itunes TV show eps: keep 'em or dump 'em?

[bluemonkey]

You paid up to $2 each for them, but the files are so large. Once you watch the episodes, do you guys keep them for future enjoyment (or because you paid good money for them), or dump them to clear space?

I know it makes perfect sense to crapcan the old eps, but I seem to be a digital packrat who keeps everything, even layered PSD files for jobs I did 7 years ago. Is there anyone else like this, or is it just me?

 

[Zman5225]

I store them on my backup external HD. I mean heck, I paid 2 bucks for them, I might as well keep them to watch them sometime on a trip or something again. The only time I might dump them is after/when I purchase a dvd season.

 

[ghall]

When I finish a season, I burn the whole season onto data DVD (much more reliable than a hard drive, if cared for properly), and put it in a safe place. I have the first 2 seasons and the mini series of Battlestar Galactica like that. I have yet to back up The Office onto DVDs though, because I just keep watching them over and over. But yeah, if you pay 2 bucks for a video, why would you delete it?

 

[dextertangocci]

I have over 100GB of tv shows alone so far, expanding rapidly I have a big enough (500GB) external HD, so I don't see why I shouldn't keep them. I watch them many times over, and my family also likes to watch them, at different times. I'll have my tv in about 2 weeks, so anyone who wants to watch them can. If I run out of space, i'll just get more HD's

 

[peterjhill]

external hd for the win

same here, I actually have 3 external hds.. two for data and one for backups.... (one has all my dvds ripped to it, my backups for that disk are the dvds)

 

[Wolfpup]

Why on EARTH would you buy episodes if you were just going to delete them or later buy them on DVD?

Why on Earth not just buy the DVD to begin with if you want to keep them, or just record them (which is going to be much cheaper, even if you subscribe to cable or satellite).

 

[dswoodley]

Why on EARTH would you buy episodes if you were just going to delete them or later buy them on DVD?

Why on Earth not just buy the DVD to begin with if you want to keep them, or just record them (which is going to be much cheaper, even if you subscribe to cable or satellite).

Extras, special features, better quality, can watch them on regular dvd players...lots of reasons. Unfortunately you usually have to wait several months after for a dvd after the ep is released on iTunes.

 

[Wolfpup]

Extras, special features, better quality, can watch them on regular dvd players...lots of reasons. Unfortunately you usually have to wait several months after for a dvd after the ep is released on iTunes.

Yeah, but so what? You're willing to throw away dozens if not hundreds (and eventually thousands) of dollars just to watch something sooner? If you wait a bit, then you effectively won't have to wait at all, as there will always be new shows coming out on DVD.

 

[TheAnswer]

I keep most of them...I don't normally watch that much TV, but I got hooked on a reality show over Xmas while watching TV at the parentals and downloaded the episodes until the show ended. Once I watched those, I knew I wasn't going to watch them again, so I deleted them.

 

[SilentPanda]

I delete old episodes of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. I'll also delete episodes of things I later bought on DVD. Sometimes I buy 2 or 3 episodes of a TV show and then if I like it buy the DVD instead.

Otherwise I back them up to DVD-R's.

 

[dswoodley]

Yeah, but so what? You're willing to throw away dozens if not hundreds (and eventually thousands) of dollars just to watch something sooner? If you wait a bit, then you effectively won't have to wait at all, as there will always be new shows coming out on DVD.

Welcome to the modern consumer mentality. Old Product+fresh packing=sales. George Lucas is proof the concept works. How many version of the SW has there been on VHS and DVD? With likely even more versions coming on HD and Blu-Ray?

Besides that, there are plenty of people who watch their shows when broadcast, miss an episode here and there and download them, and then sure enough when they come out on DVD, they buy the DVDs. Its what fandom is all about. I am not saying it makes sense, but thats how it works. If people are willing and able to spend their money that way, who is anyone to criticize?

 

[mark-itguy]

I buy Music and TV Shows from the iTunes Store, [and maybe Movies soon too]. I used to have a backup scheme where I'd create a temporary playlist and copy new downloads to it. When it would reach anything over about 600 MB for music or about 4GB for video, I'd burn that playlist as a data disc to the appropriate media, then delete from iTunes and the hard drive. Once I bought a Season Pass, that started getting complicated.

New scheme. Since all new downloads, regardless of type, are put in the Purchased playlist, I just monitor it it. Whenever it gets to about 4GB I burn that playlist as a data DVD, then delete the reference to the content in the Purchased playlist, to start over. Now my "keep or delete" debate for content is independent of backup status. If I want to delete something to save space or just because, I just make sure it's not in the Purchased playlist, and then delete it!

May not be a perfect backup scheme, but it works! And unless I just hated a purchase, I do back it up. You never know when you may want to go back & re-watch something again.

 

[Wolfpup]

Welcome to the modern consumer mentality. Old Product+fresh packing=sales. George Lucas is proof the concept works. How many version of the SW has there been on VHS and DVD? With likely even more versions coming on HD and Blu-Ray?

Besides that, there are plenty of people who watch their shows when broadcast, miss an episode here and there and download them, and then sure enough when they come out on DVD, they buy the DVDs. Its what fandom is all about. I am not saying it makes sense, but thats how it works. If people are willing and able to spend their money that way, who is anyone to criticize?

Well, it raises prices for everyone else, so I'm going to keep criticizing. I don't have money to throw away that way.

And seriously, it just blows my mind that people use this as DISPOSABLE. How much money do people have to burn? I wouldn't do this if I had 300 million in the bank.

 

[mrgreen4242]

I spend $50 on a new TiVo, $50 on the wireless adaptor, and $12 a month on service. I record and download all the shows I watch, have them converted to iPod format and imported into iTMS overnight. My iPod syncs up unwatched episodes from the TiVo import list automatically. It's all really pretty brilliant. I'm just waiting for an automatic commercial removal application to get incorporated into the process...

Anyways, I figure I am recording and archiving, roughly, 15+ shows per week. If I were to buy those from the iTMS I'd be spending $30 a week, $120 per month, and over $1500 per year! But, instead I'm spending $255 this year, and $155 in subsequent years. Over the 3 years I figure I'll keep this TiVo I will "save" about $4000. Of course, I wouldn't have bought all these shows, so it's kind of like how the RIAA loses $3 billion to piracy, but you get the point.

For sake of discussion, I record and later watch on my iPod (all shows my wife doesn't like, so this is by far the most convenient viewing method) are:
- Robot Chicken (4 per week, really 8 but it's a 15 minute show, so I figure they're "worth" half as much)
- Lost (1 per week)
- The Office (1 per week)
- Numb3rs (1 per week)
- Star Trek DS9 (4 per week) *I watched this randomly when it was on the air, and it JUST started over in syndication this week on Spike with the first episode, so I get to do the entire series in order, woowoo).
- My Name is Earl (1 per week)
- (new episodes of) The Simpsons (1 per week)
- (new episodes of) Family Guy (1 per week)
- (new episodes of) Mythbusters (1 per week)
- There's more that I can't think of right now, but that's 15 right there.