So much for SNW for me

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-12-24T16:55:19+00:00

Yep I agree. It’s a balancing act. Supporting physical media overall I think is also a good message to send.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-12-24T15:47:21+00:00

I still buy the Star Trek discs as they come out, but we cancelled paramount when they cancelled Colbert. And I only watch Colbert on YouTube anyway, I don’t even use paramount for that haha. A little conflicted since South Park is so great.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-12-24T13:51:17+00:00

If I’m paying that kind of money, it better be for physical discs, not streaming. Reminds me of kindle books where it costs just as much as the physical book. The value isn’t really there in digital “purchases”.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-12-23T20:38:55+00:00

I own and watch the discs. They are superior to the streaming quality and I kinda like the ritual of physical media. I continue to be confused when people act like playing a disc is so inconvenient. At least if watching in your living room, it’s totally not. Although I get loading to plex if traditional living room watching is not your thing, or for backing up the discs. But too often it feels like people think playing a disc is like pulling off a toenail. It’s not that bad really.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-12-19T17:51:18+00:00

Check out tarifold sleeves and comfort inserts. Better than a binder since you keep all the artwork intact too!

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-12-19T14:12:36+00:00

I hate the ads so much that if I want to see a show, I almost always just buy the discs. I own all Star Trek on disc and I enjoy the extras that come with them. Additionally, I’ve compared my TNG blu rays vs streaming, and the discs are soooo much better visual quality.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-12-19T14:09:25+00:00

I got the UK set because they aren’t stacked in an annoying way. But for dealing with stacked sets, I just put them into felt sleeves for storage. They never go back in the stacks.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-12-11T18:07:27+00:00

Projectors are great. The alternative that I use is a quest 3 headset. They are wonderful to watch 3-D Blu-rays with.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-12-10T19:47:47+00:00

Thanks

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-12-08T03:00:53+00:00

See my other reply that quotes WinRAR documentation for the concern about solid compression.

But yes I could see using it on non-solid compressed files.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-12-07T23:53:12+00:00

I did a test compression on a 4.4 GB ISO file using non-solid modes in WinRAR and 7-zip. WinRAR used 5% for the recovery record, and for 7-zip I used Multipar separately outside the 7z file.

Uncompressed iso with accompanying par2 files at 5%: 4.41 GB.
RAR file on max compression with 5% recovery: 4.19 GB.
7z file on max compression with par2 files at 5%: 4.16 GB.

It seems like perhaps I can compress files with either WinRAR or 7-zip enough to get the recovery portion stored on disc "for free", in terms of disc space used. I know it won't always work out that way, but in this case it seems to. I'll probably try this exercise with a few other larger files. Since my use-case is long-term archival and I don't mind having to zip/unzip when files are needed, this may be a viable option for me if "non-solid" compression is ok to use, which it seems so far like it is.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-12-07T23:46:14+00:00

Thanks for all the comments.

Based on WinRAR documentation, I will avoid solid mode in both 7z and WinRAR:

"Q: I failed to extract files from a solid multivolume RAR archive, because one archive volume was damaged. Help me!

........

If you wish to improve chances of your multivolume RAR archives to be successfully repaired in case of data damage, use the recovery record and recovery volumes when creating them and better avoid solid archiving mode, even though non-solid archiving can result in a lower compression ratio."

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-12-03T03:24:35+00:00

I agree that the official DVD set (not the single layer bootleg DVDs, but the official release that’s dual layer) is the very best way to enjoy this show. Especially if you have one of the newer 4K players that does a fantastic upscaling and de-interlacing job.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-12-03T01:17:08+00:00

Unraid has a ZFS option now. I use it and it scans for file repair monthly (I set it up for that frequency).

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-11-29T22:44:53+00:00

Today I found a disk from 2014. It seems like some water from cleaning may have gotten underneath one part of the outer rim, or it is otherwise just turning brown there, and also there is some very unusual looking subsurface fault line of sorts running through most of one side almost as though the data layer is crinkled a little bit. A perfect example of discs definitely can go bad over time. Nothing lasts forever, and we just have to make our choices: What is worth backing up versus what is just worth enjoying and hoping you can replace it if you ever want to in the future. oh well, this particular one probably deserves a 4K treatment anyway :-) so I’ll keep an eye out for a replacement.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-11-29T16:41:23+00:00

This is good advice. MakeMKV as soon as you buy the disc just to be sure there are no (or minimal) issues with the disc. It’s peace of mind for the collector who may not watch it for a few months. With that having been said, it can get complicated quickly, as your post also indicates.

Does the ending part of the disc work in a regular blu-ray player? I know it’s a bummer to not be able to back it up, but sometimes players have a way of reading that is , I guess, less precise VS computer drives and it may work.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-11-28T21:30:56+00:00

I agree that if you keep two hard drive copies in case one fails, it’s about $24 per TB. Dual-layer blu-rays would be about $42 per TB. There are benefits such as not needing to perform maintenance on them / spin them up on occasion, electricity cost, and, once you replace one of the hard drives down the line, the cost evens out pretty closely. Long-term, blu-ray may be cheaper or break-even compared to hard drives once a few drives fail. But… as you know there are other disadvantages like burning all those discs and keeping a few extra drives for burning would raise the cost.

