Pizza

I did the binder thing for awhile and did love how compact my collection got. Then I noticed that the flippers were getting a little scuffed because one of the two sides was being exposed to the opposite page. So, I switched my game plan. I now use the Bennos CD/DVD towers from Ikea and moved the discs into slim CD jewel cases. The nice thing about the Bennos is they're narrow and I can line up as many or few as I need to fill a spare wall or a little empty corner. I also picked up plastic CD dividers and had them cut in half to use to seperate the TV shows. At first, it did feel odd getting rid of the DVD cases but I'm glad I did.

xage

My Kind of Thread

I used to put a towel underneath my Old DVD Cabinet for the dust to cling to it



Classic weird OCD sample

snausages

Does that work xage? I would love a way to get rid of dust. Makes cleaning a nightmare.

Travis McClain

Our library only has a modest 813 titles, so it doesn't take long to scan through them while browsing. Even with everything alphabetized together, it's still easy to skip specific portions if needed. For instance, all the Batman titles are together (except The Dark Knight) on two shelves. We have another two shelves full of just Star Trek, and a shelf above those is 95% just Sopranos. You get the idea.

Half Price Books is organized within the specific store. We have two locations in Louisville, and each is set up differently. The store I prefer has all their DVDs on shelves along one wall in the front of the store. On the far left is a unit with new arrivals and Blu-rays, and some featured overstock purchases of theirs. Then come Dramas, followed by Action, then Comedy, Sci-Fi, Westerns, Horror, Documentaries, TV shows and Music Performances. Titles are alphabetized within each section. I've mentioned it elsewhere, but this specific store sorts performance videos by the name of the performer. For instance, if you were looking for Craig Ferguson's stand-up special A Wee Bit o' Revolution, it would be in the Comedy section under "F" for Ferguson. Odd, I know, but that's how they do it.

xage

It does protect but I rather suggest with glass protection for the cabinet.

Trevor

I'm the same way much of the time.

However, I really struggle with the idea of organizing by genre. I've done it by genre once or twice, but always quickly move things around again. too many things are of questionable or mixed genres. I think I'd be fine with it with a smaller collection even something in the 1,000 range, but with several thousand films, there were literally hundreds of titles that could be filed in multiple genre sections.

I still think about separating just my horror films. They are a little easier to remember as horror, are my favorite genre, and it would make the October Challenge easier. But then I have to decide whether to include thriller and suspense films, etc etc

If I won the lottery, I'd just buy multiple copies of films with multiple genres. It actually wouldn't surprise me if someone here already did file that way....

bi0hzrd51

I been trying to figure out the best way for me to organize my collection.. Out of the ones that use a spreadsheet how do you go about it.. Just list the titles in order or genre? This is what I'm leaning to but have no idea how to set it up.. I start then get discouraged cause I don't like the way it looks. Would anyone be willing to hand out an excel template. Thanks

mike07

Trevor, I've been in that situation before. It's a pain when your looking at Ghostbusters 1&2 [for example] and trying to decide whether it should go in the Horror or Comedy genre. Regardless, it's your collection, you will most likely be the only one looking at it so make your best judgment. Of course a detailed list on Excel stating the genres helps greatly. Right now, I'm debating whether to categorize my collection or keep it the way it is (Alphabetized with the exception of a "War" section).

mike07

I usually redo my spreadsheet every other month because I don't like the way it looks, but lately I've made it so it includes the Title, Genre, Director(s), Cast (only the leading actor/actress at the moment), and the Year the movie (not the DVD) was released. It takes a long time to complete by hand when you have over 1700 movies though.

Trevor

Personally, I would prefer to have my own spreadsheet hosted on google docs, but I'm much too lazy given the size of my collection/habit and how much I like to track. I was spoiled by DVDspot, and loved being able to sort my collection by year, genre, actor, director, rating, etc. To input all of that myself would take three months of 24/7 work and then several hours a week to keep up.

So I'll be using software. A couple of free ones out there if you want to try them out bio.

Lots of good examples of do-it-yourself spreadsheets in some of the many collection software threads, I'll try to find some, and/or link those threads here when I get time.

Travis McClain

I have a Google Docs spreadsheet for our Blu-ray library (link in signature). There are a few fields that I've hidden, such as the price I paid. (It's information I want to track, but not something I think needs to circulate.)

