[ale] Organizing large files on small media

[Thompson Freeman]

I know that this has been discussed before, but my search  
approaches haven't given me results. I approach the group  
in search of enlightenment.

Q: Is there a general tool suitable for organizing a group  
of large files on relatively small media. That is small  
relative to the total storage needs, not the individual  
files.

Background. We just had a family reunion and I have gotten  
the video tapes transferred to disk. Now I want to ship  
those (raw) files out to my son who lives out of state. I  
see two possible approaches here: purchase a new hard disk,  
transfer files, and ship carefully or burn the files to a  
series of DVD's and mail. With a price differential of  
about $100, the prefered choice is obvious. Go with the DVD  
set.

The "challenge" is getting the files packed somewhat  
efficiently onto the various DVDs under program control, as  
keeping track of what is where and when is more pain than  
I'm interested in.

Is there a general programatic solution, or should I just  
fall back upon my quite limited scripting abilities and  
slash madly at the challenge?