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How long do DVD+/-R's last?
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npacker
Junior Member
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14. January 2006 @ 01:59 |
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Hey everyone, I have a slight problem. I have been burning all my home videos onto DVD+R for about 4 years now. I was under the pretense, like I assume many other people are, that burning them to DVD would preserve them longer than tape media, like the mini DV tapes I originally record them to. Well last week, I pulled out one of the first videos I made about 4 years ago, and it's all screwed up. Freezing here and there. So I checked some others, and it seems that the older they are, the more problems they are having.
So my question is, how long are these DVD's supposed to last? I was hoping they would last indefinitely, but apparently not. As it is right now, if I want to keep the original quality of my home videos, it's like I'm going to have to make new copies of the DVD's once every year or two, to make sure they don't go bad. But that kind of costs, as I have quite a few, and it takes a lot of time.
Any ideas how I can preserve these precious home videos for years to come? I've thought of just purchasing a huge hard drive, and saving images of the discs to it, so that I can just burn a copy when I notice one is bad, but then who's to say that I won't lose the hard drive to problems or something?
I'm just at a loss as what to do.
Thanks.
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
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AfterDawn Addict
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14. January 2006 @ 02:40 |
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ok....... you failed to mention what media you are using! If you use top rated brands like: Verbatim, Taiyo Yuden, Maxell (made in Japan), Sony (made in Japan) to name a few... then you wouldn't have problems when the disks get older. Read this thread.... scroll down to DVD Storage - DVD Longevity & Lifespan - DVD Handling: http://www.videointerchange.com/dvd.htm#DVD
Here is a media guide to help you with where you disks fall in what quality range: http://www.videointerchange.com/dvd.htm#DVD
you can download DVDInfo Pro for free version and see what manufacturer ID your disks have: http://www.dvdinfopro.com/
this should answer all your questions! Good luck with your home movies. I hope this solves your problem.
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npacker
Junior Member
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14. January 2006 @ 02:42 |
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Thanks, you're right sorry. I mostly use Ridata, but have used Sony, Maxell, and some nameless brands. I realize that the cheaper brands will not last long, but it's a frustrating task trying to figure out what will keep my memories going strong. Thanks for those links, I'll do a little research.
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
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ScubaBud
AfterDawn Addict
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14. January 2006 @ 02:49 |
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npacker
Your suggestion of a larger HDD is a good one as well. I keep an external HDD with weekly backups in a fire safe. HDD in combination with quality DVD's would be a good mix from a safety point of view.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14. January 2006 @ 02:49
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npacker
Junior Member
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14. January 2006 @ 02:53 |
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Yeah, I was thinking that would be a good idea. I usually end up with about 3 to 4 DVD's of home videos a year. At 4.5 gigs a disc, even a 200 GB drive would last me quite a while, as long as that's all it was dedicated to. I just wonder if the drive would neet to be erased and formated every so often to keep it from going bad. You know, with the videos just sitting on it, I wonder how long they would last on it without being recopied. If I could just come up with a good system, a good 300GB drive would do the trick...
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
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ScubaBud
AfterDawn Addict
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14. January 2006 @ 02:56 |
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If you use an external drive for this, the only thing you might want to do is "Take it for a spin" every once in a while. :) Just plug it is and let it spin up, do a disk check and put it away.
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npacker
Junior Member
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14. January 2006 @ 02:59 |
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That's a good idea. I'm thinking the hard drive this is becoming a better and better idea. Now, what would be the best format to save the videos in. If I'm just saving an image of the disc, and they're not copyrighted or anything like that, should I just create folders for each disc, and just copy it's entire contents into the folder? Or should I create an iso or something? What do you think?
Thanks.
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
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AfterDawn Addict
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14. January 2006 @ 03:01 |
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I read that you put 4.5Gig on a disk..... I would only burn up to 4385kbs as to NOT get too close to the outer edge of the disk! this could also cause reading problems.
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npacker
Junior Member
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14. January 2006 @ 03:03 |
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Another great idea. Thanks for the tip. I'm thinking of just cutting them down to about 45 min a piece. I think I can do that at full quality for around 4 gig.
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
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AfterDawn Addict
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14. January 2006 @ 03:14 |
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here are two more tips:
don't multi task while burning & don't burn more than 4x speed..... this will ensure a good burn, without any problems.
oh... and don't forget ..... if you are using the +R/RW format disks you can make your disk more compatible with most DVD players by bitsetting/booktyping your drive to DVD-ROM! http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/183136
read # 13 in this thread.... and there's a great amount of useful information in that thread! enjoy!
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npacker
Junior Member
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14. January 2006 @ 03:17 |
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Thanks! I didn't know that most players read DVD-ROM best.
