There were "rumors" of a 12" DVD, but it just wasn't going to happen. This scan of an article from Widescreen Review magazine explain why . . . viewtopic.php?p=5155#p5155

As for HDDs, I've had to deal with no less than 3 failed HDDs in my client's computers last week and them being pissed off that I couldn't recover their data. Apparently the term "failed HDD" is lost on them. I told them if they really wanted their data back, they can take their HDDs to a data recovery service if they don't mind paying $500 per GB that they get restored.

So you all know why I prefer not keeping all my movies and music on these devices. But if that's what you prefer, that's what you prefer. Far be it from me to keep you from your preferences.

Sounds like the term back up your data to separate hard drives is also lost on them. If your going to use HDD's you must expect the inevitable drive failure, thus be prepared. It's so easy to back up the data every so often, there's no excuse not to. Sometimes I have two backups for separate locations. But if you prefer only one copy, be it me to talk folks into a backup.

on the HDD subjcoect the newer SATA connectors make everything a lot easier because I have had at least 2 fried HDDs using that annoying IDE/old ribbon cable I hate those cables glad computers have changed for the better internal wise.

Looking at the caddy pic I can't believe I missed that in the early days but I probably only mainly heard of it until HD DVD was getting serious.

Bottom line, data on a HDD will last longer than any other format that exits today. If you back up your data, there's no reason it won't last an infinite number of years. I have no sympathy for anyone that spends countless hours encoding material and doesn't take the time/money to back up their work. Optical is on its way out. Apple's already started phasing out optical drives on the Mac Mini, laptops and iMacs, Mac Pros will be right along. Apple sets trends so I look to see what they do and the market will follow.

Any disc can be scratched, Blu ray included. I've had some from Netflix that were just unplayable.

Also Netflix is renting Blu rays without HD audio now I noticed. The consumer version will have the HD audio and they have a Rental version minus the HD audio and any extras.

I remember when I started buying CDs in 1987 thinking I wonder how long this format will last.
Well give or take the odd duff, 99.9% of them are still going strong even after 25 years.
On that basis they will outlast me!

I wonder if I'd gone with some crazy hard disk backup plan:
how much it would have cost over that timeframe
how many hard drives I would have needed
how many would have failed by now
how many would be obsolete because the interfaces keep changing

I'm glad I stuck with my original plan of retaining physical formats and was not swayed by all the 'here today, gone tomorrow' techophobes
who move their data from one thing to another, eternally never satisfied with any device and end up eventually losing the lot!

LOL, dream on with the lame reasoning for not going HDD. Some folks will never change or adapt. No problem, I get it. Nothing wrong with hanging onto the hard copy. Could be the back up. But once you feel comfortable with your HDD system can always sell the hard copies later or not. Either way it's a win win. With HDD's you get mobility and a systematic library for ease of use.

I'm so glad I took the time to master the learning curve with PC's and go HDD. Has allowed me to carry my entire collection on HDD's along with my labtop, quality speakers, HDMI chord, anywhere in the world in my carry on. Get to enjoy and share with others in a heartbeats notice.

I hope you stick around the forum so we can catchup in even just 5 years time - I doubt you will though. I'll still have the same shelves of LDs, CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, VHS and LPs. I bet you'll have had to juggle all your digital data to some other new fangled device - whatever that may be because the previous ones packed in.

As for getting familiar with newer technologies I'm up to speed on that too as I have done what you are describing but never to replace my existing collection, just to create compilations of material which are sometimes easier to watch if material was originally spread across lots of discs. The idea of replacing every single item I have on a physical format with its digital equivalent is ludicrous if you have a collection as large as mine spread across so many different formats. I'll just enjoy it for what it is and not worry about wasting time converting it into an inferior format.

Maybe elviscaprice only owns like...twenty movies, and they are all DVD so ripping is faster than playback.

If you have only 500 2 hour LDs, backing them up would take 1000 hours in playback time alone. They'd all look like crap too because no affordable consumer level capture device can create a video file that looks as good as my LD player does on my Sony XBR.

