mysteriesofedgarwallace

Whilst I dare say my film collection isn't the largest in the world, it is collectively one of my most treasured possessions.

I have many films and tv programmes, on a variety of media; DVD+R, DVD-R, VHS, etc.

I love the convenience of DVD and I am starting to copy everything onto DVD-RAM; which with the onset of time; has proven itself to be one of the more dependable DVD formats.

I realise that there isn't a foolproof format or methodology; what do you do? Have an archiving process in place or hope for the best?

I was just wondering what means other collectors on this forum use to archive their collections and (attempt anyway) to ensure longevity?

Below is a text scraped from avforum.com, from a thread penned by 'Rascak', who explains his archiving process>>>

Those of us who have been recording to DVD for years appreciate that DVD-R, whilst a great media for compatibility, is not necessarily the best media for archiving. I have had major brand media - including Verbatim discs with their associated 'guarantees' - fail. I have had cheap discs fail within weeks of being burnt. Ditto DVD-RW and DVD+R. The fact is optical media, including DVD-RAM, isn't ideal for long term storage. That said I have been using DVD-RAM since the late 90s (December 1998 infact) and still have readable discs recorded around that time. So out of all the DVDR types, DVD-RAM is the format I trust most - it has a proven reliability record.

Your best bet is not to trust ANY single type of disc though. May I suggest you have a look at this guide for advice on how to backup using a PC DVD burner. My personal (current) backup strategy is every recording is archived on:
- Panasonic/Ritek/Maxell DVD-RAM
- 2 DVD-R (of different brands and produced in different locations)
- TDK Scratchproof DVD-R (working copy)
- 1 DVD+R (branded)

...and then after 18 months a further 3 discs - two DVD-R and one DVD+R (all different brands) - are burnt. This strategy has kept me safe from dataloss so far!


Quote:
this is based on quality media (i.e. Panasonic).


It's worth noting it is very hard to get "poor" quality DVD-RAM media. Due to the more complex production there are currently three producers of DVD-RAM worldwide - Panasonic, Maxell and Ritek - all other brands are produced from the same production lines. Hence the reason you don't get dirt cheap DVD-RAMs - and hence the reason why most DVD-RAMs are of a highly callibre.


Quote:
Using DVD RAM discs for once-only recording seems rather extreme


DVD-RAMs can be purchased for under £1.50 each online - that is only a few pence more than a decent DVD-R. Thus I would argue that cost isn't too much of a concern these days. What makes DVD-R so popular as a backup medium is, of course, it's near universal compatibility.

DB7

I use RW's mainly because I add a chapter menu and edit out the adverts, if there's an error I can quickly erase the disk and rerecord.

I'm not too concerned because a larger/better format will arrive within the next few years and some people will repeat their archiving process all over again.

deckard

I'm inclined to agree DB7, I think shortly a form of Memory "stick" will be available that will be of a size to store film for home recording and be pre-recorded ones available for film purchase, all with no moving parts for more reliable storage. Also a set top box of some kind will play back said recordings without the use of a PC, I believe something like this is already in early production.
Regards, Decks.

"and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock"

mysteriesofedgarwallace

Interesting comments; I'm very surprised that there haven't been any more; however, what would you do if your RW disc packed up tomorrow?

I have had several DVD's end up as frisbees.

And any new format, will, without the onset of time, be unproven.
If you really wanted to you could copy your films to a memory stick right now (if you were very paranoid!)

I think it will be some time yet before the 'next big thing' arrives and is proven to be resilient

The thing with DVD-RAM is it does have a track record, and production is only carried out by a few manufacturers, rather than + or - discs which are knocked out for pence in the far east.

ollie

I'm hopeing that choosing ritek go4 dye disc's and sticking with a brand thats worked for me,ridisc ,all will be well :unhappy: ,i do buy panny dvd-r disc when they're on sale,but RAM are still a bit expensive,a pack of 5 panny ram discs even on sale works out to £3.00 a disc X 300 thats a bit pricy for me,plus i cant use them in my pc burner pioneer 107,it's supposed to read ram,it dosn't, as panny RAM disc's can't be finalised.

where do you draw the line? when you've got a back up, of your back ups, backup,lol, plus where do you put them all i've only got a modest collection a.t.m not like some of the big chiefs round here(you know who you are,he,he),but i'm running out of space allready and things are growing at an alarming rate!
" we need a bigger boat" lol

cheers Ollie.