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
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ScubaBud
AfterDawn Addict
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14. January 2006 @ 04:21 |
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IHoe that thread is the best, that's why it's in my sig and point many people to it, one stop shopping so to speak! :)
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AfterDawn Addict
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14. January 2006 @ 05:06 |
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ScubaBud....... you should point it out more often~! I didn't notice it was in your signature...... I tell everyone about that thread! It helped me out soooooooo much!
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ScubaBud
AfterDawn Addict
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14. January 2006 @ 05:10 |
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You are so right!
Any many thanks to bbmayo for taking his time to organize it and design so many guides for all of us here.
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Moderator
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17. January 2006 @ 03:22 |
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thread teleported to relevant forum..
looks like the good ppl have answered this one too..
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Senior Member
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17. January 2006 @ 04:22 |
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ScubaBud- I follow your point about the external HDD I bought a 400 GB hitachi for xmas & I bought /ordered a Metal Gear Box II 3506UC 3.5 inch External Enclosure, Black/USB2.0 - Free Ground Shipping
Sale Price: $28.95 from supermediastore .com Have you heard anything about theese enclosusures/USB boxes either good or bad ? I aklready have 2 WD HDD's in my computer a 40GB & A 160 GB so it was kick one out or go usb ! So I take it there are no problems burning Dvd's from outboard drives like this then ? and DO you have any pointers for me & Others? thanks and happy burning!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. January 2006 @ 04:23
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Member
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17. January 2006 @ 04:24 |
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Quote:
Any ideas how I can preserve these precious home videos for years to come? I've thought of just purchasing a huge hard drive, and saving images of the discs to it, so that I can just burn a copy when I notice one is bad, but then who's to say that I won't lose the hard drive to problems or something?
I'm just at a loss as what to do.
Thanks.
Hi npacker,
I've had a Sony DCR-TRV9E for around eight years now and use a mixture of Sony and Panasonic mini DV tapes (CM).
I keep all my home movies on these stored away in an airtight container bringing them out when I want to hook it up to my PC (firewire) and burn something to disc.
Most are on ritek G04 which scan today at high 90's in Nero.
As the others have said Taiyo Yuden, Verbatim are good makes and should last many a year, though with dvd media being relatively new (burning wise), thats still to be proven.
I would think that the original high quality mini DV cassette's will last for a very long time themselves, so I keep them on that and back up to dvd for convienience.
You can always check your burns periodically using a disc test like Nero CD_DVD Speed, also making an additional dvd back up.
Just my method of doing it and all my mini DV tapes are still A1.
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/t118409.html some others view points.
hope it helps
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. January 2006 @ 04:58
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ScubaBud
AfterDawn Addict
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17. January 2006 @ 05:30 |
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BIGTOXY69
I do not have any personal experience with the external case you just purchased, but I do have 3 BYTECC cases;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817145347
And they are great! One has a 160 gig, one has an 80 gig, and the last has my Asus 1604-P burner in it.
I set the HDD's to Master on both and the same for my Burner. Just plug them in and go!
My main burner is my BenQ1640 but when I burn with the external it?s at 8X and never showed a slowdown, (times the same with either burner when connected to my main PC.
I hope that helps. :)
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npacker
Junior Member
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17. January 2006 @ 10:53 |
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Thanks ashj. Yeah, I use the same type tapes in my Sony camcorder. And I expect they will last a long time. I, like you, like to put them on DVD's for convenience. And as I spend a great amount of time making them even more convenient, with menus and dates and such, I would like to back them up, as it would be quite a project to have to make them all again.
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
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ellegrand
Account closed as per user's own request
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17. January 2006 @ 11:25 |
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ashj, are the minidv made to last many, let´s say 10 years?
Aren´t they like the vhs?
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Member
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17. January 2006 @ 16:04 |
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Quote:
ashj, are the minidv made to last many, let´s say 10 years?
Aren´t they like the vhs?
yes definately,
as I mentioned before I've been using my Sony DCR-TRV9E for over 8 years, have a few weddings and various once in a lifetime trips on them, as well as the usual birthdays.
If making up a EDIT which involves heavy authoring, best bet is to back it up on at least 2 different DVD media (tape drives are another, in comparison, expensive option) and do periodic quality scan's.
Best not to re-record on them, got loads of mini DV tapes, & you know what its like when you first get it, your think your a movie director , lol
There's no problem with any of them, once hooked up to my shuttle via firewire they look as pristine as the day they were shot.
Eight years ago
Hope this helps in some small way .
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. January 2006 @ 16:06
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npacker
Junior Member
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17. January 2006 @ 19:02 |
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That's what I always thought. I was told that they last quite a bit longer than VHS, even though they are technically the same medium. But what is it that is different about mini DV that makes them last so much longer? How exactly are they recorded?
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. January 2006 @ 19:02
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Member
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17. January 2006 @ 22:42 |
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This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. January 2006 @ 22:48
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npacker
Junior Member
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17. January 2006 @ 22:44 |
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Thanks! Very informative.
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
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