it, but there it is. (As a side note, I wouldn't trust these services forever, so you either keep a copy or back them up to a computer (and back that up).
 
Andyman said:
This, but ask yourself and answer honestly: "When was the last time I played this and will I ever play it again?" My answer in probably the case of 90% of my collection would be "I can't recall and I don't know"
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A very nice aspect of using a digital music server is you can choose to have it randomly play from your library. Select one or more genres if desired.

I have re-discovered many old friends that way that I forgot I have!
 
Exporting all of it to digital is going to take a lot of time and is easy but will be a lot of work. Why not just transfer the things you really want and give the rest away
 
leesonic said:
Did I forget to mention my records, cassettes and laserdiscs...? :yikes:
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Triple the time for those as you must split tracks manually and provide the metadata.

I've done a few needle drops but they are time intensive as the "rip" occurs in real time.
 
I end up getting really frustrated when I do vinyl rips. Either the condition of the disc isn't good enough, or there are anomalies in the recording / mastering, or maybe my equipment just isn't good enough, or maybe all of the above, but I usually end up not satisfied with the results.

The last one I tried to do was one by The Ventures. It just didn't sound good at all, and the last track on side one sounded like someone shifting the balance control back and forth, like the master tape was wrinkled when it played.:rolleyes: I was so disgusted that I didn't even finish it. The version on Spotify sounds great.
 
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