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How Do You Store Your CDs?
lxs asks: "Let's face it, CDs are a pain. They are a great way to store your data, but when you have hundreds, or even thousands of CDRs and not much physical space, storage becomes a problem. With the advent of DVD+/-Rs DVD-RAM and Blu-ray this problem will not go away, since we all will collect thousends of those in the coming years. Jewel cases take up too much space; CD folders are better, but still wasteful (and expensive); and spindles are great, but you can't find anything. I've toyed with the idea of buying paper CD envelopes, and fill up a couple of old-fashioned 5 1/4" floppy cases with CDs (those were efficient: 200+ floppies in a plastic shoebox!), but there may be a better solution out there. So, Slashdot: how do you store your CDs?"
In CD racks. Yeah, I'm pretty boring.
I make envelopes out of 8.5*11" pieces of paper. Fold them once the hamburger way, and then fold the ends over to make it 5" wide. Perfect! Then I store the ones I use more often in boxes, and the ones I use less oten in stacks :-P At least they're easy to label this way.
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[||
[||_/////_] <- Box
Well it works for me.
Duct tape, XML, democracy: Not doing the job? Use more.
I can get a 200+ jukebox CD player for my home stereo. Why can't I buy the equivalent for my PC? Daisy-chaining a couple of those together would be a perfect solution for me.
perhaps more importantly, how do you catalog what's on those disks? Is there some easy to use software for cataloging disks?
-- Senior Software Engineer, Attorney appearance services, locallawyerapp.com.
You actually buy cds?!?
Who sent you and what do you want
I would expect such blatant racism on Fark, but on Slashdot? Mods please ban this asshole.
Unlabeled, too.
You can start applauding my organisational skills any time now, folks.
Learn to Play Go
I regularly record TV shows with EyeTV. I archive the files to mirrored hard drives, then burn them for viewing on TV. (I have TV-out, but the standalone DVD player looks and sounds better) After I'm done with the CDs I give them away or use them for drink coasters.
I don't trust CDR for long term storage. We don't know the long term properties of CDR dye, CD's get lost or scratched, I've even bought a 30-pack of Maxell CDR's that had a topside nick in every disc on the same location. CDR will forever be temporary storage to me.
IF you're storing SVCDs, DVDs and the like, you might want to seriously consider the Sony DVP CX860/875 (and related series. They can store up to 301 DVDs (for example) in a box that looks like thick DVD player, and costs under $300
Downsides: cost (under $1/disc) is a bit more than printing CD/case labels and using jewel boxes. Some of the earlier models weren't compatible with all formats (though I know more happy users who can play their CD-R SVCDs and MP3s than unhappy ones who can't, Sony makes no promises - take some representative samples of your collection to the store to test the one you want to buy) Some of the models, at least, have a limited menu system (e.g. limited flexibility of folder/genre and playlist structure, limited title length, only 16 tracks per CD may show up in the menu)
Upsides: extremely compact storage for 301 audio or video disks. You can't beat the convenience for a DVD or VCD collection: just point and pick with the included remote. It has a quality DVD and audio player built in, which I consider a big freebie. The on-screen disc selection is great, if you buy a model whose menu system suits you; and they are daisy chainable, so if you need to store another 300 disc is a couple of years, you can tack on a second unit (which will probably cost half as much by then) instead of buying a completely new, larger, unit.
In short: research the models carefully on the web before buying (some have drawbacks that may bug you) but I know many happy users, and am currently in the market for one myself.
Oy, tell me about it.
I have roughly 1500 CDs. I've ripped them all to an external 160 GB firewire disk (with another one for backup), so I want to store them in compact a way as possible.
What I do is go buy those CD folders, in as large a size as possible. I cut them open (much cheaper than buy loose pages in packs), take the pages, fill them with CDs by band, and then file them in a lateral file cabinet which also functions as my printer & scanner stand.
I can get them at any time, and it's still reasonably compact. In fact, right now I'm in the middle of reripping from 256 KBps mp3s to 160 Kbps AACs, so having them arranged this way works pretty well.
I then spool music to several near-silent computers in the house over Ethernet. In this case, the whole thing is using Macs and iTunes, but it's just as feasible to do it all with x86 boxes - my first rev used an OpenBSD server spooling through icecast.
"It is our blasphemy which has made us great, and will sustain us, and which the gods secretly admire in us." - Zelazny
Big issue: Keep CDs in low humidity. I would like to buy little packages of silica gel dehumidifiers, but I don't know where to get them.
