Some time I again, I wrote a column for TechHive on methods to hire or purchase DVDs with out Netflix’s now-dead DVD service. So it’s solely becoming to now write the other story, about the way to declutter the optical media you now not need.

First, we’ll go over some methods to digitize any DVDs or CDs you wish to save, utilizing freely accessible software program. We’ll additionally cowl the way to promote discs in bulk for a modest revenue.

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Why digitize?

In an age of streaming abundance, you won’t suppose digitizing bodily media is worth it. Allow me to supply just a few counterpoints:

• Not all bodily media is offered on streaming providers (or accessible on those you presently pay for). With a digital copy, you possibly can entry that content material on all of your units with none clunky optical drives.
• Digitizing permits you to protect the content material’s authentic high quality with out the additional compression that usually comes with streaming.
• If you might have the time and inclination, running a personal media server is a enjoyable and rewarding interest, one that may allow you to entry all of your digitized content material from wherever with none ongoing subscription charges.

Get a disc drive

LG

Unless your laptop has an optical drive inbuilt, you’ll want an exterior participant to plug in over USB. For DVDs and CDs, I take advantage of an LG drive similar to this one, which I purchased on sale for $20, however Amazon has generic models at similar prices.

The state of affairs’s extra sophisticated if you happen to’re ripping Blu-rays. Low-end Blu-ray drives start at around $60 however can’t play 4K discs in any respect. Ripping 4K Blu-rays requires specific hardware and third-party firmware to avoid copy safety, and doubtless isn’t well worth the hassle except you’re totally dedicated to the endeavor.

Digitizing a CD

Jared Newman / Foundry

My go-to for digitizing CDs is a free program referred to as fre:ac, which is offered for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

After putting in fre.ac, simply insert a CD into your drive, open the app, and anticipate the album information to load. (You may also click on the CD icon with a plus signal subsequent to it.) The software program robotically pulls in information from CDDB, so it ought to pull in monitor information for all however essentially the most obscure albums.

You’ll have to supply album artwork by yourself, although. Download some from Google Images, then head to the “Tags” tab in fre:ac. Click “Album” beneath, choose “Add” beneath the “Cover Art” part, and choose the picture you downloaded.

Next, head to Options > General Settings > Output recordsdata. From right here you possibly can select the place to save lots of your audio recordsdata and customise folder and file names.

Jared Newman / Foundry

Once all the pieces’s configured, you possibly can rip the album into a variety of codecs, which you’ll be able to view by clicking the drop-down arrow subsequent to the ▶️ button within the high toolbar. I counsel FLAC to protect the CD’s authentic high quality, or both MP3 or AAC if you would like a lot smaller recordsdata in alternate for a loss in high quality. Click the play button itself to start out ripping.

More instruments to take a look at: The fantastically named MusicBrainz Picard can robotically add album artwork and monitor information based mostly on the audio file’s distinctive traits. I additionally like MP3Tag for tweaking monitor information in bulk, nevertheless it’s solely free for Windows customers. The Mac model prices $20.

Digitizing DVDs

Jared Newman / Foundry

Ripping DVDs is an easy affair with a free program referred to as MakeMKV. With only a few clicks, it may convert your discs to the MKV file format. (Just bear in mind that if the DVD is copy-protected, ripping it is probably illegal.)

To get began in MakeMKV, simply click on the massive disc icon and anticipate the app to scan your disc’s contents. On the following display, select the place to save lots of your recordsdata. Click the little inexperienced arrow icon beneath “Make MKV,” then sit again and wait.

You’ll find yourself with a number of MKV recordsdata relying on the variety of extras and deleted scenes included with the disc. Rename them in a means that’s recognizable, then collect all of them right into a single folder. (If you’re including them to a Plex server, there’s a specific naming scheme to follow for bonus content material.)

Note MakeMKV may also rip Blu-ray discs. It technically requires a $60 license after 30 days, however free license keys are available as soon as monthly whereas the software program is in beta, because it has been since 2008.

Need smaller recordsdata? DVDs can simply eat up 5GB of cupboard space when ripped by way of MakeMKV, so think about using Handbrake to compress them right down to a smaller dimension. The “Super HQ 480p” preset for DVDs ought to reduce issues in half with out a noticeable drop in high quality.

How to promote undesirable DVDs and Blu-rays

Jared Newman / Foundry

First, a disclaimer: If you simply ripped a duplicate of a CD or DVD for private use, you’re most likely not allowed to show round and promote it whereas protecting the digital model for your self. For the needs of this information, I’m simply going to imagine you might have a separate stack of discs that you simply’d prefer to eliminate, even with out digitizing them first.

While you possibly can at all times search for a neighborhood file retailer to promote your CDs, or attempt to promote all the pieces in bulk on eBay, the appropriately-named Decluttr is a a lot less complicated resolution.

Download Decluttr’s app for iOS or Android, and you may scan the barcodes for all of your CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays. Decluttr can pay money for every one and gives a free UPS label (and even a number of labels, if want be) to ship them out. You solely want to supply the field through which to ship them.

Admittedly, this isn’t essentially the most economical approach to offload outdated discs. I scanned 28 CDs and one DVD into the app, and the affords for every disc ranged from $0.10 to $3, with a complete payout of $13.44. On a separate event, I scanned 37 for a meager $7.44.

But as motivation to lastly get a stack of CDs out of my workplace, it’s sufficient, and I take some consolation in realizing that Decluttr will attempt to find a new home for them. Now I’ll be looking out for dusty CD towers at associates’ and households’ homes to see if we are able to offload any extra.

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