I'm extremely conscientious about backing up my data, data that doesn't exist elsewhere. If I have a Playstation game or a music CD, or (for the most part) and LD, its already in the most reliable format. I don't see the point in the HUUUUGELY time consuming task of copying all this stuff onto HDs that are LESS reliable...and then buying as many drives again to back them all up...and then doing it all over again in 6 or 7 years when those drives start to be seen as too slow or have interfaces that newer machines won't support. Frankly, that sounds like torture.

The first LD I ever bought was, I think, Far and Away (1992) [41415] or maybe it was Project A-KO #1 (1986) [ID8583CT]. When I bought those Apple was still selling black and white Macs with 40MB HDs in them. Since then I've seen four US presidents, the arrival of mass market internet and mobile phone usage, two recessions, the arrival of DVD, the arrival of BluRay, the Playstation 1, 2, and 3, and five different generations of Volkswagen Golf. Meanwhile, those first LDs are still sitting on my shelf, still play perfectly.

Sure, my collection could get wiped out in a hurricane, but honestly if a hurricane powerful enough to hit me here in Michigan came about it would also destroy every single thing I own as well as myself. We really don't get natural disasters around here.

Its inconceivable that if I did move to a constantly moving, constantly backing up, constantly being updated and outdated bank of HDs that they would last 20 years or more. No HD purchased today is going to last until 2032. That's pure fantasy. My LDs will still be here though. If I want to travel light and lean I'll just use Netflix Instant or pirate whatever I want when I get to where I'm going. Pirate copies of almost any movie are going to look a lot better than badly captured LDs with the de-interlacing artifacts and terrible contrast that go along with the process.

First, I just like to say, laserdisc_fan, I respect and admire your passion for your musical collection. It is definitely a thing of beauty.

Yeah, I'll be here. Well definitely keep up to date.

I've never had to replace any of my hard drives with a new physical format because I only used internal SATA HDD's. I use separate HDD enclosures to fit the technology transfer I prefer. I've never had a HDD wear out yet. All are operational.

I'm only into collecting musical material for promo videos, and only certain genres. As far as movies, I've never collected any analogue material for this. All are DVD's or BR ripped and only material I would ever want to watch a second time.

My analogue captures are done in a lossless format (extremly high sample rate) and backed up for any future remastering project. This is only rare analogue material superior to any digital release or not. My goal is to make the analogue material better (remastered) than the original analogue digital capture and better than the original analogue material could ever be viewed on a digital device.

Although I couldn't imagine, for myself, collecting LD's for movies or animation (as others wouldn't imagine collecting muscial videos), it wouldn't be hard to capture all those LD's to HDD. A 2 TB HDD would hold appoximately, at 10GB per movie, 180 movies. As the HDD's get larger obviously you would be able to get more material onto a single HDD. I'm just not interested in analogue movies.

I would agree with you about keeping a huge collection intact if you enjoy it in it's analogue state. But I would seriously consider backing up all the material to HDD for creating a digital library with the excellent huge library you have of musical LD's. It would be painstaking at first but once you got a system down you could do an excellent job quickly capturing the LD's analogue and separately the digital sound with a DAC. Time is on your hands for now, HDD's are only going to get larger so that you could get more onto this medium cheaper over time. Although I would consider the known rotters for now the first captures to do.

I don't know why you keep talking like transfering digital material to a different drive is a bad thing. That's the whole idea. Digital is digital, either you have it or not at all. It doesn't change. Transfers are so easy and quick, start the transfer and walk away.

Hummm, I didn't know this. What kind of quality is the audio then on the Netflix BR's? PCM Stereo at least? Just no PCM surround sound?

I'm sure they are DD at least. I think he means they are taking out the TruHD, DTS, etc. I seriously seriously doubt that the studios would downconvert all their movies to stereo in 2013.

All the new release BD's I've gotten from Netflix have had DTS HD or Dolby True HD audio but the special features are disabled. There have been no rental BD's, even from Redbox, that had had only standard DD or DTS. All have had hi-Rez audio.