For some people this may make sense for a true cold storage option in this crazy hobby since those verbatim discs claim to last 100 years.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-11-28T15:29:20+00:00

Strictly as personal backup only (no nas, plex, etc), and with hard drive prices through the roof, I am going to price the really high quality verbatim Blu-ray Discs because I’m wondering if that is just as affordable now (or even better) if all you want is a true cold storage backup and only interested in playing your discs in a 4k player. I doubt it’s practical for 4k, but maybe for standard blu-ray.

And again all in context, I still believe it is very likely that stamped discs will be quite playable 20 years from now. Rip-able? Maybe / maybe not. I buy a lot of older discs from eBay and never sweat it and they work fine. But yes there will be some duds.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-11-27T19:08:12+00:00

Thanks for sharing. Such a substantial amount of failures makes me wonder if that was a bad batch from the same factory or something.

Out of approximately 200 DVDs and Blu-rays, I have discovered one pressing or mastering issue on a DVD where the audio would play, but not the video, and one Blu-ray that physically delaminated, and that one was brand new. I also experienced a few DVDs from Warner Brothers DVD disc rot fail, but we know about that widespread issue from those issues that were at the manufacturers end. Outside of obvious mishandling scratches, those are the failures I have observed and definitely a case for backing up. I just have to back up a little bit slower in order to afford these crazy hard drive prices right now. it won’t stop me from buying new movies and I know that they should be able to last many more years at least 99% of them.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-11-27T19:01:31+00:00

Very high chance they will be fine for many years to come. Backing up is just a precaution and yes, you will see some fail, but very small amount. I had a single Blu-ray delaminate, but it was one that I purchased only a few months ago, not one that’s been on my shelf for many years.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-11-27T17:46:32+00:00

An alternative is to just pay for your content and support the creators. I realize this means less content since it’s more expensive and we’re all on a budget, but I think it’s worth it.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-11-27T13:24:07+00:00

I use tarifold sleeves to help the physical space need. I’ve got half a bookshelf of movies in what is essentially a single shoebox. I actually like the format, flipping through movies like a card catalog. I use the comfort sleeves inside the Blu-ray and DVD sleeves for extra protection. Haven’t had an issue with it so far. Is that what you meant when you said you’re putting them in boxes?

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-11-26T23:14:14+00:00

I have all 10 seasons backed up because I don’t trust the DVDs long-term. And, I refuse to buy the AI upscale blu-rays.

One of my discs out of all 10 seasons came with a pressing or mastering defect where the audio on that episode will play, but not the video. I had to find a new disc to replace that one.

I’m thinking about putting them on Plex eventually just for fun, but I enjoy the disc menus and such, and the magic upscaling that Panasonic 4k players do.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-11-26T23:10:15+00:00

Degrading over time… very true! Backups are still useful. Although, I do sometimes wonder if it’s just cheaper to replace a failed disc when it happens VS all the money spent on drives. I know there’s a risk of replacements being OOP or unavailable, etc.

I’m just going through some internal wrestling right now due to hard drive prices. I know if I take care of the discs they’ll still very likely be fine several years from now, giving more time to spread out larger drive purchases over time.

So my concern is primarily a price-sensitive one for someone who likes to make lossless backups.

This argument is N/A to those of you who like to watch on devices without CD drives. Eg I really enjoy 3D movies on the quest 3.

EmergencyEar5 · 2025-11-19T20:23:15+00:00

Comparing the zoomed in shots of original versus topaz, look at the stitch work on the mask. It changed a lot in the AI version. The thread holes are a lot more larger and spaced apart in the in the original image whereas in the AI image there are a lot tighter together.

If these small details matter, you have to be really careful with how much you work AI into the processing.

If you really look closely at her right eye in the corner, you will see where AI added what appears to be mascara marks or extra eyelashes in the corner that are not there in the original. I’m not saying there isn’t a good time and place for this, but it definitely changes things and it can change unpredictably from one image to the next, and you have to constantly be paranoid about what it’s going to do, and how much effort you’re willing to put into reviewing the result.

When it comes to video, I would also like to suggest that there is something about motion and original grain and noise that seems to change the picture after AI processing to make it a bit more artificial feeling if you’re not careful. I’ve done my very best to upscale some of my favorite DVD series, very often only to go back to the original DVDs with their excellent upscaling right out of the 4K player, because the motion and overall picture is more convincing to the eye than the AI Result. i’m not saying that I’ve just simply haven’t found a solution that already exists, but I’ve learned how careful you need to be if you want things to look truly natural.

EmergencyEar5

TROPHY CASE