I have some precious home movies which I have backed up as identical MPEG files on a pair of eternal hard drives.

But I would like to also copy them to DVD. Then I recalled a claim someone made that movies issued on commercial DVDs have longer life spans because DVD studios "press" the DVDs rather than use computer DVD 'burner" drives.

Is this true? If so, than assuming one uses reasonably reliable (Verbatim? Sony?) blank dual-layered DL +/- blank media and burns the disk at a slow (more error free?) speed, what DVD lifespan and error-rate could one expect, compared to a pressed copy?

"Slower" isn't necessarily better. "Optimum for that burner, that media" is better.

I don't think any burned DVD could be considered a reliable archive copy.

There is a BBC internal report that has been mentioned here in the past that suggests that DVD+RW is likely to have the longest life as it uses different technology to the other DVD writeable systems.

I've seen lifetimes as short as 30 years quoted by Verbatim for some of their discs so check the specifications on the discs that you buy. I would also stick to single layer discs - they're simpler and more likely to be written correctly. You should also verify that every burn has been written correctly and regularly check the error rates on the discs that you write to ensure that your burner is working properly and the discs you are using match your burner.

Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim are the most reliable media brands although be careful with Verbatim as their quality varies. I wouldn't touch Sony media as I've had some terrible CD-R's from them.

James.

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JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net

Edited by James Perrett (05/08/10 10:28 AM)

Quote chane:

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I have some precious home movies which I have backed up as identical MPEG files on a pair of eternal hard drives.

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Why copy them to DVD if they're on a pair of ETERNAL hard drives?




Terribly sorry. Couldn't resist...



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I'm All Ears.