I've had CDs develop fungus, and become completely useless. Low humidity prevents this.
What I plan to do when I have some free time is to organize the CD into cases (or spindles) but number each of them and organize by using a simple data base program (e.g., Access or JBoss+PostgreSQL).
New CDs just get the next number.
We just do lookups on the database and sort them anyway we want in the database then we just find the CD by number.
Its kinda like a B-tree (like in the good old CS days), each block would be a CD case, but the lookups are done by the DBMS.
Archie - CIO-for-hire
Paper holders in the style of old floppy cases sounds like a great idea (much better than my current shove it back on the spindle system) but you've got to be careful. Being the resourceful (cheap) student that I am, I took at one time to folding up a sheet of paper outa my printer around a cd for safe transport from place to place. After extended periods of time in these sleeves my cdrs began to develop little opaque spots all over the surface and eventually became unuseable. I came to realize that the paper was acidic like all non specialty type and that this was destroying the surface of my cds. So anyway this is my expierience with paper + cds. Now I could be wrong I never really checked into it all that much, and somebody correct me if I am, but I avoid using the paper I have lying around for cds, you probubly need to check out the acidic content of the paper you're gonna use. Floppy cases may not fly because you've got that protective cover on them keeping the actual media away, while on a cd there is no such protection, and the paper will be right in contact with them. So yeah I need a new system going for me too, hopefully someone here will have somewhat of an ingenious idea I can *ahem* borrow.
Cheers,
Ctrlphreak
WikiAfterDark.com It's a sex wiki, go now!
I beg to differ about that not being able to find things with a spindle. Before I just dumped all my written CDs onto them, the CDs were scattered around my room in who the hell knows how many places. Now they are all in one place, taking up very little space. I would much rather search through the stack of CDs for a specific CD than try to find it elsewhere. At least now I know where to look for them.
With hard disks at about a buck a gigabyte, it only costs around 65 cents to store a completely full CD. Paper holders are nearly useless because you have to look at each CDs face to see what the disc contains (they travel well, however). Jewel cases can cost about 45 cents and they take up a lot of room. Neither of the two are amenable to grep. The convenience I get for paying the "extra" 20 cents to keep them all on a filer is well worth it to me.
-B
Ash and Hickory, straight-grained and true, make excellent bludgeons, dandy for the cudgeling of vegetarians.
I ultimately settled on DiscSox DJ sleeves in an IKEA shelf for my Audio CD collection (~650 CDs), but I use CaseLogic folders/spindles for most of my data discs. (Stuff I need to find in the folders, spindles for archival stuff.)
The discsox DJ sleeves are great 'cause they can hold all the inserts from the jewel box, and the DJ insert tabs allow for quick scanning of the sleeves' contents.
The DiscSox aren't cheap at about $0.50/sleeve, but they hold up better than paper. There are many other sleeves like this on the market, but the discsox hold up better in my experience.
Balamyou know those long foam tubes you can get at the hardware to insulate pipes from freezing?
take a couple of those and stick them on the vertical surfaces of your cave (table legs,shelf edges and stuff) grab the trusty old x-acto and cut yourself some horizontal slits about an inch apart and presto! every narrow vertical surface is cd storage at hand.
plus, if you drink too much beer and fall over, you don't have to worry about hitting your head!
and CaseLogic 3-ring CD storage pages (fits 8 CDs or 4 CDs and 4 booklets per page)
Make sure to get a binder that's at least 2" thick if you have 10 or more pages because your pages will otherwise be impossible to turn (CDs are suprisingly thick when stacked).
Also, get yourself some cheap dessicant and store it with your binder if you're not carrying it around. If you can score the small packets (get 'em from shipping/packing suppliers) you could even tape them inside the binder. Haven't tried it myself, though.
Interseting ask.slashdot. Cheers!
THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
I considered spindles for a while, and agree they can be convenient and cheap. I've seen quite a few CDs stored thus with nice circular scratches, though, resulting presumably from small particles of dust or whatever becoming trapped between them. Probably not good if integrity of data is important to you.
fortunately I bought a large number of racks from CD Projects before they discontinued them. They still make the sleeves, which hold the booklet & CD. /.er mentioned. They offer quick access, and are compact. :-(
The CD racks are similar to the DiscSox [mmdesign.com] racks another
I have found a slight problem with moving software CDs from their cases though. The products that have License Keys put the key on the case, not in the booklet, so I have to keep the case, and copy the license key.
in vacuum-sealed bags!
