[cma-l] Digital Storage

[Tim Eames]

Hi Peter,

DVDs should last at least 10 years if you buy decent blank discs and 
look after them. (I would personally recommend Taiyo Yuden discs, though 
watch out for fakes.)  At least 10 years' may not sound a lot for the 
lifespan of DVDs but in truth they're likely to last as long as the 
medium itself - i.e. something new will have replaced DVDs in 
technological terms before they decay.

CDs should last a lot longer than DVDs due to the materials used and the 
different burning process. DVDs are more sensitive to light/heat/general 
abrasion than CDs. Also discs decay more slowly once they've been 
burned, so it's not advisable to keep blank discs for a long time. 
Apparently a lot of research also suggests not writing on them is advisable.

External hard-drives generally have a shorter lifespan than either of 
the above but much higher capacity.

So common sense would suggest making multiple back-ups on different 
types of media, and check them as often as you can. Whatever you choose 
to archive on, it's almost certain that you'll need to re-archive on a 
different medium eventually, as digital technology moves on, so bear 
this in mind.

The best way of not having to worry about anything stored digitally? 
Probably meditation.

Regards

Tim.

 > Date: Fri, 30 May 2008 17:48:40 +0100
 > From: londonhuayu at gmail.com
 > To: cma-l at commedia.org.uk> Subject: [cma-l] Digital Storage
 >
 > Hi,
 >
 > Does anyone have experience with data storage?
 >
 > Just going through my archives of old programmes stored on an
 > external HD. I found some of the programmes have become corrupt,
 > including one that we are still making. Talked to a tech friend
 > who says storing digital media is a problem. Apparently DVD's
 > don't last because they are sensitive to light and other things, I
 > suppose CD's have a similar problem.
 >
 > External HD's seem to like mangling up your saved programmes because
 > (I guess) they are always saving and re-saving, adding and deleting
 > data....
 >
 > So what is a good solution for storing and archiving stuff you want
 > to be preserved without having to worry about it?
 >
 > Peter Vautier
 > London Chinese Radio
 > --
 > I raise money for London Huayu (Charity Number 1117147) just by using
 > http://www.everyclick.com/ = instead of Google.
 >
 > http://www.everyclick.com/ is an internet search engine with a big
 > difference - it donates half its revenues to charity, please support
 > them too!