Discgear CD & DVD Storage
Posted by Sandy Berger on September 9th, 2008
DiscGear Selector 100
Whether its music, movies, games, or software, those CDs and DVDs can quickly pile up. There are plenty of storage options including stands and hanging shelves, but none can beat the compactness of the Discgear storage solutions. The Selector 100 that I reviewed stores 100 discs in a compact case that is 14.75″ wide, 5.5″ high and 6.25″ deep.
To use the system you must login to Discgear’s online program and enter the titles and artists of each of your discs. You then label the disc with the sequential number that is given by the software and slide the disc into the corresponding slot in the storage unit. When you are finished, you print the listings that the program creates. You can sort the list by artist, title, or genre. There is a drawer under the disc storage area. Just press the left side of the control bar in the front of the Selector 100, and the drawer pops out where you can look up the disc that you want. Then move the small slider to that disc number and press the large bar. The disc is chosen for you and presented to you in the upper portion of the disc holder where you can grab it easily. when you are done with the disc, you simply reinsert it in the proper slot indicated by the number that you have marked on the disc with the included indelible pen. It took me a little over an hour to enter 100 discs, which wasn’t a bad time investment for all the space that I saved.
The Selector Presents a Disc
The whole idea is dynamic. Because the software sorts the results and prints out a list of the disc locations, you can enter your discs in any order and still be able to find them. The case can be easily locked and moved from place to place.
Although I liked the entire system, I felt that there could be some improvements. First, this is one case where I would like to have the software on my own hard drive rather than online. The case is well-made of sturdy plastic. It comes with a lifetime warranty and I expect it to last for years and years. While I suspect that Discgear will still be around in 20 years when I want to move my discs around and reprint my disc lists, I would still feel more comfortable to own the software as well as the storage device.
The Discware software is easy to use, but could be better. I would like to be able to enter at least of few of my own genres. While the software lists over 100 choices, I found that I needed more. For instance I have a collection of French music that I had to put under “International” and several of my movie and television music discs wound up under “Musicals” when I would have liked to list them under “Movie” or “Television”. In general though, the software was pretty good. It gives you the option of printing labels for each disc and even lets you move the discs from one storage unit to another if you happen to own more than discgear unit. Although a very personal preference, I found the orange color used in the software would be more eye-pleasing in a blue, green, or some softer color.
Selector with Tray & Album
You may be happy to get rid of your old CD and DVD cases, or you may want to save the album cover inserts. You can create your own album or purchase a Literature Album form Discgear.
My only disappointment was that in the case of audio CDs, if you don’t put the covers in an album, you will have no way to see which songs are on which disc. It would seem to me that the Discgear software should offer some method of accessing the online album database to automatically list the songs and be able to look them up and print them.
Because the top of the Selector cases are rounded, they are not stackable. So, if you have more than 100 discs or you have audio and video disks that you would like to keep seperate, check out Discgear’s HomeDecor or DiscStudio cases, which are stackable.
While the Selector 100 lists for $79.95 on the Discgear website, the Selector 80 lists for $29.95 but check out the current Amazon prices. They have a real bargain on the Selector 80 as well as on the Leather-look stackable model!