criterionforum.org

dwk wrote: Mon Jan 19, 2026 9:51 pm

onedimension wrote: Mon Jan 19, 2026 8:57 pm Right now I have about two dozen banker's boxes full of blu rays sitting in a storage unit. Tragically.

How many discs can you fit in a bankers box?

I have a box in my bedroom, I'll get you a count.

Ah!

I think this thread could be re-titled to How Big Is Your Kevyip?

Anyone from Vic, BC here? I went to Ditch Records this weekend, for my semi-annual CD buying spree. But I was astonished at their (new?) batch of films.

Long story short: I did a lot of Criterion kevyipping instead.

Perhaps I can be disciplined enough to devote the rest of this year to my kevyip, vice buying.

Ha! I'm actually in Victoria now with my kids and my daughter wants to buy CDs while we're here so I've been looking for a place to take her. Thanks for pointing it out.

There will be 7 less Criterions. Sorry.

Noiretirc wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 1:35 amAnyone from Vic, BC here? I went to Ditch Records this weekend, for my semi-annual CD buying spree. But I was astonished at their (new?) batch of films.

Yes, I live in Victoria. Ditch Records started their impressive film collection fairly recently, and it has already doubled in size, necessitating more shelving. It's a great selection of boutique labels, and the only real place left to buy movies on disc here.

cdnchris wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 1:46 am Ha! I'm actually in Victoria now with my kids and my daughter wants to buy CDs while we're here so I've been looking for a place to take her. Thanks for pointing it out.

Welcome to Victoria! Ditch is definitely the best music store in town. Good prices and selection for vinyl and CDs. If you need recommendations for anything else in town, let me know.

cdnchris wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 1:46 ammy daughter wants to buy CDs

That's cool that your daughter is in to music that way.

I began making a list of my physical media collection on letterboxd, including all main features and any shorts or additional features that are not just release-specific extras. I'm only about 1/4 through my collection and the percentage of unwatched films is already embarrassing. But this is the first time I've seriously tried to catalogue my collection.

I did a re-sorting of my collection a couple of days ago. Only took 4 hours on Sunday afternoon, then another 4 hours on the Monday afternoon.

It basically amounted to adding in everything I've purchased in the last 3 to 4 years and leaving about enough for space for 3 more titles on each shelf. This actually takes me to the end of my storage capacity but I have some idea for more space that should be available in a couple of years time which is about how long it will take to fill up the gaps.

I also found some DVDs that I replaced by purchasing Blu Rays so there were some extra discs to go to the box I keep for a guy who buys a few hundred titles every three months or so from me.

I sold and traded a lot of stuff to make space. I now have four main sections that I sort differently. If I have more than one release by any one director (or if the release is a collection of films by one director), I sort by director. Otherwise, I sort alphabetically. It works out well enough, though I make some exceptions. Alien-related films can stay together under A (no need to make a Ridley Scott section under directors). Then I put television stuff together; and finally music/opera.

I'm having built-in shelves installed to house my collection. My priorities for the shelves are 1) smooth surface 2) no paint or other kind of finish that will come off on things after long periods of contact. Does anyone have much experience with this? I have a builder that may be able to sand and stain shelves to get them how I want them. (Although what's the best product to use on the wood to prevent the shelf's color from coming off on your things?) I also have a quote from a company called Closets by Design that installs custom shelves with melamine coating. That would cost a lot more but there'd be more uniformity to the shelves. (Also, can I trust that melamine won't come off on my digipaks?) If any of you have insights about any of this, I'd appreciate it!

Properly stained wood with a protective layer of polyurethane should do the trick. Even unstained wood, sanded and with a poly layer. I had a library built about 10 years ago using a steel frame and then a local wood guy provided the shelves. It was by far the cheapest approach. Also very sturdy.

To answer your concern: no, the stain will not come off on the digipaks.

Have you looked into metal library shelves? They’re powder coated (like cafe tables) so they’re built to withstand heavy use. We priced them as an option before just going with the IKEA bookcases , but I imagine they can’t be more than custom wood shelving

Thanks, denti!

