Vault Master's Collector's Corner: The 2-Disc Solution - You Don't Have to Ditch Those DVDs After You Upgrade to Blu-ray!

 

Hiya Vault Dwellers! After a long (and sort of unintended) hiatus, your friendly neighborhood Vault Master has returned with an all new column here at the News Vault! While I fully intend to get back to weekly Stock Your Vault posts, and plan to rejuvenate our fallow Wanted on Blu-ray column (as well as write up some new reviews, lists, and articles at the main site), I've decided to add a new segment to the News Vault archives that focuses on showcasing my newest physical media acquisitions, as well as discussing how I maintain and present my ever-growing collection!

To kick things off, I would like to share a little trick I picked up years ago concerning my extra DVD copies of films that I've since upgraded to Blu-ray or 4K disc. I know lots of people either give their old DVDs away, or sell/trade them in for a few bucks, or even toss them in the trash, but I typically don't. Why? Well for several reasons:

• Sometimes the DVD actually has more bonus features than the Blu-ray release (e.g. JACK BROOKS: MONSTER SLAYER) which boggles my mind. If you're a person that is all about the extras, you may feel compelled to keep two copies of a movie on your shelf, just so you can enjoy an audio commentary or making-of featurette that wasn't ported over to the Blu-ray/4K release.
• If you're the type of person that (foolishly) lets other people borrow your movies, the DVD is great to have in case you lend out a film to someone who hasn't bothered upgrading to high-definition just yet. (i.e. Your parents or grandparents.)
• If you happen to run a website and want to include screen captures from the film to flesh out reviews or articles, you cannot take "screen grabs" from a Blu-ray disc! (Literally. They are designed that way.) While there are ways around this, it is just plain easier to pop in the DVD to acquire any desired screencaps.

So let's say you fall into one of those very specific categories and decide to keep both your DVD and newly acquired Blu-ray - what should you do with your DVD? Space is a luxury that many of us collectors do not have: Our shelves fill up quickly and having two copies of the same film is kind of hard to justify. While I have seen some collectors toss out cases and stash their discs in a giant CD binder (blasphemous but great for saving space!) I believe my solution to this issue will be far more attractive to those of you who prefer to display your cinematic treasures.

BEHOLD! MY BEAUTIFUL SOLUTION!

Yep. That's it. A 2-Disc Blu-ray case! They can be easily obtained online (buy some HERE from Amazon) and can be purchased one-at-a-time or in various increments (e.g. ten, twenty-five, or even a nice even hundred!) All you have to do is pop both discs into one of these bad boys, slip in the Blu-ray cover art and you will have successfully created your very own two-disc Special Edition release!

I've been doing this for over six years to save space, make certain that I have ALL of the special features possible, and obtain screencaps for my reviews. The only downside is that I'm stuck with a pile of empty DVD & Blu-ray cases, as well as a stack of DVD cover art. While it is good to have spare cases on hand (sometimes a movie's trip from the warehouse to my mailbox is a rough one), I have absolutely no idea what to do with the leftover DVD slipcases. They are currently stored in a small binder under my desk because I can't bring myself to throw them out, so if any of you reading this can think of something cool to do with them, I am all ears!

To wrap things up: If you want to donate, sell, or trash your old DVDs that's perfectly fine - don't let me tell you how to run your life (or your collection). But if the mere thought of doing so pains you, you've got the "2-Disc Solution" to fall back on! Thanks for reading Vault Dwellers and be sure to stay tuned for more new content as I try to get things back on track here at the News Vault!

For more film collecting shenanigans be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and maybe consider bookmarking our extremely useful UPCOMING BLU-RAYS PAGE as well! That way you'll get to see the latest additions to my personal Blu-ray/4K collection, and stay up to date on upcoming Blu-ray titles and flash sales!