Question about backing up collection
 

No forum seemed to quite fit this question but with all the people and their huge collections people must back up their DVDs. I have 700+ dvds and tons of $$$ tied up in my collection and I am allways worried about something happening to it ie fire, flood, dog eating them, or theft since dvds are a big target. I thought about buying a seperate homeowners rider to cover it but that would be expensive and I would have to pay for that each year. What I wanted to do was copy my collection to DVD on my computer but I am overwhelmed by my choices. I googled and the amount of info is amazing. I wondered what people use here.

I have a 16X dual layer external writer and wanted a program to quickly copy in the least amount of steps since this will take several months to do (assuming I do 2 or 3 a night)
Any ideas? BTW I included a link to my dvd collection to show that I am not just looking to steal as I am aware that this goes on.

http://www.dvdaficionado.com/dvds.html?id=kklems

Well, DVD Talk is very hesitant to talk about this. I'd suggest www.videohelp.com where they are much more understanding and realistic. Also, they have every tool imaginable to do what you're talking about. Insurance-wise, it's not too expensive. I pay about $6 a month for $40,000 of insurance, which covers my DVDs and other stuff. Of course, insurance can't replace OOP titles and will merely give you face value, so that's an issue.

Thanks for the info. Looking at the links and the beginner section helps. Still gonna take a longggggg time to do. I have homeowners insurance but didnt want to use that to replace dvds since my family can survive without that vs replacing furniture, clothing etc. I figured that it would cost about $100 a year to ensure my collection but haven't got around to doing that.

First, you need to talk to your insurance agent. You shouldn't need a separate rider. Maybe just bump up the amount of coverage of your homeowner's policy.

Second, if your house burns down or is destroyed in a flood/tornado/whatever, chances are both your original and "backup" DVDs will be destroyed, unless you keep one set offsite. I doubt you're going to go to those lengths, and if you do, you worry too much.

Third, any "backups" you make will be of inferior quality unless you use dual-layered discs. Most commercial DVDs are DVD-9s, which hold twice the amount of data as conventional single-layer DVD-Rs. You can use dual-layer DVD-R, but the blanks are expensive enough that you'd be better off spending the money on a better insurance policy.

In other words, I'm not a big fan of backing up a DVD collection as a substitute for a decent homeowner's policy.

I was gonna post something similar, but Mr. Salty beat me to it. Just tell your insurance agent the total amount of 'contents coverage' you want for all your possessions and that amount should also cover DVDs (make sure you verify this), I know my policy does. Usually a separate 'rider' is needed for things like jewelry valued at over a certain amount, but not DVDs.

A few years ago, my apartment was burglarize, and one hundred of my DVDs were stolen. My renter's insurance company covered the complete retail value of each DVD, and of coarse, I was required to pay the five hundred dollar deductible. Take immediate action to what Al Tahoe has advisory stated above.

DVD Polizei,

I want you to read this thread and think about what "providing help" means.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=401647

There will be no further warnings about this. Mr. Salty would be wise to try to understand it as well.