Atlantic Elite XL Media Storage Cabinet – Protect & Organize Prized Music, Movie, Video Games, Collectables & Memorabilia Collections, PN 38408117 in Black

This media storage center does exactly what you buy a media storage center to do: it stores media efficiently and with a small footprint.I've put together a number of kits like this, but wouldn't call myself an 'expert.' I was able to assemble this unit in about 90 minutes using three different Phillips screwdrivers. I made a couple of minor mistakes during assembly, but took things slowly and caught myself before tightening anything down, so they were all easily correctable. The pre-drilled holes in the back paneling lined up properly with the backs of the shelves, so that when I screwed the back panels on, none of the screws missed.Yes, during assembly, this tower seemed very flimsy and unstable. Adding the back panels actually strengthened it quite a bit, and after anchoring the tower to my wall with the provided interior wall screws, it felt very solid and sturdy. My impression is that this unit could be partially disassembled and moved in two halves if it was well-packed and handled with care-- but, that said, this piece is really designed to function more as a semi-permanent wall installation and less as a piece of free-standing, movable furniture.I wasn't really sure how many DVDs I had in total, since they were stored throughout my house in several smaller bookcases (some on shelves with more than one row of DVDs, so that you couldn't see the ones in back). This media tower will hold all of the titles in my modest collection, with a little room to grow. Most people think that the primary purpose of a unit like this is to display your DVDs artfully in one place-- and while that's a nice bonus, the biggest benefit is really the household space that was opened up by getting rid of all of those other bookcases in favor of this one ultra-slim, wall-hugging, space-saving tower unit. I think I've reclaimed about twelve square feet of interior floor-space in my house with this one unit.I couldn't be happier with the purchase, or with the product itself.[EDIT: I recently completed an all-the-way-to-the-other-side-of-the-United-States move, and can confirm that with a little care and packaging this tower will survive partial disassembly and a long-distance move].

This DVD rack holds a ton of DVDs and CDs. I still gave it a 5 star even for its flaws. There just is no substitute for holding this many movies without spending almost double the price.Flaw 1: It is back heavy when empty. It will never lean forward, but it will lean against the wall.Flaw 2: When assembling, this shelf is in 2 pieces and the center where you join the two together it small dow pins and the standard furniture hook and loop piece. The studs holding it together can fall out easily so be careful when joining the top and bottom halves.I wouldn't really consider these flaws, but more precautionary methods to assembly. Since the hook and loop system failed when I was assembling it (again, all on how you hold it since I physically broke it by not paying attention), I had to grab a couple pieces of flat steel brackets to screw into the back. My brackets hold it together perfectly and with more strength. I did not attach this to the wall as when filled it leans against the wall anyways.The base extends far enough out the front to where it won't lean forward, but for safety purposes, use the wall mount system it came with, even more so if you have kids, which we don't.The box it came in is fairly small, so for even with the weight of this shelf, it was relatively easy to carry since it isn't an awkward size. There is a box inside of a box so if the outside box has bumps or small rips on it, just check the inside box under it. The inside box when delivered was flawless but the outside box handled the expected delivery bruises from moving around.

I'm no stranger to assembling flat pack furniture. This item was harder than average. Not necessarily due to lack of clarity in instructions, which I didn't entirely follow, but because the thing is so huge that until it's fully assembled, it's not sturdy AT ALL. Trying to move or flip the structure as you're building it is treacherous and you're risking breaking the cam locks. The dowels are useless (why are flat pack furniture dowels always either too large and keep you from connecting pieces, or they're too small and constantly falling out??)All the wood pieces were labeled, all hardware was present. The nails for attaching the backing were super low-quality and several of them were lacking in essential qualities that make something a nail (such as a point at one end and a head at the other, and a straight shaft in between.) No extras were included, but luckily I have spares!As far as overall quality goes, I'd say it is about what I expected for the price and that it was probably shipped through multiple distributors of one sort or another. There was a small ding on one board but it isn't noticeable unless you look very closely, and know where to look. There was probably close to the minimum amount of crumbly, statically charged Styrofoam used in packing.It could have a more versatile design, and that would be nice, because the holes for pegs to place shelves on aren't spaced terribly closely together, nor do they span the entire height of the unit. Your uppermost shelf can only be so close to the top of this; your lower-most shelf can only be so low. This is also true of the shelves immediately below and above the solid middle--it is essentially one unit above that and one unit below it, although they cannot function independently.And this is why despite the impressive storage numbers for this item, we were only able to get about a third of our DVDs and Blu Rays onto it. Yes, we have cases that have multiple discs. We didn't want to segregate DVDs from Blu Rays, although a Blu Ray case isn't as tall and we might have been able to squeeze another layer of shelves in.Well, we own a LOT of media.If we ever purchase another similar item we might try paying more and getting something a bit sturdier. It isn't that bad, it's just frustrating to know that because of poor design and cheap hardware, proper assembly as intended isn't really a reasonable expectation.The one other thing I don't care for is that the depth of the removable shelves is so much less than the fixed shelves that DVDs in particular stick out a good bit past the shelves. About 3/4 inch, which means if you grab a DVD too hastily, you could flip the whole shelf down and out. You can't pull the case downwards at all.My advice on assembly tips is limited to this--if you're working on it with unfinished side down (which is a good idea, I think, because it often makes the backing fit much easier)...either work on bare floor or put down a huge piece of cardboard because the rough edges of the wood stuff grabs like mad. We have many area rugs for dog paw traction and had to get them all out of the way. I think any type of carpet would do similar.Oh, and one other bit--per the assemble instructions, once you've connected everything you're supposed to lie the thing on its front to put the backing on--you can't. The bottom board has a lip. It won't sit flat on the floor with that lip. We just stood it upright, facing against the wall, and kind of leaned it in to get some resistance while nailing the backing pieces on. The only way you could do this with it laid flat would be to put it on a bed or something with the lip hanging off the edge. No mention in the instructions that this would be an issue. (Like I said, I only followed them loosely.)Lastly--the box says Atlantic media tower 756. The item description says XL something? I dunno.