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longest time youve had a dvd-r b4 begins to fail?
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Posted February 13, 2010 at 4:28PM
whats the shortest and/or longest time youve had a burnt dvd-r or dvd+r disc, before it has began to fail on you?
im wondering because many websites state the maximum shelf life, using even the best brands (supposedly verbatim and taiyo yuden) is only around 2 to 5 yrs, click here
yet (predictably) the most dedicated sites on dvd state 30 to 100 yrs! lol click here
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Posted February 13, 2010 at 7:40PM
Have memorex cd-rs going back to 03 and still working. Maxell dvd-rs going back to 05 and ok.
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Posted February 14, 2010 at 10:03AM
use archival gold DVDs. They'll cost more - last time I bought some I paid around £26 for ten - but they have a special scratch resistant coating, and accelerated age testing puts their life at around 100 years.
Ordinary DVDs will last for varying periods, depending on how they are stored and used. Keeping them dry, and away from light/heat/cold, and using them infrequently will increase their life expectancy. I just tested a data CD that I wrote in December 1997. It's been sitting in its case for about eight years without being accessed, and it worked perfectly.
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Posted February 14, 2010 at 11:33AM
I once bought some unbranded 'cheapos' to shift some recordings temporarily. Within a few months the silvering looked as though the moths had been at it. As I had already put them back onto a much larger hard drive I wasn't worried but if I need to archive them I shall certainly not be buying 'cheapos' for the job.
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Posted February 14, 2010 at 8:12PM
I recently bought a large zip wallet for discs. Some websites claim individual jewel cases are far better, and wallets may somehow damage them quicker-but i do not have the space for individual cases for every single disc. I guess the best place was never going to be with standard verbatim/taiyo-yuden discs in individual cases anyway when thinking long-term. If I dont want to spend £5 each on a "Delkin Archival Gold Scratch Armour DVD-R 25 Pack" for £50 on amazon, then perhaps im just better off passwording folders on an external hard drive for primary backup? they are getting cheaper, and storage capacity is getting larger by the minute. A secondary backup of the most vital info could always go on standard verbatim discs.. in a zip case.
As for the Archival Gold discs, ive never seen those before, thanks. "up to 100 yrs" on the pack, but I bet on the not so enthusiastic review websites-thats probably down to around 20 yrs.. lol. I thought the best discs were always going to be the ones that are factory pressed, not what you burn on any standard pc drive, so I wonder how the archival gold discs compare to those. Unless you have to buy a specific archival gold drive
As for what the next generation storage format will be- i dont fancy waiting an age to back up onto any blu-ray, lol, so thats never going to take off. Its popularity doesnt seem to be increasing as fast as I thought it would, even for just playback, so it would seem that standard dvd is still the chosen format, until/if the industry forces everybody onto it in the next few yrs, or something else appears
thanks
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Posted February 14, 2010 at 8:28PM
update:- ive noticed they have single archival gold discs for sale also, i think i will try one of these out, might be handy for family photos - if only they were rewritable
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Posted February 14, 2010 at 9:02PM
I never use rewritables as not so reliable in my opinion. -Rs are cheap enough and if a good make will outlast me I think.
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Posted February 26, 2010 at 4:14PM
I tend only to use rws for transferring small amounts of data from one computer to another, and (despite some people claiming it doesnt always work) I always use "file verification after burning" in nero or ashampoo to make sure all files copy to the disc correctly, as with any burnt standard disc. I have never used any rw for a more permanent storage, if its not on a dvd-r or dvd+r, ill just store files on an external or internal hd.
I do have alot of old cds/dvds burnt from yesteryear though, and found one not to work (despite no scratches) so wondered about the long term. I binned the disc, pretty sure the brand wasnt verbatim, shouldve noted what it was, probably a supermarket brand, although I shouldve also checked out the manufacturers name of the disc using click here
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Posted February 28, 2010 at 11:19PM
I use flash drives to store and transfer data from PC to PC. CD-R for longevity or DVD-R.
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Posted March 1, 2010 at 11:58AM
Most of my CDs dating back to the early 2000s that I've checked including Kodak Gold has failed. So far my oldest DVD-Rs are around 7 years old, mainly Bulpaq but a few other brands as well and are still OK.
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Posted March 1, 2010 at 4:31PM
I suspect the media will outlast the hardware. For those with a long memory you may recall the BBC did archive some material onto early digital disks and whilst the disks are still readable only one player remains serviceable and when that's gone it's goodbye to the data no matter how long the disks last.
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