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I have over 1000 DVDs. The vast majority I bought used. They're a lot more durable in my experience, as long as you don't abuse them. Slight scratches can be bu

by titzer 5y ago

I have over 1000 DVDs. The vast majority I bought used. They're a lot more durable in my experience, as long as you don't abuse them. Slight scratches can be buffed out. Some have a reflective foil layer printed on the "up" side (rather than integrated into the plastic layers), and if you damage that, it's hosed. Store your DVDs in sleeves or in the original cases, and you shouldn't have any problems. Don't leave them laying around or stack them. At some point I want to rip all my DVDs and put them on a media server (~4-6TB worth), but it's a serious undertaking.

adenozine 5y ago
Local computer shops might be a place I’d check. I know some places that could put a high schooler after school to work on a simple project like that for a few days.
- titzer 5y ago
  I calculated that 4 DVDs per hour would take 250 hours....that's several weeks of work. I found a robot that does this, but the company that makes it seems to have gone out of business.
  - morsch 5y ago
    You could use multiple drives in parallel. Also: https://github.com/automatic-ripping-machine/automatic-ripping-machine https://github.com/automatic-ripping-machine/automatic-rippi...
  - adenozine 5y ago
    Assuming a single-threaded process with one final destination, sure. If you're just archiving them, a couple cheap-o machines with external SSDs can really crank through the bytes. 1000 dvds is really not such a large number, it will go a lot quicker than you think. Source: I once made 180(!) copies of a ~400 page document for an event, by using six copy machines and collating from stacks of 30 sheets. I don't remember exactly how long it took, but it was less than 2 full workdays. It's all about the M:N efficiency!
mark-r 5y ago
When my kids were very young, I discovered that they had a talent for destroying DVDs. So I put together a media PC and started ripping. I've had to upgrade the HD a couple of times, but every kid's DVD I ever bought is now available instantly on that PC, and the originals are packed away in boxes where they don't get touched.

by titzer 5y ago

adenozine 5y ago

Local computer shops might be a place I’d check. I know some places that could put a high schooler after school to work on a simple project like that for a few days.

titzer 5y ago
I calculated that 4 DVDs per hour would take 250 hours....that's several weeks of work. I found a robot that does this, but the company that makes it seems to have gone out of business.
- morsch 5y ago
  You could use multiple drives in parallel. Also: https://github.com/automatic-ripping-machine/automatic-ripping-machine https://github.com/automatic-ripping-machine/automatic-rippi...
- adenozine 5y ago
  Assuming a single-threaded process with one final destination, sure. If you're just archiving them, a couple cheap-o machines with external SSDs can really crank through the bytes. 1000 dvds is really not such a large number, it will go a lot quicker than you think. Source: I once made 180(!) copies of a ~400 page document for an event, by using six copy machines and collating from stacks of 30 sheets. I don't remember exactly how long it took, but it was less than 2 full workdays. It's all about the M:N efficiency!

mark-r 5y ago

When my kids were very young, I discovered that they had a talent for destroying DVDs. So I put together a media PC and started ripping. I've had to upgrade the HD a couple of times, but every kid's DVD I ever bought is now available instantly on that PC, and the originals are packed away in boxes where they don't get touched.