"Bullseye !!"

Tony Pendrey

On the subject of DVD media could one of you clever people clarify something for me. I had always taken it the the stylised "RW" symbol on a DVD disc, was meant to indicate the it was re-writable. However, I bought a pack of discs marked as such in a local "Stationary Box" and they were DVD-R's.

I assumed it was some kind of error but I have just seen some Memorex DVD-R's in my local "Poundland" with the "RW" symbol.

I am confused - But that's not too difficult.

BTW - The same "Poundland" store sells Memorex DVD-R and DVD+R for errr... £1 and Memorex DVD-RW and DVD+RW for the same price. Quite ofen they have twin packs of Mirror DVD-R's which I have found to be very reliable.

Ah Yes, the Soviet Union. All them wheatfields and ballet in the evenings

DB7

Not had a failure yet. The first batch I bought were cheapies and after one gave me errors I ditched them in favour of branded discs.

DaveB

I'm not sure what that RW symbol inside a rectangle with rounded edges is supposed to mean, but it certainly doesn't mean "rewriteable". I use TDK DVD+R discs - and they are labelled with the RW symbol, plus "DVD+R".

As far as archiving is concerned, I am leaving material held on VHS tape where it is - until something else on that tape becomes redundant (e.g. because I've bought it as a pre-recorded DVD). I then copy the remaining material to DVD+R, but retain the VHS tape in an "archive" (i.e. out of sight in the box-room).

I'm maintaining blinkered vision as far as the failure rate of DVDR discs is concerned. I retain the VHS tapes simply because they are one generation closer to the original.

Harbottle

I’m going to DVD-RAM route, editing via the PC and then authoring with Tmpgenc DVD Author and then burning with Nero. I only make one recording though but I'm keeping the VHS tapes just in case

sanndevil

Of course, another backup strategy could be to rely on this website!

If you capture a broadcast british movie to DVD-R or your favourite format, I would imagine that if you subsequently discover the recording is duff or goes U.S. then you will almost certainly find someone else on this site who can provide a backup for you! Obviously this doesn't work for old treasured recordings you transfer from VHS to digital, but I find it hard to believe anything broadcast 'right now' won't be captured by some other enthusiast!

mysteriesofedgarwallace

I would be interested to know about reliability of DVD+R and DVD-R.

Has anyone had a genuine failure of either?
I mean a genuine failure; it played ok when last watched, now it won't; rather than 'pilot error' which I'm often guilty of (I've cocked up 2 discs today!)

I gather that DVD+R is very susceptible to failure if left un-finalised for any length of time.

But I'm in love with DVD-RAM!
Its the bogs dollocks!

Harbottle

Dare anyone tempt fate by answering this one
I have been having probs with some RAM disks though, primarily Datasafe brand of which I have discarded several due to errors, my previous puchase of cheapo RAM media Mirror have proved faultless however. Sadly the Mirror media is no longer available from SVP, so it's back to Panasonic.

Anyone else suffered probs with RAM media?

mysteriesofedgarwallace

Thats interesting, because DVD-RAM is only made by IIRC 3 companies worldwide (Panasonic, Verbatim and someone else; quite possibly Data/Write/Safe), you are usually 'quality assured'

I have all three brands and have never had (touching wood here!) any trouble with any of them.

So even if your DVD-RAMs are branded 'zappo' or something, they still came from a reputable factory.

Some get a film copied to once and 'filed' others get used like VHS tapes.

smudge

Only once have I had a problem with RAM - I use all Panasonic - so I noted the glitch, wiped it, formatted it and hey presto ! gone....

Have had some very touchy -r discs though and some outright disatsters in the early days.

Thankfully most stuff is restorable, courtesy of the great trading folks on this forum.

You're all wee gems !!

SMUDGE

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

mysteriesofedgarwallace

Sorry to quote myself, Ihave remembered the other DVD-RAM Manufacturer is ofcourse, Maxell. I remembered because I picked one up about an hour ago.

As for DVD-R discs, its all about the dye rather than the manufacturer, ofcourse.

Taiyo Yuden are the Rolls Royce, although I've never used any of them £££££££

I usually try to get Verbatim or Datawrite greys.