Best media for data preservation?

[dpippin]

Sorry if this has been discussed before. Can someone please point me to a site or answer where research has been done on media longevity. What type works best the longest, i.e. DVD-R, DVD+R, Maxwell, Memorex, etc.

Thank You.

[TheWizard]

To paraphrase what I said in another message:

The problem is, we have no idea how long media will last. Sure, some brands may advertise a long life, but that may be purely a marketing scheme. Some brands advertise a 100 year life, but we won't know for sure until 100 years have passed. If the first recordable disc was made in 1904, then we would have a basis. Since the first recordable disc was made much later, we'll have to wait a while in order to get a good basis.

[pranav81]

TheWizard is right.There is no way one can predict life of media.The life of disc depends on many factors.



::Pranav::

[dpippin]

I don't know if I completely agree, you would think that media could be tested using various methods. I.E. exposed to intense sunlight or other environmental factors, or determine how fast the disk is deteriorating and than finding a sort of half-life from that, or being constantly run (24 hrs a day for 1 month), I can think of other tests too. Just like finding half life of elements, we don't know that H-16 has a half life of 5,730 years because we waited that long! I guess I'll keep looking for my answer

[pranav81]

You are probably wrong when you say that you can test one disc and apply the results to all the discs.Basically nobody knows if two discs are same,even if they are from same batch.

So nobody can predict life of media,you can just project some date,but not possible to pinpoint exact date of media expiration.


::Pranav::

[dpippin]

I came across this site that explains a lot. As this article states there are ways to test DVD's. There also seems to be more variety between types of the same DVD category i.e. DVD-R vs. other DVD-R rather than DVD+R vs. DVD-R. I see what you are saying about differences in batches. Sure you can't say this disk will last 12 years and 147 days, however we can determine what media and manufacture is best for longevity/storage by the manufacturing methods and material used by the different companies.

http://www.manifest-tech.com/media_dvd/dvd_compatibility.htm

[TheWizard]

however we can determine what media and manufacture is best for longevity/storage by the manufacturing methods and material used by the different companies.

A little Quality Assurance? Sure, that goes a long way. Like in any business, reputation is everything. If you want specific brands, take a look at Taiyo Yuden, Verbatim, Kodak (if you can find them anymore), and Mitsui (the older Mitsui discs). These brands have earned very good reputations in the CD-R business. I haven't tested any DVD-/+R discs yet, so I can't respond there.

[Halc]

OSTA should release the first and only even closely reliable test results within this year (I hope).

It will be based on accelerated aging methodology and Arrhenius formula for estimating longevity.

However, as others have said, dvd-r/dvd+r (and even pressed dvd) longevity depends on many factors.

We just don't know yet.

That's why it's being tested as we write.