No comment.
have you ever searched for a CD 15 minutes? it is the same as you don't have it anyway.
CD's are good after all, having what you want is also good, but locating the needed CD is much harder. Numbering CD's is very important, keeping them with increasing numbers, also. I took that question much more serious than others, windows users can check disclib
program.
I use cheap 48 CD zip-up folders - they're easy to browse and small enough to carry around when you need to. I buy them from Paddy's Markets in Sydney for about AU$7, which is about US$4 each. They also have 96 CD holders for not much more, but those just look *too* tacky.
At first, I was looking at Case-Logic folders in music shops, and it was working out at something like 50 cents per CD, which is just silly. I guess the answer is to shop around for low quality ones - all they need to do is store your CDs. (just check the zip actually works).
I read this tip in the appropriate section of a household magazine but it seems that once in a decade they actually manage to publish a good tip: instead of 5¼" floppy folders, use coffee maker filters, put CDs in there and you can even write on them. You can then put them wherever you like, even a shoebox or some other container that you can browse easily.
That's just a motorized tie rack. It can't connect to an actual drive mechanism.
I want something that I can stuff a 50-CD spindle on and walk away from while it runs a backup to them. Even a simple stacker would do.
Yet I can't find it for less than $1000, while a 300-CD random-access audio player can be had for $300.
this one (German, but should be available elsewhere)? Storage for 80 CDs at a price of about 25c/CD, and you can stack the containers.
--
"Just believe everything I tell you, and it will all be very, very simple."
1. Number CDs in YYMMDD-char(base 36) format (I'm unlikely to burn > 36 a day)
2. Get an empty CD can
3. put in the oldest 10/20 CDs in chron' order.
4. put a bit on platic sheet - size of a cd + a 1/2" x 1" tab - threaded onto the spindle, and write on the tab the number of the cd it's sitting on.
5. repeat steps 4 & 5 till can is full.
6. lock it up & label the can case.
when you open the can, the tabs spring out.
(Do I need to explain the rest?)
job done
(oh yes - a little spreadsheet too : cd number,subject type (e.g mp3,pdf,app),extra info (e.g. for albums- artist,album,#tracks,bps,vbr/cbr....))
-- Mod me down. I am not a karma tart. ffs,gag
How does Saddam Hussein store his CDs?
In Iraq!
A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
I've got an MSDN subscription (DON'T FLAME!) and every month a new box of replacement CDs arrive, this allows me to collect all of the slips from the old CDs (or any CD that I don't want) and use that.
The cases are quite good quality (for an MS product).
240-480 cd folders.
If it has a case, it goes in a pile on the corner of my desk. If it has a floppy paper case, I burned it myself, or I use it frequently, it goes in a 64 CD booklet, about the size of a sheet of paper folded longways. A bit thick, but it miraculously fits in my Targus laptop bag when placed on top of 2-4 paperback books.
----- "All right. It was a miracle. Can we go now?"
Take a look Here.
Though this doessn't solve the issue of physical CD storage, it is an elegant solution to gain access to all of your CD data at any time without needing to locate the CD.
Build a Virtual CD Jukebox.
How are you going to keep them down on the farm once they've seen Karl Hungus?
This only rectangular, so I can stack them.
-Yarn - Rio Karma: Excellent
I have started using this brilliant origami-type hand folded paper cd case solution, and you get a side viewable edge. Highly reccomended.
www.avacal.com -- the home page of pete shaw
sorry, I meant papercdcase. Too much coffee, man!
www.avacal.com -- the home page of pete shaw
How many CDs do you really have???
You make CDs sound like VHS tapes. I current store my CDs in loose leaf binders, with CD sleeves. For example, I have a 2" thick binder, with 16 pages, with each page holding 8 CDs; it can hold up to 128 CDs, not including the booklets that may come with the CDs. I like the CD sleeves, and they aren't expensive if you know how to shop. If you go and buy the premade CD books, that will cost you money. If you get a loose leaf binder, and the sleeves, you will save 50% or more off the price of the premade books.
I'll put it to you this way. DVDs are a better solution, but I don't like their current prices; I'll wait till they come down to the cost of CDs.
What you need to do is.... House cleaning for CDs. That's right, you need to clean your room. Sorry to sound like your maternal one, but it's the honest truth. I have CDs i know I can throw out. When will you ever play that first version of *insert_first_iteration_of_computer_game_here* again? Sometimes, you just have to throw it out.
