I have been using DVD shrink for some time now believing that the disc I have been burning would out last me. Now however I have read that they will only be good for between 2 and 5 years. Since I am near 3000 burns , this is quite upsetting news ,to say the least. Has anyone got any good news on the subject?
Don't sweat it. I have VHS tapes from 1982 that STILL play in my VCR. The point is, as long as you STORE your DVD copies well, they will last. Keep them in a drak cool place, and they will be fine for MANY years.
Hey I did my own test to see how good those burned dvds are like. I placed a home burned dvd outside in full sun and 32 celcius heat for 3 days, not to mention the disc was also a cmc magnetics . I later played the disk and it works fine. If you dont bend your disks, store them vertically. in a dark and cool place they will last for years.
I too was under the impression they were good for 100 years untill I went to Goodle and typed in (How long will DVD last) After reading about some test results that had been conducted, my belief in there lasting ability has changed. It says that you can expect 2 to 5 years. Which is a far stretch from 100 years. As a result of these findings I am reluctent to bother making anymore back-ups. Also to compare a VHS tape to a DVD is apples and oranges. I have been using the Taiyo Yuden disc for some time now. I have also been following the correct storage methods. Still it doesn't look good to me. I would welcome any strong evedence that shows they will last longer then the 2-5 years they are saying. Thanks.
Well I started backing up DVD's about 3 years ago. I have my first backup DVD which was done on a Cmag (before I started coming to this site). It still works fine. I store my discs in a bookcase, away from any light and inside plastic DVD/Game cases. I see no difference between storing vertically of horizontally so long as they are in a proper case with a DVD (not CD) holding mechanism. I have had to replace only one disc in past 3 years, and that one was a Cmag. I now use Taiyo Yuden exclusively. Guess for hard evidence about disc life, we will have to wait a few years.
this was a really good question, i have actually done some googling, and have not really found anything about how long they will last. some sites say 5 years, while other sites say 20+ years. i wish somebody would actually do a test, instead of just guessing. i am sick of all the experts that work for these websites that put these disks through all of these tests, and still cannot figure anything out. you would think that there would be someone out there who knows the answers. maybe they are just keeping the real answer from us, so that we will keep on buying these discs. that is my conspiracy theory.
Well the good news is in five years your library will probably be composed of some new fancy format like HD DVD or Blu-ray, and DVD+R's will be out of business.
I believe the companies selling us these disc know damm well they won't last anywhere near as long as they have been telling us. I'm sure they also know what 99% of us are using them for, and for that reason have no fear of us comming back on them when our movies start degrading from our collections. I have already come across some that will know longer play. God only knows what I would find if I were to actually start checking them all out, It's been my experiance that when ever there is big money to be made on something , somebody somewhere usually gets screwed, and I fear it will be us this time. I hope I'm wrong.
(The entire PDF can be found on MCC's Website, They state several testing methods to record the number of PI errors on the media.) Also KODAK has BOASTED of there gold 100 year dvd media available as well. Cheers
TY and Verb. are the only companies who I trust will still be albe to be read in a some decades... if i still have machine capable of playing DVDs that is.
