Do Burned CDs Have a Short Life Span?

[annajoy]

Optical discs may not be your best bet for storing digital media long term, expert says.

John Blau, IDG News Service
Tuesday, January 10, 2006


Opinions vary on how to preserve data on digital storage media, such as optical CDs and DVDs. Kurt Gerecke, a physicist and storage expert at IBM Deutschland, has his own view: If you want to avoid having to burn new CDs every few years, use magnetic tapes to store all your pictures, videos and songs for a lifetime.

"Unlike pressed original CDs, burned CDs have a relatively short life span of between two to five years, depending on the quality of the CD," Gerecke says. "There are a few things you can do to extend the life of a burned CD, like keeping the disc in a cool, dark space, but not a whole lot more."

The problem is material degradation. Optical discs commonly used for burning, such as CD-R and CD-RW, have a recording surface consisting of a layer of dye that can be modified by heat to store data. The degradation process can result in the data "shifting" on the surface and thus becoming unreadable to the laser beam.

"Many of the cheap burnable CDs available at discount stores have a life span of around two years," Gerecke says. "Some of the better-quality discs offer a longer life span, of a maximum of five years."

Distinguishing high-quality burnable CDs from low-quality discs is difficult, he says, because few vendors use life span as a selling point.

Similar Limitations
Hard-drive disks also have their limitations, according to Gerecke. The problem with hard drives, he says, is not so much the disk itself as it is the disk bearing, which has a positioning function similar to a ball bearing. "If the hard drive uses an inexpensive disk bearing, that bearing will wear out faster than a more expensive one," he says. His recommendation: a hard-drive disk with 7200 revolutions per minute.

To overcome the preservation limitations of burnable CDs, Gerecke suggests using magnetic tapes, which, he claims, can have a life span of 30 years to 100 years, depending on their quality. "Even if magnetic tapes are also subject to degradation, they're still the superior storage media," he says.

But he's quick to point out that no storage medium lasts forever and, consequently, consumers and business alike need to have a migration plan to new storage technologies.

"Companies, in particular, need to be constantly looking at new storage technologies and have an archiving strategy that allows them to automatically migrate to new technologies," he says. "Otherwise, they're going to wind up in a dead-end. And for those sitting on terabytes of crucial data, that could be a colossal problem."

Source

so what is one to do if we store shows on cdr's replace them every 3-4 years?

[netyuppie]

i dont know, and neither do these people

[annajoy]

would burning the cdr's to dvdr's make a differense?

[Five]

http://www.thetradersden.org/forums/...ad.php?t=16715

[bigwurock]

i have stuff more than 5 years old on CD and they still play fine...

[U2Lynne]

I feel like I've seen this article before lately.....

I know some people say they are storing their shows on external hard drives now days since they have come down so far in price.

[thisistoto]

Originally Posted by U2Lynne

I feel like I've seen this article before lately.....

I know some people say they are storing their shows on external hard drives now days since they have come down so far in price.

that scares me more than anything.


That article is such bullshit. 5 years for TY discs? C'mon.


Going both routes seems like the best thing right now. Having a hard copy of everything on dvds and also on portable HDs.

If you just take care of the dvds and dont read from them a lot they will last a LONG time.

Reading a DVD will do nothing at all to imnpare its condition.
These aren't some LPs we're talking about here. Metal damages vinyl, light does not damage metal (with the energy you get from a DVD drive, anyway).

[thisistoto]

Of course it will. It wont do any damage in one read, but over time it will help shorten the life span a bit. The heat etc

Why do you think the CD was invented?
Partly because LPs couldn't hold enough music, and partly because people were sick of their media wearing out and wanted something that wouldn't.
Reading a CD or DVD will do nothing to damage it/ wear it out.

[annajoy]

Originally Posted by PyRo UK

Why do you think the CD was invented?
Partly because LPs couldn't hold enough music, and partly because people were sick of their media wearing out and wanted something that wouldn't.
Reading a CD or DVD will do nothing to damage it/ wear it out.

name your sourses...

[onemanguitarband]

Originally Posted by PyRo UK

Why do you think the CD was invented?
Partly because LPs couldn't hold enough music, and partly because people were sick of their media wearing out and wanted something that wouldn't.
Reading a CD or DVD will do nothing to damage it/ wear it out.

I think you are failing to note the differences between glass mastered CDs/DVDs and dye based CD-R/DVD-Rs...they are not the same. Glass mastered is a completely different process, and shouldn't wear out in ones lifetime with proper care.....CD-R/DVD-Rs are a COMPLETELY different story.

[alg]

The answer is simple
1 Use high quality Taiyo,Ritek etc
2 Burn slow x4
3 Store well dry,protected from UV etc
And they will last

[jerryfreak]

I have ty media from 99 that is 100% readable, I just transferreda ton of etree downloads to hard drive, maybe one bad disc out of 200.

good media properly stored, should last a long time.

your best bet for preservation is to trade freely!