I have old computer books collecting dust. My book collection is a bit heavy considering. I have books double-stacled in bookshelves through out the house.
You could spend the time putting all the data to DVDs or Harddrives, or just deal with it and clean up your collection.
*now speaking in a motherly voice*
Now stop asking slashdot questions, and go to bed, you have work tomorrow. And brush your teeth, I can smell the cheetos.
On my iPod.
All my music CDs have been ripped to mp3s and the actual CDs are in a baggie in a drawer somewhere. I use the jewel cases that the music came in (yes, I'm one of those weirdos who actually BOUGHT music to put on my iPod) to store important data CDs, but I don't have too many of those.
The next Cmdr Taco duplicate will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
Simply paste them to your walls! This way not only will it lighten up your drab room, but they will be easy to access.
Here's a tip: You can make patterns with the solid sides, or block them together to make a mirror with the other!
"I only speak the truth"
Karma: null(Mostly affected by an unassigned variable)
http://www.preservesmart.com/products.htm
a _0 01_M.html
http://www.jakesmp.com/CSD_Silica_Gel/CSD_Silic
I don't work for or are affiliated with the company, but I do use DiscSox for my CD storage. They're a bit more fogriving on CD's than paper envelopes, and the rack's not half bad.
Trolls lurk everywhere. Mod them down.
I put them in an metal army surplus military case, airtight, about $10 each or so. I use the 840 Catridges, 5.56 MM, 10 Rd. Clips Bandoleers. It will store jewel cases and anything smaller.
I'm a devotee of the CaseLogic ProSleeve...and whatever ProSleeve knockoff they have at CompUSA from time to time. Both can hold 2 discs or a disc and liner notes, plus end tabs in the top slot. I keep 'em alphabetized by artist in sturdy cardboard & metal boxes from IKEA. Space-efficient, flexible & not too pricey.
Ceci n'est pas un post.
I buy 200-ish count binders, which hold 8 CD's per page. It's great for music CD's, because I slip the liner notes in behind the CD, giving every CD a specific place.
I do the same for my DVD's and computer CD/CDRs. It's so much less hassle than the cases, takes up less space, and easier to look through than a shoebox.
- Cloud
I doubt that this would be at all simple for anyone who hadn't been in libraries putting books away for fifteen years of their life, but there you go. I also try to keep a relavent catalogue with cross-indexing, but... didn't i mention i'm crazy?
In a pile on my desk...
There's so little difference between politics and jihad lately...
However, getting some more HDDs and storing the CDs as images (or files) is quicker, and isn't always that much more expensive. When a CD costs 40 cents and storage adds 20 to that, you are up to almost 80 cents per gig. HDDs cost less than a gig these days. It's also unlikely that you fill every single CD to the brim. Also, if you want to discard something, you'll lose the CD if it was burned; if it was on an HDD you can just delete it and you'll have gotten the space back. And if you downloaded the files from the internet or generated them on your computer, burning is more of a hassle than copying them.
Lalala
I load them on harddrive arrays and convert them to mp3s...
I used to do the Jewel case thing, and I still keep some of my games and CDs I use most often in jewel cases above my desk. I have since gone to using those Zip around binders you can get OfficeMax. Usually OfficeMax will have a rebate deal in the Sunday paper where you can get them free or close to it, after rebate.
I usually use plain white paperboard sleeves from Recorded Media Supply. (No affiliation, just a customer.) They have glossy white paperboard sleeves without a flap, which you can either write on or--if you're feeling meticulous--print up some of those big Avery shipping labels, the ones that are maybe 3x3". The labels don't cover the whole sleeve, but they're big enough for a track listing or description of CD contents.
These fit nicely in those cases designed for CD sleeves (I just don't like the sleeves that come with the cases).
For video CDs I have a big faux-leather binder near the TV. Kind of annoying to flip through, but I was getting tired of stacking cases on cases.
I think it depends on exactly how anal you are about the condition of your music disks. Computer disks don't get the same abuse, but I store them the same way, cuz it's convenient to do so.
I use hard plastic racks (you can get them in 20/30/40/60 & 90-CD sizes; mine are from LazerLine) and put 'em on the wall. You need a 3x3 foot wall space to store 4 90-disk cases. Note: use the good kind of drywall anchors (I use E-Z Ancor, mfg by National, bought from Home Depot, cast zinc) because all that plastic is heavy and your disks will explode if the case falls off the wall.
