This is a two parter:

I'm picky about my DVD cases. Some are terrible designs that need to be retired immediately. First off, New Line better quit it with the cardboard cases. Second, there just needs to be a standard, particularly when it comes to the mechanism that holds the disc in place.

My personal preference is for the two-pronged clip that looks sort of like a Yin/Yang symbol. It holds the disc well, and to get the disc off it's easy to push the thing down and it will let go (I wish I had a picture for those who can't visualize what I'm talking about).

The second objective of my post is, for those who understand me (an impressive feat, considering), do you know where I can find these? I bought 20 DVD cases from my local video store, but they are assorted and only about 5 of them have the good mechanism. Has anyone bought cases online that match this description??

I've got 5 of them that AOL sent me for free... with some sort of disc inside to demo how they work

get all your friends to get you the AOL dvd cases, or find a large electronics store with a bunch of them on display and snag a handful. They are exactly the kind you are talking about.

You've located one of my major pet peeves. Why, oh why, do they put the ring of plastic so that the notches to grab the disc by don't actually work? why have the notches at all? Is there an explanation I havn't thought of?

Matthew

Greetings!

I know the type you are thinking of. You are not alone in being selective about your DVD cases. There are a bunch of good sites detailing this - 1:2. Here is a good scan of the model you are looking for... From the site, it gives the name / manufacturer as "Amaray". A quick google search turned up a number of different sellers. Here's a good one with a FAQ, good photos and plenty of case options.

I usually get cases and media from one of these three companies below. All sell DVD cases, some with "advanced, push button release", but not with images clear enough to see if it is the kind you like.

CDR Outlet
CD Recordable.com
Univenture

Thanks guys! That scan is the exact case I'm thinking of. IMO, that is the absolute best type. The others with the 8-or-so little things that grip the disc always make it difficult to get the disc out! Then they break and you can't secure it back in.

Sometimes, standardization is a GOOD thing

I'll go see if I've got an AOL case lying around. I must have, those things are everywhere. Otherwise, I'll try one of those sellers you mentioned.

I have had instances where the little grabbers that hold the DVD actually crack the disc when trying to get it out...similar to gravel hitting your windshield.

That scan is the exact case I'm thinking of. IMO, that is the absolute best type.

Me too. I wish audio CD cases had that kind, too.

Great idea! Of course, they've already "standardized" their cases. It would be near impossible to get them to change now.

What you want: AMARAY cases. Where to get them: ebay. Just do a search.

My brother regularly replaces ALL non-Amarays in his collection. I like them too, but just haven't bnothered. I don't pull DVDs in and out of cases nearly enough times to care THAT much. I do concur about the paper cases. But that doesn't bother me as much as full-frame-only discs, flippers and packaging with French sharing the same cover space as English (especially when Aliance uses the reverse side of the insert to include the French/English version - arrrgh). And then there are useless re-releases/repacks, different versions between Canada and US (this bugs me quite a bit because I've had to return discs).

All the research that has to go into buying DVDs, eh?

Bruno

All the research that has to go into buying DVDs, eh?

No kidding! Then there's the research that has to go into buying and making them! For example, I'm putting several recent college band performances on disc, and people are asking for copies. Instead of "okay, give me three bucks and I'll get one to you", it's "okay, give me three bucks and the model DVD player you'll be playing it on." I want to make sure they can play it, and not get on my case.

Anyway, I still love it. I took my 4 CDs of Family Guy episodes and now have them all on one DVD with plenty of room to spare. I freed up 40 GB of space on my hard disks, I'm making a presentation DVD for a class presentation. This has been my favorite PC upgrade in years!

I discovered a DVD case mechanism that I hadn't seen before today. It's a Forward Electronics design called ``M-Locking Mechanism'' (US Patent 6,227,362) and it's kinda neat. (Note the site that image is from: DVD Cases and Hub Images. Also neat.)

There are a pair of arms that stick straight up to align the DVD hole. Then the central portion of the mechanism is cantilevered against itself. It prefers to be in one of two positions. When open, there are arms to the side wider than the DVD hole, and there are two arms that point upward. To close it, you push down on the interiormost point of the disc. This forces the wide arms down and the upward pointing arms swivel over the top of the disc.

While pushing down on the disc is potentially detrimental, the disc is completely stress-free once closed. I suppose this is the case with the Amaray, too, but somehow I like the active open and closed states instead of the sprung Amaray. I still think the Amaray is better, but this one's neat.