Hi. CD-R(W) media age and die, DVD-R(W) media do, as I've read some days ago on some news page (can't find the source anymore): After 10 days of direct sunlight data start to become unreadable. So what about converting audio (e.g. Vinyl) to DVD-A? AFAIK audio data on a DVD-A can't be extracted digitally at resolutions higher than 16bit/48kHz. Does this also mean a DVD-A that I have created myself can't be copied to a new DVD-A after some time losslessly? I don't want to jump to conclusions before my question is answered, so I won't start ranting right now... Cheers tigre
Hi, aslong as it is stored between 5 degrees and 25 degrees and out fo direct sunlight, Ritek media should get around 100 years of life. I shall get on to my contact in Conrexx (Ritek/Traxdata European promoters) and find out all available information on life expectancies and disc performance and get back to you in a few days if thats ok. #
And I'll check on the digital extraction, although I can't think of a single reason why I can't extract 24/96 material at 24/96, providing the digital copy flags have not been set. A quick guess would say that digital extraction is down to the hard/software being used, but I could be wrong. Agree with life expectancies. I don't know how we can say 100 years yet. Check back with me in 98 and I'll confirm one way or the other
Thanks for the info, Oriphus. That "100 years of life" claim sounds like something I've already heard about CD-R media ... . As long as there is no DVD-R that is several years old and still ok we don't have much security, do we? Some aspects of what happens during the years can't be simulated in tests. About digital extraction of DVD-A: AFAIK DVD-A format was delayed because DVD-V had been cracked and record companies wanted increased security. So - digital output (SPDIF, coaxial) of standalone DVD-A players is limited to <= 16bit/48kHz (or is there any player that unlocks this limit if digital copy flac is switched?) - There's some software capable of DVD-A playback but for high res. it only works with a few sound cards (so far only Audigy 2 AFAIK) and transfers the data directly to the card without any possibility to capture; AFAIK the card is limited to analog output here too.
The principal reason for digital extract not happening down the outputs is cos 24/96 surround - 6 channels that is - won't gp down a standard lightpipe. You will get 4 channels at 24/96 using Double Speed or DS or SMUX modes. The way it could happen is to rip instead. Failing that, it's analogue outputs straight into a seriously good converter using 32 Float, and the quality will be indistinguishable from the original to most people. I'll check out how to rip, but as long as the files are PCM, and not MLP then a straight rip should be possible.
Just a side note - I never actually thought it could/would happen, but it is nonetheless true ..... CD-Rs [bold]can[/bold] fail. Some years ago I made a handful of music cd copies for my Dad on some cheap "Shark" CDRs, made in Taiwan. The discs didn't look particularly 'bad' in any respect. Last month, he found that he couldn't play a few of them, (cd player would not recognize them), and of those that his cd player did accept, the sound was horribly scratchy, raspy, screechy, and very distorted. Dad never mistreated the discs, and they were never stored in direct sunlight. " No problem " I thought, " I'll just re-rip them and burn new copies. " Well, EAC (Exact Audio Copy) would not rip the majority of the tracks. Too many errors. So yeah, CDRs [bold]can[/bold] fail. Whereas CDs use an organic dye and DVDs use a chemical (non-organic) dye, maybe that will help to ensure greater longevity with DVDA.
Which really brings us back to my constant worry about the longevity of archives. How do we really know that DVD will be intact in 100 years? If you look hard at the HHB brochures, they state 5-10 years for CD-R, and 50-200 years for DVD-. No figures at all for DVD+. Lets meet up in another 43 years and compare notes. It's the only way to be sure. Until then, multiple backups of important stuff to MO/DLT/DVD/HDD is THE only safe way to go if you definitely want the data to survive.