At least that's how I used to do it.
Last fall I bought a 80GB drive and now encode each new disk as 16bit/44.1Khz AIFF files (WAV would work just as well). All my music is stored on the HD. iTunes reports 160 albums and 155 artists; I have about 10GB left. A quick calculation gives room for 15 new 650MB disks, but in reality that translates to room for probably 30 more retail CDs, as they typically are 300~450MB, and I might not want to store every song. All CD playback is through the computer (either alone or to the hifi), not a standalone/component CD player. I could probably use a 120GB drive next time, but right now I have room for about $300~600 worth of new CDs, which will take me about a year to purchase.
Now I can store the disks themselves, in the original cases, out of sight and harm's way. I use emply liquor (case-sized) boxes, because the cardboard spacers for each bottle make nice CD-sized compartments, and add a bit of protection to the notoriously fragile jewell case. I get 'em from the local booze store for the price of asking.
Data disks go on the wall, where the CD's used to be. Out of the way, but easily accessable if needed.
This solution is probably overkill for many people, but I don't like how mp3/AAC sounds compared to RedBook, so I needed a method that kept the original fidelity intact.
If you want to archive 16/44.1 (or any other bitrate/sampling frequency) disks, you can compress the audio files to about 50%; using a lossless format and the Shorten program to encode/decode them (Mac/Win/*NIX).
I keep all of my important CD-Rs in slimline cases. They're half the size of regular jewel cases, but still allow for paper labels and protect the CDs. For storage, I have five wood CD holders (each holding 96 jewel cases), plus an Ikea "bookshelf" CD storage unit (holds ~240 jewel cases).
Unimportant CD-Rs -- things I'm keeping but would never miss -- go back on the spindle.
If you're someone who stores CDs label-side down on a desk, you're doing it wrong. The label side is much closer and has much less polycarbonate between it and the reflective coating that you REALLY don't want to have scratched. CD Players are designed to read through scratches on the data side of the disc. There's no coping mechanism for damage to the reflective coating.
My methods for organizing 3200 audio CDs/DVDs: 3 400 disc CD changers, 3 300 disc DVD changers. The contents of each changer are indexed in a plaintext file and a searchable web db. That takes care of about 2/3s of my storage needs, and since all these units have a display and a PS/2 port, it makes labelling simple.
I like jewel cases, so I keep my cases in them. I got a local cabinetmaker to build me some nice 7' tall shelves to store cases. They're simple, pine construction, but he put on oak trim. They look nice, and keep my collection visible. The overflow is kept in $10 3' bookcases I got from Kmart. I organize cases alphabetically.
For data discs, I just throw everything in 200-CD binders. Those sit on the bookshelves in my computer room. I have a couple for games, a couple for drivers, one for OSes and apps, and about 10 for my prodigious collection of pr0n.
-- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
White paper sleeves, which I get in bulk. 6 cents each.
Then a wood rack, originally designed to hold jewel cases. Can hold a good mix of both.
Cyberguys.com has them, and Tyvek sleeves, for a bit more money.
Mind you, I'd put all the CDs in full sized jewel cases and put all of them in racks on the walls. There's something about an entire room with the walls covered with full CD racks that's somewhat..... appealing to me, but as long as jewel cases cost 3x as much as the CDRs do, there's no real point. I hate storing them on spindles though.
A preferable alternative would be multi-100 cd changers that can work with data CDs. If the per CD cost of such a changer is cheap enough, a network of them would function well as a storage method for the CDs AND I would have instant access to all of them at any time. Perfect ideal setting for data storage where it's always accessible from the network, but I don't necessarily need to retrieve it as quickly as if it were on a HD.
-Restil
Play with my webcams and lights here
I just use any piece of 8.5 x 11 paper I find to make a sleeve:
1. Take the piece of paper, and holding it portrait-wise, fold the bottom up to about an inch down the page (try this for a while with a CD in it, and you'll see how it works.)
2. fold that top inch down into a flap.
3. Open it up, and fold in about 1.5 inches on each side. (Again, use the CD in it, and you'll see how I mean.)
4. Toss CDs into the inside flaps, fold it up, and fold the top flap over. Presto! Instant and compant CD sleeve.
Ed R.Zahurak
You know, oblivion keeps looking better every day.
