MASSIVE Computer Undertaking ...

[Protege5Gurly]

$3k for 2 terabyte already done I guess isnt too bad ... but I figure with the right parts and know-how you could do 5 terabyte for $3k?

Pe@ce

 

[peepsalot]

It's not really 2 terabytes if you do RAID 5, you only get 66% percent of the total space, so 1.3TB. I would recommend you do RAID 5, hard drives do fail, and the more you are using, the higher your chances of failure are. RAID 5 is a safety precaution which allows you to recover your data in the event of any one of those drives failing.

 

[fkmp5]

that's ludicrous.. i would suggest a dvd changer.. you can get for example a Sony 400 Disc Progressive Scan DVD Changer and load them all in. It will automatically read the DVD Text on the discs that support it, and if not, you can hook a keyboard up to type in the movie name. Then just keep yourself a spreadsheet or catalog of which disc is what movie, for quick access to your favorite title.

Also, the Sony's usually support linking them together, so you can have two of them hooked up together, and the system will see it as a 800 disc changer. (This isn't a big deal for your movies, but if you had 800 music CDs, you could put it on random and it pull and crossfade songs from all 800 discs).

here is one on crutchfield:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-gSLMhXvb3WP/cgi-bin/prodview.asp?i=158DVPX985
notice the PS/2 keyboard port on the front left corner..

ps: i should warn of the weight of those suckers once you have them fully loaded.. also, make plenty of attic room to store all those empty cases!

 

[theice]

ever heard of renting? j/k

that's a fuckload of movies. Are you married to Ebert?

I would think most of the mega-dvd changers would be Progressive Scan now anyways, not to mention 1/10th the cost of your server setup or whatever, so I don't see the logic.
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-AYm9saRxBg0/cgi-bin/prodview.asp?i=158DVPX985

good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[toucci]

fkmp5's solution sounds much better, really. I want one now!

 

[yashooa]

ever heard of renting? j/k

that's a fuckload of movies. Are you married to Ebert?

I would think most of the mega-dvd changers would be Progressive Scan now anyways, not to mention 1/10th the cost of your server setup or whatever, so I don't see the logic.
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-AYm9saRxBg0/cgi-bin/prodview.asp?i=158DVPX985

good luck with whatever you decide.

Ding,Ding,Ding! We have a winner!
Something like this would be great and cut out all of the hassle.

 

[jersey_emt]

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-hy0qXz5RzzR/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=54400&I=158DVPX777

Sony ES > Sony

 

[mp5racing21]

I think the server idea is cool, even though its a LOT more money, I would do it if I had that many dvds and the money.
But I second the Sony DVD changer idea. I've messed around with one at work and they seem to work pretty well. The changer will read and identify all of the dvds. You can program the dvds by categories, action,drama,etc. and easily search through the discs by either remote or keyboard(you can attach one to store and recall). Everything is on-screen and since most DVDs support jacket pics, you can see the dvd covers as you're searching for the DVD. Definatly a more economical way to store the discs.

 

[chuyler1]

No offense but owning 500+ DVDs is poor money management if you ask me. I watch alot of movies but there are only a select few, less than 50, that I would watch over and over again to the point I would want my own copy.

For the price of $15/month I can rent unlimited DVDs and videos from Hollywood Video. There are other services available at similar prices. My fiance and I have been doing this for over a year. We rent on average, 3 each week which would be about 150/year. Had we bought all those DVDs it would cost us $2250/year. Granted some of the movies we would never pay to watch but you get the idea.

Your collection is worth about $7500 if you estimate the average cost being $15. Many DVDs are much more though so why do you feel the need to own all these?

 

[hazeXban]

People spend money on what they want. I wouldn't thread jack to give her financial advice, but that's just me.

I don't see anywhere that says those DVD Changers can connect to each other, am I missing something?

 

[Protege5Gurly]

See last time I looked at changers they all SUCKED ... these new ones ... http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&kw=SODVPCX995V&is=REG&Q=&O=productlist&sku=367866

seem DAMN good for the $

Pe@ce

 

[Protege5Gurly]

The ES unit is nice but for 800 for that I can get 2 (almost 3) of the non ES units .. and the features arent that significant to justify the price jump

Pe@ce

 

[Protege5Gurly]

No offense but owning 500+ DVDs is poor money management if you ask me. I watch alot of movies but there are only a select few, less than 50, that I would watch over and over again to the point I would want my own copy.

Soo is spending money to hook up a car ... trust me ... but spending maybe 30-50/week (usually less) isnt that bad ... they just add up quick. And Blockbuster is great when its Buy 3 for $20


And its nice when u have people over or r just board to stand in from of "the wall" and just look over what u have to watch and find some random movie and watch it for the hell of it.

Pe@ce

 

[tiwing]

ya I like the new ones too. didn't cross my mind b/c last time I looked they were not for me... maybe now...

 

[Protege5Gurly]

Yea they got better VERY quickly ... last ones were comparable to the $20 walmart specials lol

I just wish you could link them together but eh what can ya do - i have one of those multi function programmable remotes so I can program them all in anyway

Pe@ce

 

[LinuxRacr]

Well another option would be to just put all that stuff in storage, and get a spool, or some binders?

 

[pluto316]

I already have a file sever / TV computer, and ripping DVDs to it is a stupid idea. Just put the DVDs in the drive when you want to watch them.

 

[Protege5Gurly]

Its not the swapping of them ... its the ammt of space they take up on the wall. And I HATE the idea of using those huge CD binder things.

It looks like my next purchase will be 2 of those Sony changers (the newer model that came out in May).

Pe@ce

 

[girth]

Kenwood also makes a lot of 400 disc changers. The Kenwood Sovereign DV-5900M I know for sure supports linking up to 3 of them together for a total of 1200 discs basically integrated into 1. That is obviously your most cost effective solution...but yeah an actual DVD server would be far cooler. I plan on building a DVD server myself once 500 GB hard drives become more available and affordable. Also, for cost reasons, you'd be foolish to do RAID 5 on a DVD server. Non of the data on there is critical obviously and it severely limits you for space -- you'd get a TON more storage space without RAID and if a drive would happen to die, you'd only have to re-rip the movies that were on that drive.