Everyone fondly remembers their physical media, but don’t really spend much time thinking about the containers that held that media. Well, I’m not everyone, and I like to appreciate a game-changing design that’s better in almost every way compared to the thing it replaced.
So, while the continuing decline in streaming service quality marches on, and people are pining for the good old days when they owned their media, let’s spend a minute appreciating just how good DVD cases are.
The Humble Plastic Protector
DVD cases replaced not one, but two types of media container—plastic CD jewel cases and plastic VHS cases or cardboard sleeves. To be honest, DVD cases have more in common with those premium plastic VHS cases, but they are certainly better than the cardboard VHS sleeves!
Where things really got a glow-up is when we compare DVDs to plastic CD jewel cases. These clear and brittle plastic cases are awful. They’re made from multiple parts held together by tiny nubs and the power of prayer. One short drop and they crack or shatter. I’d say about 50% of the jewel cases I ever owned had some sort of crack or broken parts.
A standard DVD case is injection molded all in one piece, they’re extremely durable, and standardized the size of the cases, making them look way better on the shelf in my opinion.
Built-In Bonus Features
One of the reasons CD jewel cases had to be clear, was because the written material needed to be visible. The little cover sheet or booklet and the rear cover had to be visible. DVD cases solve this neatly. There’s an outer printed sleeve that goes under a plastic sheet, but the case itself doesn’t have to be see-through. At the same time, there’s ample space for a proper book-shaped booklet inside. Many DVD cases even had little retainer clips to hold it all securely.
Open a CD jewel case and half the time the album liner notes just fall out or stay behind on top of the CD itself. I also love that you can have reversible slipcovers with DVD cases, and that printing out your own slipcovers is pretty easy because the fit doesn’t have to be as precise compared to making and cutting your own covers for a CD jewel case.
Protection That Actually Works
The whole point of a media case is to protect the actual media inside. DVD cases did amuchbetter job of this than CD jewel cases. If you dropped a CD case, not only would the case itself probably split into shattered parts, but your actual CDs would scatter across the floor. DVD cases tend to retain their discs inside, even if the impact makes the disc go loose inside the case.
Speaking of which, that brittle clear CD jewel case plastic was terrible for its disc-retention mechanism. Those little fingers that hold the disc would inevitable start breaking off even with normal use. The plastic used in DVD cases is much more flexible, and so I’ve personally never had that happen with a DVD case.
DVD cases also keep sunlight out, which can be a contributing factor todisc degradation, and the hinge design for a DVD case will last practically forever compared to the fragile CD jewel case approach.
A Physical Connection to Your Media
This is perhaps one of the most subjective points I’m trying to make, but as someone who likes tocollect and display my media, I think the DVD and Blu-ray case format is much better than what came before. You have a nice long spine to make titles easy to browse. The cases are easy to stack vertically or horizontally, and because you have two nice portrait-shaped covers, there’s plenty of space for nice artwork, and all the information you need. It also makes it easy for DVDs to share the same shelf space with my book collection.
Why They Still Beat Most Modern Packaging
Blu-ray cases are obviously just an evolution of the DVD case, and so most of the good things about DVD case design also applies to them. However, I do feel that Blu-ray cases are a step backwards with the more brittle transparent cases. They also feel thinner and less robust. I don’t hate them, but I still prefer the chunkier DVD cases for purposes of collecting and storing my disc long-term.
Of course, I can just buy apack of DVD casesand transfer my Blu-rays over with their slipcovers if I really wanted to, but it’s no biggie in the greater scheme of things. However, I think that time will show that the simple and robust standard DVD case will be the best performer long-term compared to CD jewel cases, vinyl andlaserdiscsleeves, and yes even modern Blu-ray cases.