I came across these recently. I had never seent hem before, they're interesting.
l s/item-details.asp?sku=K26-2800%20P l s/item-details.asp?sku=B600-2000%20P
:)
Basically they're USB CD towers. They do not actually play the CD's, but rather just catalog them, and spit them out at you when you request a disc. They also have some features that allow you to loan discs to friends and they'll track their location and such.
I like it.
This one does 75 CD's http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchToo
This one does 100 CD's http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchToo
The cool thing about the second one is you can daisy chain it and store up to 127,000 CD's or so.
Also there's tigerdirect.ca for the Canucks out there.
On my iPod, silly.
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one " -Albert Einstein
For you MacHeads out there, I use the program that ships on the MacAddict CD. It's a little shareware app called DiskTracker
You just pop in your disk, drag it to the disktracker windows, and it creates a catalogue of all the files. Which is the searchable etc.
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one " -Albert Einstein
I have a homeade bookcase in my room with 5 dowels sticking out of each side. I group like cd's together and store them on the dowels, sort of like horizonal spindels. It is easy to flip through to find what you are looking for.
Of course, I am running out of places to store my DVDs...my hard drive isn't quite big enough for all of them yet...
I use DiscGear
It holds discs by their edges. My previously attempts, using books of sleeves, turned out to scratch everything up...
on kazaa. it's really quite useful.
vodka, straight up, thank you!
I needed to solve two problem:
a. storage of a lot of CD-R's
b. heat my home
I solved this by
a. creating a large parabollic dish out of the reflective side of all of those CD-R's
b. utting the dish out in my backyard
c. focusing the dish at my rear windows
d. putting a large iron plate inside of the windows to collect the light energy
As a side note, I attached a barbecue grate/griddle to the iron plate and now I can grill meat or cook fried eggs on it.
I'm pretty proud of this invention.
Anyway, the software supports many of these attached to one computer, so you can buy as many as you need. Obviously real estate starts to become a concern, but you can always buy a long USB cable and stuff these out of the way somewhere. Still, though, it's a pretty nifty arrangement, and I like mine a lot.
I use DJ binders. They are large binders that hold around 200 CD's at a time, originally intended for use by DJ's at clubs and such.
Here's an example:
http://www.targus.com/cases_media_104_208.asp
CD's are stored 4 to a page, and pages are double-sided. CD's are stored in plastic sleeves, and the plastic is flexible enough to allow the liner notes to be placed behind the CD when stored. Putting liner notes behind the CD also marks the proper location to put back the CD when you are done using it.
When filled, each binder is around 3" thick. It fits in a standard shelf, and its height is roughly that of standard paper in the US (11"). The only disadvantage is that the binder is rather wide, and can require a deep shelf to store without risk of toppling out.
The plastic cases for CD's are then thrown away. I keep interesting ones that would be hard to replace if ever needed (imports, etc.) and use them as generic cases for CD's I frequently use, keeping them outside of the binder.
The result? Around 40GB of music on the hard drive, and all CD's safely tucked away in binders!
Dr. Demento On The 'Net!
They are tabbed plastic dividers for organizing your CDs.
DiscDividers tabbed plastic CD dividers: divider cards f
(Preview, preview, preview!)
I've ordered a few things from Buy.com (no, I'm not trying to endorse them) and the boxes they ship most of their small stuff in (Software, CD/DVDs, etc) is perfect for two rows of CD Jewel cases (I'm sure you can get those boxes elsewhere). They'll hold about 50 cases each (more if you use slim packs) and I stack them 3 high. Build/buy yourself some cheap shelving and label the boxes. It might take up more space than you're looking for but it's fast and flexible; and protects the CDs decently.
Now I've only got 500 or so CDs, which is about 8 boxes + a few on my desk (you get more than 50/box when you use slim cases/double stuffing), and it works great. My audio CDs are all ripped to mp3, so I store the orignals out of the way in my closet, and the computer CDs I use are on the floor behind my computer (cardboard's a decent insulator). Then again, there is nothing that I have that would be devastating if I lost, so this isn't for everyone, but I would like to mention that I haven't lost anything yet. Uh, not that I know of....
Kurdt
I'm not anti-social. Just pro-technology.
CD's... pah...
Use any other brand.
It's by no means economical, but I found the best solution for my fairly large collection (well over 1000 discs) was CaseLogic 200 cd folders. They aren't THAT expensive, fit well on a bookcase, and if you're the obsessive compulsive type, you can sort them alphabetically for easy access. For all those junk cds I access once in a million years, I throw on a spindle.
