[mythtv-users] DVD carousel or lots of HDD space?

Michael Miyabara-McCaskey mykarz at miyabara.com
Tue Jan 11 13:34:53 EST 2005


Hey Brad, thanks for the info...

Although I was also trying to avoid the eventual HDD crash condition as
well... hence why I was going for the more permanent solution of moving to
DVD-RW.

As for MPEG4, from what I've seen on the web about it, I dont think it
would deal well on my end... I have a 45" big screen, and I can tell the
difference between my Dish Network 301 receiver with it's compression, vs.
my C-Band dish w/o compression.  Digital artifacts drive me nuts... so I
was planning on leaving everything in MPEG2.

-Michael

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005, Brad Templeton wrote:

> On Mon, Jan 10, 2005 at 03:52:04PM -0800, Michael Miyabara-McCaskey wrote:
> >
> > I'm thinking of setting up a system, that can use a Sony DVP-CX985 - 400
> > DVD jukebox ($300), as it's primary method of archiving recorded TV +
> > playing existing DVDs... (as I'm trying to avoid buying several terrabytes of HDD
> > space - as I have a collection of several hundred DVDs today).
>
> Well, one answer might depend on how good a TV you have, in other words,
> what level of mp4 compression do you find acceptable for your movies.
>
> Many people find compressing a movie to 2GB quite satisfactory, some are
> highly satisfied with just 1GB!   I think if you have an HDTV you would
> not find 1GB very good, but this is for you to judge.  This does not include
> special features etc, just the movie.
>
> Anyway, if 2GB is satisfactory, for example, you could fit your 400 disks
> on 800gb.  And you could fit your 150 favourite disks, the ones you
> actually want to be able to call up on demand, on a single 300gb disk.
>
> I just bought a 300gb disk for $150, and that price will continue to
> drop.  Now, I realize your video habits are different from mine, but
> I would be amazed if there were 150 dvds you wanted to be able to
> call up regularly from anywhere.   If you really have 400gb or more the
> jukebox might be the thing for you.   Or if you find mp4 recompressions
> insufficient or want all the special features etc.
>
>
> (Note space is even cheaper in smaller disks but they take more physical
> and power.  200gb is the current sweet spot, now showing up in specials
> for $75 or so.   For video storage, slower disks are better, 5400 rpm
> or even 4500 rpm if you can find it.)
>


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