Because it is dirt cheap compared to HDDs where I am, I will be storing my movie collection in Blu-Ray. And partially because I think spinny media is cool.
I currently got two secondhand options for the drive:
- Pioneer BDR-209EBK
- Panasonic UJ272
The drive will be plugged into my server (6th gen i5-6600, old desktop) via SATA. It will probably only read the disks I write so DRM is not much of a concern.
The disks will mostly be used as archival storage. Most of the time, they will be transferred to SSD a few days/hours before streaming, though sometimes they may be played straight from BD-R
Aside from that, most of the Blu-Ray writing software I found is GUI. So I’d also appreciate something I could control via web or CLI
Sounds like you’ve been listening to Linux Unplugged, ha. Drive support is generally good in my experience. If you’re going to buy one for writing, then I’d also recommend one that can be flashed with Libredrive. That way you can also rip encrypted BluRays and store them without DRM.
I haven’t used burning software in a long time, but you may have issues getting them in a format that will just play back normally on players, especially if you put a bunch of movies on one disc. I think they need some sort of menu system, but maybe some burning software can build a rudimentary one? idk
Optical archival storage is tempting right now because of the price, though it definitely is more of an archival solution. Good for long term cold backups, but not great for any data that needs to change, even infrequently.
I got lucky and mine has factory libredrive mode support. They changed the drive inside the case now though, Pioneer to Hitachi-LG. That one needs flashing.
And about archiving: it depends. Burnables, you can expect around 10 to 20 years in dry, dark places with stable climate. Though some charges have manufacturing defects, become literally spinning rust after a few years. Considering the duplicate for safety, or some expensive special archiving disk (if you believe the vendor), are they still cheaper?
Also consider, that optical drives already get rougher mechnaically, because the fabrication chain from the 2000s is lost. And in software too, they go the path of legacy.