[MacDV] Re: Digital Video Quality

[ShirleyK]

And if you let them lay in the sunlight for a week or two, that will 
pretty much destroy a DVD too. Even those I put away in a drawer 
immediately were not completely readable a year later. I've only 
checked a few and found that some files in the middle are unreadable. I 
was able to get those at the beginning and the end. (This was a data 
DVD.)

I don't know if the hype about 20-30-100 years was intended for  
homemade CDs and DVDs, but it turns out that the dyes break down. There 
was an article in a UK newspaper about a study that supports what Erica 
says. It was mentioned on www.dpreview.com several weeks ago. It will 
be mentioned more and more if you pay attention to computer news.

Personally, I'm adding additional hard disks and multiple copies of 
anything that's important enough to preserve. And I'm keeping all the 
slides and negatives I scanned.

Shirley


On May 27, 2004, at 5:01 PM, Norm Lamoureux wrote:

> Erica,
>
>      Why would 20 - 30 % of DVD-R media only last
> about 10 years or less? They claim to last many
> decades. No-name media is just as good as brand name
> media?
> Thank's for your input, ...again.
>
> Norm L.
>
>
>
> --- Erica Sadun <erica at mindspring.com> wrote:
>>
>> Recordable DVDs are not archival. You may want to
>> search the
>> list archives for my earlier rants on the subject.
>>
>> Expect a DVD-R to play back on only about 80-90% of
>> US DVD players.
>> Expect 20-30% of your DVD-Rs to fail within a decade
>> or less,
>> particularly if you bend them in any way.
>>
>> -- Erica