It make sense for me to buy a disc wallet for blu-rays?

[PCFan]

Most of the stuff I own is in my bedroom, so space does become an issue fairly quickly for storing my belongings especially blu-rays. I right now own 203 blu-rays. I also sold a few blu-rays I didn't enjoy watching and as a result didn't think that those were worth keeping to cut down on space being taken up. I'm more careful with what blu-rays I get rid of this time because some of them I rebought about a year later. I right now have my blu-rays and DVDs inside their respective jewel cases which are stored in 2 storage boxes inside my closet which are almost full. I don't put them on my shelf because I have other stuff on my shelf and my shelf is too small for placing my blu-rays and other stuff on it. My closet is beginning to look like a storage unit with those storage boxes piled up. I was considering buying a 336-disc wallet, and donating most of the jewel cases without the cover art and maybe keeping about 10 blu-ray jewel cases on hand in case I ever want to resell a blu-ray that I don't find worth keeping. However, if I don't get rid of the jewel cases, I don't see any point in buying a disc wallet for my blu-ray collection as I don't need portability and I would still have boxes of jewel cases taking up space in my closet. Is it worth it for me to buy a high capacity disc wallet for my blu-rays and donating most of the jewel cases?

[MifuneFan]

Careful there are reports on here of disc wallets/albums damaging discs

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Careful there are reports on here of disc wallets/albums damaging discs

Yup.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=128389

Originally Posted by Rik1138

So, after a couple of years of thinking Blu-ray discs were indestructible since I've never been able to scratch one accidentally, I discovered a potential flaw in their design that can cause some real problems depending on how you store them. I have a lot of check disc samples and other discs that don't have cases, so I thought I'd keep them in those white sleeves made out of that material that's impossible to rip (Tyvek, if you know what I'm talking about). Non-cased discs (like check discs) come in these from some of the disc manufacturers...

Well, I started looking at some discs over the weekend that had been in a stack of discs packaged like this for months (in some cases, almost a year), and noticed that every one of them has permanent pits and marks in the read surface of the disc!

Turns out, the material on the read-side of the disc that prevents it from being scratched easily is very slightly 'viscous' (I think that's the word, it's not a hardened material). Over time, the surface pattern of the white sleeves actually pressed itself into the surface of the discs (and it does make the disc unreadable in that area). I found many discs like this, and they all gave me read errors if I tried to play them back or copy them to my computer.

Also, if there was any unique shape touching the discs, that shape could be clearly seen pressed into the surface of the disc. I suspect if you put a stack of coins on a disc and leave it there, it will leave an impression of the bottom coin on the disc (I'm testing this now... )

Now, most people probably get discs in cases and leave them there, don't change that practice. But, I'm wondering if there's anyone that likes to store their Blu-rays in a binder, or some other way that allows any kind of material to actually touch the surface of the disc. If you fall in this category, look at some discs that have been stored like this for several months or more and see if the read side is still perfectly shiny... I'm curious to see if a cloth material or something really soft will still do this.

Also, any bonus Blu-rays that might come packaged in a sleeve instead of a case are at risk...

Now, this part is kind of cool: Since I now had discs that were unreadable, I figured I'd take a chance with them and see if heating them up somehow would fix them. A friend tried it on one of his (I'm not the only one to confirm this problem) with a hair dryer, and was actually successful in removing the pits by heating them. So, I tried several of mine that wouldn't read anymore, and I was able to recover them all (unless the pits return over time). Obviously, you don't want to melt your discs, so be careful, but it is an interesting discovery. (It's also possible that, over time, taking your disc out of the envelope and putting it in a case will slowly cause the pits to disappear... Not sure about that...)

I'm also going to try putting some scratches on a 'trash disc' and see if the heat process will remove those. Since this layer melts at a lower temperature than the disc plastic itself (apparently), you can heat it up to the point of fixing it self without worry about warping the disc (but I'd still put it on a flat surface). I want to see if the layer is actually melting a little (which would probably remove a scratch), or if it's just heating up enough to 're-settle' into it's original state (which would probably not remove a scratch).

So, final word of advice: Make sure all of your Blu-ray discs (store-bought, demos/samplers, BD-Rs and I suspect PS3 games) are stored in actual cases, and not binders/sleeves. (Or stacked in spindles if you like that, the surface is protected when stacked in a spindle.)

I'd be curious to hear if anyone else has noticed a sudden appearance of surface damage due to storage... And if anyone else chances the hair dryer technique to fix them.

Rik

[heath_kat]

Store them such that the wallet spine is vertical and there will be no issues. This is how I have stored my blus (and HD DVDs) from day one and I have had no issues.

[Heapashifter]

Do you have room for another shelf? You said your first one had other stuff on it.

[Dunemoon]

Put the slipcases in the garbage. Problem solved.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Dunemoon

Put the slipcases in the garbage. Problem solved.

Am sure anyone thinking of disposing the cases would have disposed any slipcovers long ago

[PCFan]

I guess I will just keep the discs in their cases. Maybe I can go up to 250 blu-rays if I keep buying combo packs (triple feature and 4-film favorites, etc) when possible and maybe I will not need more than 2 storage boxes in my closet.

[CtrlCtrlFast]

I keep mine in a binder/folder thing and have had zero trouble with any discs. I keep mine vertical as well, as to keep any pressure from the top discs off the bottom discs.

[mogwai_macabre]

Since you stated you may sell some of your discs, I would hold on to the slipcovers, even if you collapse them and store them in a shoebox. Slipcovers can potentially increase the resale value.

[Todd Tomorrow]

I put my BDs and DVDs in paper sleeves and keep them in plastic filing boxes for CDs. Never had one not play because of that.

[PCFan]

I throw away the slip covers. I find them a hassle slipping them back on the cases as the plastic art cover holder of the cases tends to get in the way. As for resell value, I don't think it would make a difference since I sell my blu-rays that I don't want anymore to a 2nd hand entertainment store and selling one blu-ray there I get enough just to cover the gas expenses to drive there and back and I don't see any slip covers on any of the blu-ray cases on the shelves there. I won't bother with selling them online because then it becomes like a job for me, monitoring my email, emailing buyer, packing, driving to the post office for a little more money that I don't think it's worth it. I just find it less of a hassle to bring a batch of blu-rays I don't want to keep anymore to this 2nd hand store and sell them there. I don't really need the extra money anyways, I just resell the ones I don't want to keep for space reasons.