Travis McClain

What do you do with paper inserts that were shrink wrapped to the outside of the case and are too big to fit inside of it? For instance, the sheet of paper Warner included on the back of the Batman Blu-ray Digibook. It lists the content and is the only place that has the UPC code. It's the same dimensions as the digibook, so if you tuck it inside, it sticks out. Not a major problem, except then part of it hangs out and is vulnerable to shelf wear.

Trevor

I often fold those type of things in half and place them in the case.

JJE-187

I have alot of my DVDs in custom collections and stuff with a recurring cover series for easier storing

Trevor

I keep thinking that I'll get into the custom casing thing at some point.

One thing that holds me back is thinking that the packaging is part of the total, er, package. I enjoy thumbing through my collection, admiring the variety in packaging and reading the information on the back covers. Usually, when I watch something, I also read everything on and inside the packaging before or after the disc(s).

If I could get beyond that feeling, I'd be more open to binders and spindles and save a ton of space!

bse

I made some progress last night, I got a shelf for blu-rays (blue of course) from Ikea and set that up and a shelf for my Criterions and set that up. I've decided to shelf my Criterion DVDs and Blu-Rays together, not sure how long that will last though.

Now to tackle the stacks upon stacks of DVDs in the living room, bedroom, closets, etc. The problem is the mailman keeps bringing me more damn DVDs.

To each their own of course, but I could never store my DVDs in binders, part of the joy of owning such a vast library is displaying them, even though it has become more of a burden as of late, but when i'm completed with the re-organizing and shelving project and can get to a point where I can file DVDs as I get them, it will be all worth it.

Speaking of all of this, where is DKEDVD? strange he has been missing from such threads as this.

JJE-187

I don't use binders, I just use custom covers for alot of stuff. I have almost all my horror in a matching horror collection, i have a comic book collection and a few actors/directors have there own spot. What helped me was going to ThinPAK

Pizza

Knowing the horror buff that your are (me too!) I'm surprised that it is a debate. I would think you would want them grouped together for ease of browsing. I have a section just for horror. I don't include thrillers or suspense films in this section, but it should be what feels right for you. I don't sweat over films that cross genres, I just decide what the film feels like to me. It's my collection, my rules. Plus, it's a lot easier to find stuff when I'm making all the decisions.

I once debated putting things in alphabetical order, but I enjoy looking through the genres too much.

I've been using collectorz for my database and loved but I haven't been crazy about the changes recently made to it. You used to be able to go to different websites and download info and picts. Now, you can only go through their own site. I also get the impression that they want you/customers to add to this database and, if true, I'm thinking why exactly did I pay for this software if I have to work for it too? I didn't join a community or company, I bought software to help me do a task. Again, my own opinion, I'm sure many love the changes.

I also switched to MAC from PC and moving the info didn't go smoothly and I had to do a lot of editing on the database to get it to work correctly. So, I'm thinking of doing my own spreadsheet. I would love to hear suggestions and if there's a way to tranfer my current data into it.

BSTNFAN

I completely separate by genre, but it's mostly for WAF reasons. My wife is NOT a fan of anything horror or sex related with our young boys in the house (5&7). Those genres are in the basement (alpha by genre) and the TV series, rom-coms, kids flix, comedies, etc. get to stay in the family room. I don't fight it much as I don't have any more space in the FR anyhow.

Manzana

Third reason (and main one for me): most of the old stuff that I upgrade is worth almost nothing to most other people (and especially to stores like FYE). I gave up selling on eBay years ago... even then at best I'd get $5 net. The only stuff I ever took the time to sell there were OOP items worth $20+ (and I don't have any more of those).

2+ years ago I could usually get $3+ (and more for credit) at FYE. Last year somebody gave me a couple dozen DVDs that I didn't want or already had... including mainstream titles people would recognize. FYE wouldn't take most of them and those few they would take were mostly $1 each. Plus each time I check they get mad when I just check prices and don't sell them anything for almost nothing. They like to tell me that if I don't intend to trade them in they don't want to waste their time checking prices. I tell them I can't promise to trade anything in until I know the price first. They always make me wait a long time and do it very begrudgingly which is why I haven't bothered trading in anything there since then.

So I don't get rid of my old stuff because the amount of money recovered isn't worth the time/hassle. If all of the special features aren't carried over, that's another reason to hang onto the DVD, though I rarely watch the special features.

BD players are going to be cheap enough that in a few years you should be able to play them most places (worth visiting) on the planet. I have 3 BD players which cost me $60, $70, and $90 each.

