6 ms·

I’ve gone a similar route, partly because I want to own the content and partly because of availability. There are 20/30/40-year-old shows and movies that I enjo

I’ve gone a similar route, partly because I want to own the content and partly because of availability. There are 20/30/40-year-old shows and movies that I enjoy, and few of them are on any streaming service. Those that are often have periods of unavailability due to licensing contracts expiring. I’m currently operating on an 8 TB archive, of which I have two copies. One is installed in a desktop computer, and the other is in a single drive Synology. I take the Synology when traveling with our RV.

JonathonW 7y ago
Have you found a good way to streamline bringing content into your archive after purchase? I've tried to start archiving my collection of movies/TV on physical discs, but have never managed to get very far because the whole process of ripping/transcoding Blu-rays is a PITA and takes forever (ignoring the legal issues with Blu-ray and DVD ripping, as well).
- joshmn 7y ago
  After purchase I usually just download a "backup" of the content.
  - berbec 7y ago
    Sadly, this is generally faster, better quality and easier. Getting the right encoding settings, audio formats, video codecs etc is a surprisingly complicated dance. I've often downloaded a bluray I bought just because I know the release groups will get the job done better than I can.
    - Causality1 7y ago
      Same with games, especially if they require some third party crap like Uplay.
- rbritton 7y ago
  Basically what the sibling reply said. Getting a digital copy is way, way easier than trying to get an archive copy from a disc you have, unfortunately.
- osamagirl69 7y ago
  I have had very good luck using mkmkv. It runs under linux/mac/windows and has a very no fuss interface that generates a un-encrypted but otherwise bit-for-bit accurate copy of dvd/blueray disks. Nominally it costs $50 but a free 'beta' key is posted on the forums once a month that allows it to be used for free indefinitely.
- agildehaus 7y ago
  The files themselves are sitting there on the disc, you don't need to re-encode them. Just rip. The downside is it takes more space :)
- Causality1 7y ago
  Frankly after I buy something I just go to the local McDonald's and torrent a copy over their wifi while enjoying a cheeseburger.

JonathonW 7y ago

Have you found a good way to streamline bringing content into your archive after purchase? I've tried to start archiving my collection of movies/TV on physical discs, but have never managed to get very far because the whole process of ripping/transcoding Blu-rays is a PITA and takes forever (ignoring the legal issues with Blu-ray and DVD ripping, as well).

joshmn 7y ago
After purchase I usually just download a "backup" of the content.
- berbec 7y ago
  Sadly, this is generally faster, better quality and easier. Getting the right encoding settings, audio formats, video codecs etc is a surprisingly complicated dance. I've often downloaded a bluray I bought just because I know the release groups will get the job done better than I can.
  - Causality1 7y ago
    Same with games, especially if they require some third party crap like Uplay.
rbritton 7y ago
Basically what the sibling reply said. Getting a digital copy is way, way easier than trying to get an archive copy from a disc you have, unfortunately.
osamagirl69 7y ago
I have had very good luck using mkmkv. It runs under linux/mac/windows and has a very no fuss interface that generates a un-encrypted but otherwise bit-for-bit accurate copy of dvd/blueray disks. Nominally it costs $50 but a free 'beta' key is posted on the forums once a month that allows it to be used for free indefinitely.
agildehaus 7y ago
The files themselves are sitting there on the disc, you don't need to re-encode them. Just rip. The downside is it takes more space :)
Causality1 7y ago
Frankly after I buy something I just go to the local McDonald's and torrent a copy over their wifi while enjoying a cheeseburger.