I know all too well also the problem of countless CD-R's. That's why I don't have that problem. I keep stuff on my hardrives. With RAID0+1, I am not that worried about data loss. And these days, the price ain't that bad either.
:D
I hate the fact that no matter how genious catalogue system you have, you can not do a search on it, well you can if the catalogue is updated often and so on, but after the search, you still need to find the damn disc. All the files on hard-drive, just click on the search result, voilá.
And then the is the clutter of course. I do have maybe a few dozen CD's on my desk, but those are either obsolete or not important anymore. They are art decor
-Is the meaning of life vanity, or is vanity the meaning of life?
At home I have my 4,500+ audio CD collection mounted individually to the wall and sorted by color (i.e. all the disks with predominantly red disk art start on the left, then fade to the orange, then fade to the yellow, and so on...) It's a bit labor intensive to set up the first time (4,500 push pins) but the effect is incredible and it's actually pretty handy. Instead of hunting through all my disks to find, say Massive Attack, I remember that it's the bright orange disk, walk up to my wall and grab it off. Plus it's neat looking and keeps my CDs off the ground and close at hand.
I have a micro version of that at work except the shiny side is pointing out because most CD-Rs typically dont have disk art... And when the sun starts setting and hits my cubicle wall it looks like someone's got a disco ball going on.
Be careful! Bears shouldn't consume large furry dogs.
The shoe store suggestion above is by far the best for me.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item =2531766562&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOAB:US:6
I keep my cds and books, etc, on my bookshelf with numbers corresponding the id on the database tracking program I use (mediachest.com).
My DVD and Game Collection Tracking L
With 2600 audio CDs and a growing but comparatively small (under 100) DVD collection, I just started buying Boltz racks. Sheet steel, assemble yourself, really easy. The CD racks hold 55 CDs per shelf, have 11 shelves in a 5'8" high unit for 605 total. The expansion racks are simply a rack without one side, and bolt through the side of what you've already got. Different finishes, matte black industrial or satin finish for that cyber/Gattaca look. Their TV/component stands are heavy enough gauge steel to be bulletproof, at least to standard pistol ammunition (haven't tested it with .308 armor piercing, but they should stop most standard pistol ammunition). Shipping's free as i recall, at least in continental US.
One big advantage of these racks is since they're sheet steel with holes, and narrow dowels, that half-full racks don't look like the monolith from 2001 - you can see through them. Their open design also helps with airflow in the room, even when loaded with CDs.
(just a customer, don't get anything for endorsing, etc. etc.)
Here's how I do it:
* Standard 3-ring binders (label them according to how you would like to sort your CD's.. by function, alpha-numeric, or both).
* Case Logic Album pages.
- 8 cd's per page (double sided)
Here's the link: Case Logic Album pages.
I think the price is reasonable, and keeps them very accessible, uses little space.
Daniel
I keep mine in a tall pile. Thousands of CDs and they only take about 6 square inches of floor space. Kinda like a really tall spindle without the center "pole" (which is for pussies).
Stupid people make stupid things profitable.
"I have found a slight problem with moving software CDs from their cases though. The products that have License Keys put the key on the case, not in the booklet, so I have to keep the case, and copy the license key. :-("
Do what I do. If you have a label machine (the one's with a keypad) then you can print out the key and stick it to the CD (make certain you copy it accurately). Never lose it, and it makes it easier to sell the disk because you didn't lose the key.
I store lots of mine in 128 CD (4 on a page) and 64 cd (2 on a page) soft wallets. The ones i use often get stacked on CDR spindles or free-standing in a handy spot
If you can't see the value in jet powered ants you should turn in your nerd card. - Dunbal (464142)
I recently bought a bunch of single cd envelopes from Office Max ... really cheap. Under ten bucks for 200 if I remember correctly. Then I got some cd size metal boxes from Crate and Barrel.
I stuck all my cds in the sleeves / boxes with the liner notes, tossed the jewel cases, alphebetized them, and the cases are now in the closet. Took about an afternoon, and the space savings is tremendous. I've found I have not pulled out a single CD since, so the initial thought of having my alphebetizing screwed up within a month was unfounded.
Needless to say, all CDs are converted into MP3 form on the computer. I strongly suggest ridding yourself the extra baggage of jewel cases. It's been nothing but a success for me and I find I don't miss them one bit.
How do people store them so that you can find CD and manual together and in somewhat short order? For the Manuals that are just Jewel Case inserts, again, that's easy. What about the larger (and oh-so-often different sized) manuals?
