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?"

Comments

storage? we don't need no stinkin storage

[gnudutch]

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.

Re:storage? we don't need no stinkin storage

[Craig Maloney]

Actually the toothpaste works like a micro-fine sandpaper, so it doesn't fill the cracks (unless you have some rather honking scratches in your CDs), it just smooths over the crack and the surrounding area.

IF you're storing SVCDs, DVDs and the like

[The_Laughing_God]

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.

Lateral file with Case Logic CD Pages

[tm2b]

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.

Re:Lateral file with Case Logic CD Pages

[tm2b]

Oh, something I forgot to add.

A critical piece to this working is that I cut several pieces of MDF to act as seperators in the lateral file cabinet.

Without them, once you have more than 20-30 pages, the pages all tend to slump over and slide beneath each other. The MDF seperators keep them in line and firmly packed, they work like a charm.

Keep CDs dry.

[Futurepower(R)]

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.

Re:Keep CDs dry.

[Pall Agamemnides]

Concerning silica gel, you might want to try looking for it at "arts and crafts"-type stores, it's apparently used for drying flowers.

Re:Keep CDs dry.

[SyFryer]

I wanted some of those little sachets of silica, I ended up going to the local shoe shop and asking.

Seems they have quite a lot of them, probably from the shoeboxes that contained the footwear on display.

Watch out for that paper

[CtrlPhreak]

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

Re:Watch out for that paper

[adolf]

Acid? From paper? Attacking polycarbonate (see also: "safety glasses") discs? Hilarious.

Here's what really happened:

Surface of CD rests against abrasive paper. They rub together a little bit in transit. When this happens, the paper roughens areas on the CD, like fine sandpaper. No chemistry needed.

Next time, try tyvek sleeves. They cost insignificantly more money, resist tearing extremely well, and don't have such abrasive qualities as paper sleeves.

Meanwhile, you can restore playability to your CDs. Try automotive carnuba wax, Brasso, or peanut butter - whichever you happen to have handy.

Re:Watch out for that paper

[fm6]

The acid issue with paper comes from compounds in the paper forming acid when the paper is stored for a long period of time -- like decades. This is more of a problem for a book on shelf than a loose piece of paper, because a tightly close book doesn't allow the acid to disperse in the air. Possibly old comic books degrade faster because they were made with pulp paper, which isn't as strong. Come to think of it, the common practice of keeping collectible comic books in plastic sleeves would accelerate this process. More here.

In order for a paper covering to generate enough acid to damage anything, you'd have to keep your CDs tightly stacked for months, maybe years. And even then, damage to the paper would be noticable long before damage to the CDs.

3-ring binder...

[Ayanami Rei]

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!

Re:Great Question

[arb]

You mean something like this?

Not so good...

[BrokenHalo]

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.

How about...

[belbo]

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.

Re:Face down on my desk.

[KDan]

Watch out with the spindles/stacking. I've found that CDs on a spindle or just stacked will get scratched real bad real quick... That's how I've destroyed my RH8 CDs, for instance - just by leaving them stacked up inside a CD pouch or next to my monitor.

Daniel

Re:cataloging...

[mungeh]

Yes: Advanced Disk Catalog
I've found other tools but this one is the best i've came accross. find it at http://www.elcomsoft.com/

Re:papercdcase! - the link

[peteshaw]

sorry, I meant papercdcase. Too much coffee, man!

Here are some places to buy silica gel

[vaxer]

http://www.preservesmart.com/products.htm

http://www.jakesmp.com/CSD_Silica_Gel/CSD_Silica _0 01_M.html

DiscSox

[Gudlyf]

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.

Re:cataloging...

[hexidec]

Try Offline CD Browser if you've got a Window$ box. It's free and easy.

http://hem.spray.se/anders.peterson/ocdb.html

Upside down is wrong, people

[slaker]

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.

PC CD Tower... Sort of.

[angry_beaver]

I came across these recently. I had never seent hem before, they're interesting.
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/SearchTool s/item-details.asp?sku=K26-2800%20P
This one does 100 CD's http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTool s/item-details.asp?sku=B600-2000%20P
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. :)

Re:cataloging...

[cowbutt]

$ cat /usr/local/doc/cdcontents/cmdline
cd /mnt/cdrom ; find * -printf "%s\t %AH:%AM:%AS %Ac %p\n" | gzip -9 >/usr/local/doc/cdcontents/cdnnn.txt.gz ; cd /usr/local/doc/cdcontents/ ; umount /mnt/cdrom ; eject

Then scribble nnn on the CD's hub, and maybe a few of the more salient contents if I'm feeling enthusiastic.

I then zgrep /usr/local/doc/cdcontents/* for when I'm looking for files. I use descriptive paths and filenames.

--

DJ binders

[Krellan]

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!