I haven't looked into metal shelves. If there's a place you saw some you liked, feel free to share a link

Unfortunately it’s been several years. I think I initially got info from some book lover YouTuber who used them but I have no idea who it would have been. I do see several returns for library shelving on a cursory Google search though. They’re pretty simple: long metal brackets spaced out and attached to the studs in your wall with the adjustable shelves in a variety of colors/finishes/sizes.

I ended up building my own. Used plywood because it was cheaper (and less likely to warp) and finished the edges with these wood strips that glue on, stained them and added polyurethane. I can't remember how many sheets I bought but it wasn't too bad price wise. No issues with digipaks sticking or anything.

"finished the edges with these wood strips that glue on"

Do you have an example of this that you could link to?

FWIW, the nice thing about Blu-rays and DVD's vs. other physical media is that they tend to be much lighter. If I'm using the same exact bookcase (like the same model and manufacturer) for CD's, the shelves will likely sag over time, to the point where ideally I'll clear the shelves and flip them every 3 or 4 months if I want to minimize any visible sagging. (For obvious reasons, it's much worse for books.) But I've never, ever have to do that with Blu-rays or DVD's.

domino harvey wrote:They’re pretty simple: long metal brackets spaced out and attached to the studs in your wall with the adjustable shelves in a variety of colors/finishes/sizes.

This is what I considered using but decided it wasn’t robust enough. I think with DVDs it would work fine, though. I was planning on books and a wall that reaches to 16 feet.

swo17 wrote:"finished the edges with these wood strips that glue on"

Do you have an example of this that you could link to?

Veneers. Here's an example: https://amzn.to/4wRqzKj

That one is birch but they have them for other types. They can be stained as well. They have adhesive on one side and you apply that to the edge of the plywood, heat it to melt the adhesive and press it down. Not too hard, but there will be excess material to strip off. I have a tool to like this to help with that:
https://amzn.to/4c372iw

cdnchris wrote: Mon Aug 24, 2026 11:58 pm Veneers. Here's an example: https://amzn.to/4wRqzKj

Thanks, I guess that's mostly for if you're using something like particle board, where the front would otherwise not look very pleasing, right?

hearthesilence wrote: Mon Aug 24, 2026 10:41 pm FWIW, the nice thing about Blu-rays and DVD's vs. other physical media is that they tend to be much lighter. If I'm using the same exact bookcase (like the same model and manufacturer) for CD's, the shelves will likely sag over time, to the point where ideally I'll clear the shelves and flip them every 3 or 4 months if I want to minimize any visible sagging. (For obvious reasons, it's much worse for books.) But I've never, ever have to do that with Blu-rays or DVD's.

To avoid sagging with wood shelves, I think you want to avoid spans longer than 30" or so. I've had sagging with movie shelves that were 4' long, though you can minimize that with an added backing like this

swo17 wrote:

cdnchris wrote: Mon Aug 24, 2026 11:58 pm Veneers. Here's an example: https://amzn.to/4wRqzKj

Thanks, I guess that's mostly for if you're using something like particle board, where the front would otherwise not look very pleasing, right?

Yeah. I used 3/4" plywood which looks better but the edges expose the layering, so i used that to cover it and it looks fairly seamless after applying the stain and all of that.

swo17 wrote: Tue Aug 25, 2026 2:59 am To avoid sagging with wood shelves, I think you want to avoid spans longer than 30" or so. I've had sagging with movie shelves that were 4' long, though you can minimize that with an added backing like this

I definitely noticed that when I started moving my CD's on to towers where the shelves are much shorter. My previous CD shelves were over 30" and I can barely remember a day where they didn't look bowed.

Would you guys recommend oil or water based stain and polyurethane?

And what about a combo stain & poly vs. applying them separately?

I prefer oil based, more for look and I think it brings out wood grain better. Stinks, though, and takes a while to go away, and longer to dry.

I've had success with the combo. I've always used stain. As Chris said the smell doesn't disappear for while but if you can leave in a place, maybe outside protected from elements of course, it'll dry quicker and the smell will fade sooner