Burnable cd's don't last too long.

Skynut

Interesting article I wrote.
Ok I didn't write it and you all probably know allready but if not here goes.

Opinions vary on how to preserve data on digital storage media, such as optical CDs and DVDs. Kurt Gerecke, a physicist and storage expert at IBM Deutschland, has his own view: If you want to avoid having to burn new CDs every few years, use magnetic tapes to store all your pictures, videos and songs for a lifetime.

"Unlike pressed original CDs, burned CDs have a relatively short life span of between two to five years, depending on the quality of the CD," Gerecke says. "There are a few things you can do to extend the life of a burned CD, like keeping the disc in a cool, dark space, but not a whole lot more."


The problem is material degradation. Optical discs commonly used for burning, such as CD-R and CD-RW, have a recording surface consisting of a layer of dye that can be modified by heat to store data. The degradation process can result in the data "shifting" on the surface and thus becoming unreadable to the laser beam.


"Many of the cheap burnable CDs available at discount stores have a life span of around two years," Gerecke says. "Some of the better-quality discs offer a longer life span, of a maximum of five years."


Distinguishing high-quality burnable CDs from low-quality discs is difficult, he says, because few vendors use life span as a selling point.

Similar Limitations

Hard-drive disks also have their limitations, according to Gerecke. The problem with hard drives, he says, is not so much the disk itself as it is the disk bearing, which has a positioning function similar to a ball bearing. "If the hard drive uses an inexpensive disk bearing, that bearing will wear out faster than a more expensive one," he says. His recommendation: a hard-drive disk with 7200 revolutions per minute.


To overcome the preservation limitations of burnable CDs, Gerecke suggests using magnetic tapes, which, he claims, can have a life span of 30 years to 100 years, depending on their quality. "Even if magnetic tapes are also subject to degradation, they're still the superior storage media," he says.


But he's quick to point out that no storage medium lasts forever and, consequently, consumers and business alike need to have a migration plan to new storage technologies.


"Companies, in particular, need to be constantly looking at new storage technologies and have an archiving strategy that allows them to automatically migrate to new technologies," he says. "Otherwise, they're going to wind up in a dead-end. And for those sitting on terabytes of crucial data, that could be a colossal problem."

audiobliss

Thanks for the interesting and informative read!

Skynut wrote:

"Unlike pressed original CDs, burned CDs have a relatively short life span of between two to five years, depending on the quality of the CD," Gerecke says. "There are a few things you can do to extend the life of a burned CD, like keeping the disc in a cool, dark space, but not a whole lot more."

I wonder how long those 'pressed' CD's last? I'd hate to think that my CD collection will have ruined by the time my audio system is finally where I want it to be! :eek:

Skynut

I read somewhere that the killer of todays cd's is the jewel case.
Supposedly the plastic in the case starts to break down the plastic in the cd and eventually the cd won't play.
I have some old **** cd's I bought 20 years ago that I am going to break out and see how they sound now.
The industry engineers have to figure out ways that you music won't last forever or they can't keep you buying new stuff.

madmax

I haven't had a burnable CD go bad but mine are mostly newer than about 3 years. I have a friend who has been burning since it was do-able. I'll have to see what his experiences are. That would suck to have to re-burn all my LP recordings every 3 to 5 years.
madmax

michael_w

Yeah I've noticed it happen within less than two years. Things like windows xp cd's where the cd has to be perfect. My first copy worked just dandy the first time but when I reformatted I quickly found out that the disc no longer works because of a missing / corrupted file (cd was scratchless + spotless). Not a big deal though - just had to download an image of the cd and reburn it.

F1nut

The answer, http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=AMFCDR5PACK

StopherJJ1980

I have heard that pressed Cd's DVD's are expected to last about 50 years, perhaps 100. Dont have any data to back that up though, as the discs themselves are not that old so I guess no one knows 100% for sure.

PolkThug

WTF? My old burned CD's work fine.

bobman1235

Depends on the CD, methinks, but most of the burned CDs I've had for 5+ years are still pluggin along.

avelanchefan

Well are they putting factors into this like heat and cold?

All of my CD's are just fine, pressed and burned. But most of my cd's are in a 300 disk carousel, so the environment is controlled so to say.

So this article really does not give us any info on control methods etc. I have burned CD's over 6 years old with no issues.

Demiurge

Burned CDs will last a long time, it would be interesting to see who is funding the research. Always follow the money. Who would gain from freaking people out on this?

audiobliss

Supposedly the MFSL 'Ultradiscs' last a lot longer. Just read about them in madmax's LP thread when doro posted a link about them. 24kt gold plated cdr's with some kind of scratch protection. They say regular cdr's are supposed to last 20 years, whereas theirs will last 300!

http://www.mofi.com/cdr.htm

McLoki

Also RW disks are supposed to last longer than R disks. (The chemical in the R disks breaks down, but the RW disks have a different chemical or metal that does not break down as fast.)

Nothing scientific but that is what I have read.

Michael

mldennison

well i am sure that they will break down at some point but i think 2-5 years is a little too conservative. i got my first burner around '98 or so and still use some of those cd's i burned back then...

McLoki wrote:

Also RW disks are supposed to last longer than R disks. (The chemical in the R disks breaks down, but the RW disks have a different chemical or metal that does not break down as fast.)

that is interesting, dont really know anything about the chemicals that are used for these two types but i am pretty sure that the data layer in RW discs is not as reflective as that in R discs (since it has be able to be erased) so i would think that RW discs would be the first to go. but this as well is not based on any scientific evidence.

Skynut

F1nut wrote:

The answer, http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=AMFCDR5PACK

Not a bad price either.