Storing Jdoramas

The good old days of multiple language vcd subs. Actually the English in the vcd shows were better than the current HK/China DVDs.

Back in the old days when most jdoramas were videotapes captures of subtitled shows from Hawaiian and Singaporean TV, it was rare to get 350mb avi files, usually from JTV and ADClan. Why was 350mb so awesome? So one could fit 2 episodes into 1cd. Most of the tv captures were at least 500mb so it was 1 cd per episode. Some episodes were slightly more than 700mb so that required overburning. Thank the jdorama gods I don't have to do it anymore. Always a huge chance the cd would have some defect or would only be able to be read by certain cdroms.

The only show where I ever liked her in.

On the flipside, there weren't that many doramas out there so it was easier to double burn cds, ie have two copies of everything. Cause if there is one certainty in life besides death and taxes, its that cds/dvds/HDD will die. HDD were about $1 per mb and I remember being happy buying a 250mb.

The best jdorama superhero ever.

Then along came the mighty DVD burner and broadband. Finally, file sizes didn't matter and the ability to have 1 whole series in 1~3 dvds was a godsend. More and more jdoramas were being subbed and keeping the dvds in spindles made it difficult to search through them. My room became littered with dvd pouches as I began the slow process of reburning all my doramas on cds to dvds, a mission I have yet to complete till this day.

I kinda miss the 'Kiku telebi!' jingle from the beginning of each episode.

However, problem of temporary media continued to rear its ugly head. There was nothing like the despair of popping in a dvd after a few years and getting 'cyclic redundancy error'. Double burning was no safeguard against the ravages of time. It was essential to triple burn my favourite series. I bought the more expensive blank DVD brands because I wanted to increase all likelihood, no matter how little that my jdoramas would survive.

With around 1/3 of new jdoramas being subbed every season, burning jdoramas has become a chore. The possibility of a dead HDD always loomed in the background so it was a necessary chore. As my dvd collection got bigger, it was essential to store them in dvd boxes for easy access as it is easier to put them in alphabetical order.

Now, something has happened to change the way we store jdoramas. HDD prices have come crashing down while size has gone up. It might be actually cheaper to just store them in HDD instead of burning them. Recently, I just got a 2TB for $AUD96 and have begun the slow arduous process of copying all my doramas into the HDD.

Goto Maki, before she sang Te wo nigite and ruined everything.

This process has been painful and terrifying. The fear after finding out I am unable to copy a certain episode and the frantic search for a second copy of the series. Even worse, I have discovered that there are some jdoramas that I have not fully burnt. I popped in my only copy of Flowers of Algernon only to discover that it only contained half of the series! Oh, the despair!! I thought I was missing the last two episodes of Amai Seikatsu only to find them burned into the dvd of another series! I'm missing the first half of Shibatora and I hold the faint hope that it will turn up somewhere in my room. Not that I like Shibatora but Ohgo Suzuka is good. Sadly she hasn't really been in anything recently. The past week has been a slow process of looking and relooking through hundreds of dvds trying to find old shows, cursing myself for being slack and disorganised in my burning duties.

I think the best answer to storage is to have two mirror HDDs and to get a new one every few years. Burn a copy for shows that I like but this will prevent my room from being overrun by DVD pouches. Soon, 10 years of being a jdorama addict will be able to fit into one HDD. All the DVD pouches, spindles and boxes minimised into one. Of course, I've still got my J and Kmovies, manga, anime and Jpop but this is a start. In a few years when we can get 10TB for $100, I'll be able to fit my whole life's entertainment into one HDD.

I think this could have been from an LD rip?

All I want to say is, its never too soon to organise your jdoramas. Recent shows can be redownloaded through megaupload but old and unsubbed shows are hard to find except through trading. While DVDs and HDDs don't last forever, its much easier to store 2TB of doramas than 2 DVDs worth.

 I should have kept a copy of the vcd version with English, Malay and Chinese subs.