This unit comfortably holds 364 standard DVDs, or 392 if you really pack them in (see below for more details). Comfortably, 26 per shelf and 7 shelves counting the base (7 shelves per half X 2 halves X 26 DVDs per shelf = 364 per unit).I purchased two of these units to house my fairly large DVD collection after seeing the generally positive reviews. While I am not UNhappy with this product, neither am I particularly happy.
Unlike some other folks who mentioned damage during shipping, both units arrived in good condition despite visible boot prints on the packaging. A couple of shelves had nicks but they give you a black marker and I was just able to turn the shelf around to hide the imperfection. One piece had a big glob of sticky glue-like substance which came off but required cleaning. There was a lot of sawdust inside.
Although the package was fairly heavy (about 70 pounds) and almost 6 feet tall, it wasn't overly wide or unwieldy so I was able to move it by myself.
The laminate finish is about what you would expect from pressed-wood shelving. Basic, but pretty much matched my black entertainment center which I bought from Wal Mart 5 years ago. As someone else noted, the underside of the shelves are NOT finished, which is unfortunate since the units are fairly tall. Depending on what you have on the shelves, the undersides are visible if you are seated. A little black stain from the hardware store would easily fix this problem if it annoyed you enough.
Assembly was easy enough despite the fact that the written instructions were not entirely correct. They say you need a flat head screwdriver; you don't (just a hammer and a Phillips). They say a power drill will speed up assembly; there are only 6 screws and a power drill would save you about 2 minutes. In one case the text says you need 2 dowels and 2 plastic pegs when you really need 3 dowels and 4 plastic pegs (but the picture is correct).
BE CAREFUL when hammering in the plastic pegs. The instructions say "halfway" but it's actually a bit less. If you go to full halfway you'll crack the laminate finish on the other side. Just hammer them in until the ridges are all in the hole.
Once assembled and standing I was a little bit disappointed with the stability. The shelves do add some side-to-side stability but there is no defense against "corkscrew" torsion. More disappointing was how shallow the base is. On carpet, the unit sways forward-to-back rather easily. The instructions recommend anchoring the unit to the wall using the provided plastic anchors and zip-tie. Fortunately, I do not live in an earthquake zone but I'm still concerned about kids pulling the unit over.
My biggest functional complaint is that the three trim pieces which attach to the front of the unit's shelf walls create an overhang on each end of the shelves that is about the width of a single DVD. I find this annoying because a DVD easily slips behind the overhang and then it's a real pain to get out, especially if you fill the shelf with the max capacity of 28 DVDs. You would literally need to remove 1 or 2 extra DVDs just to get the edge DVDs out. Also, when the shelf is packed, you can't really even read the title on the edge cases.
I recommend you only put 26 DVDs per shelf, which would give you up to 364 DVDs per unit.
I'm actually going to Wal Mart later to pick up an empty black DVD case for each end of each shelf just to keep my actual DVDs from slipping behind the trim, and may velcro or double-stick tape them in place to make things a little easier. It totally stinks that I would have to do this. It's a pretty major and totally obvious design flaw, in my opinion. I'm also planning to put something heavier than DVDs on the bottom shelf in hopes of adding stability to the unit. This means my final count will be about 312 DVDs per unit.
UPDATE
Note that while the description says the depth is 9.5", this is referring to the footprint, not the depth of the shelves themselves.
The individual shelves are only 4.5" deep but the way they are mounted leaves a 5/8" gap between the back of the shelf and the backing of the unit. There is also a 5/8" gap between the front of the shelves and the back of the trim pieces that mount on the front.
In other words, you have about 5 3/4" of depth from the back of the front trim to the backing of the unit. But only 4.5" of actual shelf, with a gap in the back.
A standard DVD case overhangs the front of the shelf by about 3/8".
1) Easy to assemble: all parts matched together well
2) Shelves hold lots of CDs/DVDs, as advertised, and are easily adjustable.
3) It feels very sturdy I did not attach it to the wall.
4) Importantly, it looks better than the usual crappy DIY furniture. Because of the dark color, it is hard to tell from a few feet away that it's not made from real wood. Of course, if you're unlucky and your package gets damaged during shipment, I can imagine the boards are pretty fragile; however, there's a marker enclosed to touch up scratches and such.
If I had to find faults, I would say that instructions for nailing the back board are intended for a single wide sheet instead of two sheets that are enclosed. I recommend using more nails than suggested in the cartoon assembly picture (there are more than enough nails included)
Another benefit is that there is both a double and single versions available, so you can mix and match, depending on your room geometry/setup.
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Prepac products are easy to assemble and very durable. My husband put his entire collection of DVDs and he loves it very much. Great product.Read Best Reviews of Prepac Black Double Barrister Media (DVD,CD,Games) Storage Rack Here
I bought two of these to store DVDs and Blu-ray discs (plus a few HD-DVD...), and the cases are everything I hoped they would be. Very sturdy, easy to assemble, and they look nice on either side of my big screen LCD TV.I used to have half a dozen smaller store-bought cases kind of eclectic/messy. I consolodated to just these two cases and couldn't be happier (well, 10 million bucks would make me happier, but anyway).
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We bought two of these to store our blu-rays and videogames. They look way better than you can imagine for being a put-together shelving unit. They also hold a ton of media and with two of them, we are confident, with the future leading toward the end of hard media, that we will not need to buy anything else. They assemble fairly easily but you need a little room to make it happen. These were a significant upgrade from our Jcpenney ladder shelves that we cheaply made and just didn't look as nice. Don't hesitate to buy these.Save 33% Off
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