Digital Media " backup" that would be playable from unconnected storage? (1 Viewer)

[AtlasWinks]

I have been told I should make backup copies of our digital media, but I am not sure what is the best option there. Can we back up to some kind of digital player that doesn't require any internet to play? We have around 800 digital tv series and around 1600 movies, Amazon & Apple. More than 50% are HD.

 

[DaveF]

If you mean music CDs, then yes definitely rip them into your music library.

If you mean DVD and blu-rays, then no don't bother. It's very time consuming.

If you mean movies bought digitally like from iTunes and vudu, no reason not to download them if you have the storage space. You'll need maybe 4 to 8 TB storage. You may need a NAS, like the Synology Play series.

 

[JohnRice]

I'm not really clear on what you're asking either.

 

[AtlasWinks]

I'm sorry I was confusing. Can I download the purchased digital movies to a storage device that doesn't require an internet connection to play the content? I like the convenience of digital video, but it is frustrating when my internet goes down and I have no access to my purchased Amazon/iTunes content. There have also been two situations where purchased tv content has just disappeared from their store!

 

[JohnRice]

With Amazon, not to my knowledge. With iTunes, you might be able to download it, but I don't think you'll be able to play it without an internet connection to verify ownership.

 

[DaveF]

To the key question, I don't know why you "need" to download them or back them up. The point of buying digital copies is that you don't need to worry about local storage or physical storage space.

If you are concerned about having copies on hand, then I'd suggest buying discs with digital copy codes for the best of both worlds.

 

[JohnRice]

Gotta agree with Dave. The idea of "cloud" purchases is you don't store them yourself, and typically can't. Otherwise you could buy a movie, download it and give copies to all your friends. I don't purchase managed "cloud" content, ever. It's discs or high res music that I can purchase and store myself. THEN, I back it up, because if it's lost, it's gone. I lose it and have to buy it again.

 

[David Willow]

Also keep in mind that you don't really own them. You license them and to play them you have to be authorized every single time. This means you must have an internet connection. This is one of the reasons why I only purchase physical media. I do take the time to convert it because I do like it "in my cloud" but I always have the physical media as a backup.

 

[Bmfb1980]

I'm a little confused. I thought it was illegal to copy your purchased material, even if for "back up". Because in order for you to do so, you must break the copyright/DRM to copy the material to another media in the first place. So now you are free to distribute to all your friends as mentioned...

On the flip side, since there are those here on the board who are saying it is OK to copy (ahem, "back up") your purchased material... there are solutions to google that let you copy (ahem, "back up") whatever you are watching on screen, including audio tracks, to wherever you need.

On the alternative side, the whole notion of "cloud" storage is so that you are chained and reliant upon someone else, and many times even have to pay some kind of fee (i.e. your costs of internet) merely to access your material. And there is absolutely NO guarantee that is enforceable that say, Amazon doesn't some day sell off it's "cloud services" to another company, who then decides to completely alter the conditions of storing files on their server/mainframe. It happens all the time... so not farfetched at all.

The best solution is to own physical copies. But in your case, you bought the right to watch digital copies and should be able to somehow store them locally. I'd look for the streaming cloner/copier to get a backup copy for your paid personal use.

Just my 2 cents