Re: Alternative to Optical Storage????

On Fri, 27 Sep 2024 17:36:29 -0000 (UTC), Rich wrote:
 

>
Having personally experienced failures of both cd-r and dvd-r media
wherein the recorded media became unreadable in a very short timeframe
(only a few years) even with proper storage it is not at all irrational
to be skeptical of claims of significant lifetimes for optical media
(esp.  the user recordable type, pressed disks are a different matter).
Existing user recordable optical systems have, so far, had a poor track
record, so any new system has a higher bar to get over before it is
trusted for any long-term archive use.
>

 My experience is far different from yours.
 I have optical disks that I made in 2008 that are still quite
viable, and an associate of mine burned disks back in the 1990's
that are still readable with no errors.  (Both cases using GNU/Linux)
 Possibly you had selected the inexpensive, "bargain basement"
brands of cd-r/dvd-r which may have much shorter lives.
 Also, are you sure that the "r" designation is not actually "rw"
for re-writable disks?  The re-writable variety are known to to
degrade much more rapidly.
 I always purchased Taiyo Yuden DVD's which have an excellent
reputation for longevity, but since DVDs have a small capacity
I now only use M-Disc bdr.
 I am not a professional archivist but I know that libraries
and other institutions choose optical storage as a primary archival
medium.
 Of course, one must always be mindful of future technology.
The strategy is to always copy important data to improved
formats but, so far, with optical media, this is not necessary
yet.