Anybody got any clever ideas?
I had one of those and found it to be not very practical. It takes a lot of bookkeeping to figure out which disc is where, and you still end up having boxes full of now empty jewel cases. I think you are better off keeping your CDs and DVDs on a shelf than to put them into a box like that.
If you are going to go with a jukebox, as some people are recommending, consider getting one that interfaces with your computer. That way, you don't have to manually catalog everything that's on it. A company by the name of PowerFile makes them, and there seem to be BSD drivers for it (I'd guess they either have been ported to Linux or would be easy to port).
I bought 3 baby toys... the little wooden posts and colored wooden stackign rings. Tossed the rings, stacked all my CDs on the posts.
No, they're not at all organized. I don't need them to be. 98% of my CDs are programs or archives I've burned or something else that I need to keep, but rarely if ever use. The once every month I need one of them, it's not that big a deal to shuffle through the stack. It certainly takes less time to do that then it would to label and file and catalog and remember to replace everything.
The 5 or so CD's I use regularly are always at the top of the stack, so I have no problem finding them. It's not organized, but it is effecient.
Te
I am NOT a man!
I am a free number!
Depending on what you are storing, they are a few ways that I have discovered how to store CDs & DVDs.
The first thing I did is moved the discs from the old school music CD cases & put them into the newer slender plastic cases. I guess you could use the envelope type cases, but I never cared for them. That will reduce the size buy about 60%. However, I keep my music CDs in the original plastic cases because it keeps the booklet & liner notes together.
The next step is the bulk storage of the CDs. I would recommend a MC3D from www.can-an.ca. Just make sure you don't type it in using a dot com, as that is a gay porn site. The MC3D will hold 810 CDs or 360 DVD in the standard cases. They are a bit on the expensive side. One MC3D will set you back around $400 plus shipping. I have one for DVD/ VCR tapes & one for music CDs. They are both getting full & I will purchase 2 more.
However, if you break it down buy storage cost per CD, it works out to about just under $0.50US per music CD & $1.11US per DVD. That is a cost that is hard to beat unless you compare it to shoeboxes under your bed.
All in all I would have to say I am very happy with mine. Very space efficient, attractive, cost effective, stackable, & modular.
Good luck on your search.
In boxes under my bed. In my desk drawers. On my desk. On my computer. In the bookshelf. Etc. etc...
The spindle approach is great for holding cd's but sucks to get them on and off if they're in the middle of the spindle in a stack. Take resonably stiff wire that is coated (non-scratching) make a loop at the bottom. A U -Shape with the bottom of the U pulled up into a curve. Then attach the top ends of the U around the spindle. Instant hanging storage that doesn't scratch but provides all the spindle benefits. (Simplier approach would be to just thread the wire through the central hole and tie around the spindle). Could use very thin D rings to attach the wire to the spindle for those who can't imagine connecting the wires.
Take cardboard from all the UPS deliveries, internet orders and build CD cabinets using wood glue and staple gun. Once you get it down, takes a couple hours. Mine are about 21*21 inches and hold about 200 jewel cases. Probably $5 each, using the wood glue. Also, it would be fairly easy to take a larger piece of cardboard and make a lid for the box making it portable for when you have to move.
I tend to buy the spindles, but still had some of those 10-pack jewel case retail CD-R cardboard boxes lying around, I think they are getting harder to find now, but I just use those and put data CD's into high-quality sleeves and then pack the little cardboard boxes into another box.
I've found this method to be quite good, if you can get enough of the old 5 1/4 floppies. Just slice off a liver on one edge, punch holes with paper punch and string them together like a book. You need shoelace thick braid. Keeps them safe from scratches, too.
Another method which worked for me was to simply put them in the hard plastic carrying cases of these floppies. Of course you may not get them now, but I picked up a large number at a flea market. Guy was good enough to tell me the floppies were junk and dont work.
1400 automatically retrievable CD's for $1000.
Hey, you forgot the link for "too much coffee, man," too.
Good times.
I own over 2,000 music CDs, and to store them all, I use these metal media drawers shipped from Canada: http://www.can-am.ca/ ...yes, they are pricey, but they are huge space savers and great for organization. They are built like no other product, are stackable, and come in many colors. If you have the cash (or credit!), I can recommend no other media storage product.
When the issue of space arises, I can only think of one solution. I heard about these new DVDs that are limited time viewing and after they are no longer useable, you can recycle them.