Manzana

I alphabetize everything too. People have different perceptions of genres and it's much easier to go by title. Also visitors HATE reading through printout lists, there's no way I'm going to print out a huge list every time it changes to keep it up-to-date, and I don't like people sitting at my computer using my spreadsheet (too easy to accidentally change something). So everything's alphabetical in 4 sections: DVD, TV series, BD, and HD-DVD. I don't mix BD and HD-DVD with DVD because it wastes space. Your shelves can be closer together vertically if just doing BD/HD-DVD.

I will never use binders because they are difficult to search and they will be in chronological order then, plus I have some fear of the chemicals in the binder plastic holders outgassing and harming the discs. I don't like slim cases because the old artwork has to be trimmed. So I'm stuck with normal cases. Right now I've got to find more DVD and BD cases. Too bad I don't know any binder users who would unload a box of DVD and BD cases on me. :-)

Travis McClain

I trade in my stuff at Half Price Books. The payout isn't spectacular, but there are two things that make it worthwhile to me. Firstly, I can just about always find enough stuff on clearance that no matter what they pay me, I'm replacing the old stuff with new stuff. Sometimes it's music, sometimes movies, other times it's books; whatever the medium, though, it's new to my library and paid for by whittling away at excess.

Secondly, I love HPB. I figure even if they don't pay me much for my stuff, hopefully someone else is looking for it and will be excited when they find it there. That person, I'm hoping, will then trade in their unwanted stuff for me to find inexpensively later. It's becoming apparent that Walmart, Target and Best Buy are going to be the only places to buy DVDs and Blu-rays in my community, and HPB is the only place I can find a lot of OOP or catalog titles. If I want to continue finding interesting stuff circulating stuff, I figure I need to contribute to the stream, too.

Manzana

There is something to be said for going by genre because family frequently says "let's watch action" or "horror". I suggested Monster, and then was asked what else do you have about murder mysteries... I thought of Zodiac, but after that I couldn't come up with any other titles. If someone says a title, I can describe enough of the plot (usually). Nevertheless, I still want my collection alphabetized. I don't suppose there's any sort of Internet site that if you type in Zodiac can list off other similar genre titles?

And when people look at my movies, they always ask me "what's good?" and I say that depends on your tastes. Being alphabetical, my great movies are mixed in with the mediocre ones I bought because they were so cheap I couldn't refuse (thank you Big Lots with 20% off coupon or those old BF FYE deals).

Manzana

My spreadsheet is my primary data source. The shelves are for family and visitors who don't have access to my spreadsheet (not because I don't trust them to see my data but because I don't trust them not to mess my data up because they choose to be computer illiterate).

I love Excel and it's my favorite and most used program. I decided long ago to enter all fields that I could consider relevant, then I can later move columns and sort however I want. If you know how to write VB code for Excel (as I do) you could do other fancy things.

I won't give a template, but I'll tell you the columns I have. Amazingly, I never bothered to put a genre, director, or primary actor(s) columns. If I had time someday I might. Instead I spend my time posting long messages on DVD Talk like a loco weed.

Anyway, a person could have columns such as these: title, format (DVD/BD/HD and SL/DL), running time, subtitles (if you care as I do), state (opened/sealed), studio/catalog label #, UPC, # of discs inside, price paid (and tax), date purchased, vendor, condition (new/used), large comment field (for misc. things), and last watched date. And now for the TRUE OCD columns... best price I've later seen it for, from what vendor, and when with a difference column showing how much I've "lost". Then the grand total of this lost column is shown as a percentage against my grand total purchases and amazingly that percentage stays pretty constant. It slowly gets better because I'm so cheap at buying stuff now, but in the early days of DVD I was a true fool. $10 BDs and $5 DVDs don't even tempt me any more (unless they are brand new releases). As silly as it seems, there is a psychological method to my madness: seeing that total "lost" figure and the associated lost percentage every time I open my spreadsheet is very effective in keeping me very strict on my price limits, has taught me to wait to buy, and that has helped reduce my collecting dramatically. Again, I thank Big Lots, Walmart dump bins, and BF sales for teaching me not to spend too much. Now if only I had time to watch what I have.

Manzana

That reminds me... I only have 2 organizing dilemmas with my alphabetizing method: (1) when I buy a multi movie pack (like The Oliver Stone collection for $10) and (2) when I have a wide set (like the IMAX Ultimate Collection or a wide TV season) that doesn't fit in an existing shelf space forcing me to put things slightly out of order so as not to waste a bunch of space.

So I was wrong when I said I have 4 sections... I have a 5th catch all shelf for the stuff that contains multiple movies or doesn't fit. Unfortunately that shelf is now full.