On Jan 2, 2006, at 5:45 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Some like to get DVDs that are fancier and more expensive for
pictures. I
forget the brand. Probably someone will pop up and mention it.
I know Fuji made a CD-R that they advertised as being archival.
Also I just found Kodak Gold Ultima CD-R. Don't know about DVDs though.
I followed the link you provided and after following more links from
there I eventually found this in the "official DVD FAQ":
http://dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#3.12
---
Expected longevity of dye-based DVD-R and DVD+R discs is anywhere
from 20 to 250 years, about as long as CD-R discs. Some dye
formulations (such as phthalocyanine and azo) are more stable and
last longer, 100 years or more, compared to 20 or 30 years for less
stable dyes.
The phase-change erasable formats (DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW) have
an expected lifetime of 25 to 100 years.
In all cases, longevity can be reduced by poor quality. Poor quality
pressed DVDs may deteriorate within a few years, and cheap recordable
DVDs may produce errors when recording or may become unreadable after
a while.
---
Personally, I don't think it matters much. If you find a brand you
think is
reliable, use it. You can tell by how many are duds in a 50 DVD pack.
?!? I don't want *any* duds :) The DataLife discs I mentioned
earlier - I can only purchase these as singles or in packs of 5 with
jewel cases. I've found one supplier who advertise them at a pretty
good price so I'll follow that up after the holiday, but in the mean
time I'll shop around a bit more, now that I know what to look for.
But I'd burn at least two discs of any copy setup you
do. Discs can go bad just sitting around. While it isn't common, it
does happen.
That's exactly what I plan to do. One copy will be stored in my
office, and I'm not sure about where I'll store the second. I was
thinking the garage, in the cupboard where my fileserver lives but
the conditions in there may not be as friendly as in the house.
However the garage is detached so if the house burns down there'd be
a good chance of being able to rescue my data... after the insurance
has bought me a new computer :)
Thanks for the help...
- Dave
