DVD Storage

alfredsvideo wrote on 6/4/2005, 2:06 PM
We have, in the past, seen plenty of reasons why and how we should store our tapes. As yet, I haven't seen any theories regarding DVD storage. Should they be laid horizontally, or vertically? For practical reasons, of course, laying them horizontally would allow easy display of titles, dates, etc. On the other hand, with the passage of time, wouldn't that method result in distortion of the disc? A question to ponder.

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 6/4/2005, 2:37 PM
I would say the biggest argument against horizontal storage is that you stack more on top. If you pile up enough of them you'll end up bending the cases and possibly rubbing against the surface of the disc. In theory it's also possible that given enough time the edges of the disc will droop forming a conical shape.

If you stack vertically chances are you won't be putting too many more layers on top.
ScottW wrote on 6/4/2005, 3:21 PM
NIST recommends vertical storage (like a book).

http://www.itl.nist.gov/div895/carefordisc/onepage.pdf
johnmeyer wrote on 6/4/2005, 6:59 PM
Back in the days of music records (78, 45, 33 1/3), vertical storage was always recommended. I don't know if this also applies to CDs and DVDs.
alfredsvideo wrote on 6/5/2005, 3:17 PM
Actually, the reason for the post was because I had recently seen a spring loaded DVD case in the local supermarket. Each DVD would have a separate horizontal shelf, so the question of multiple stacking wouldn't apply. Another consideration was the quick removal of the complete case and it's contents in the event of a fire.
riredale wrote on 6/5/2005, 4:26 PM
I have a feeling that in the event of a fire, you would be thinking of other things than removing your DVD disks. Actually, I've begun the process of duplicating my "critical" documents and storing them in a different place in case of fire, flood, plague of locusts, etc.

If a case does not exert pressure on a disk within, then it would probably be fine to store them horizontally. I would find it hard to believe that a disk would "sag" under its own weight over the years, especially if supported at the edges.

The one thing that these disks are extremely sensitive to is sunlight, or probably more accurately, UV light. If you leave a partially-covered disk out in the sun for a day or two (data side up), you can definitely see the bleaching effect, and after a couple more days the disk is unreadable.
johnmeyer wrote on 6/5/2005, 5:04 PM
Lots of "C"s in the storage does and don'ts:

Cool
Covered (no light at all)
Constant (temperature)

Also low humidity is good.