Storing on CDs
Feb 13, 2018 09:47:13 #
James Slick
Loc: Pittsburgh,PA
lsimpkins wrote:
You have this exactly backwards. Vinyl records go from outside edge to inner label. CDs, DVDs, and Blurays go from inside to out.
I fully agree that writable optical media is not a viable long term backup solution. External hard drives would be better and if off site storage is a consideration, cloud storage would be a third choice after internal (master) and external (primary backup).
I fully agree that writable optical media is not a viable long term backup solution. External hard drives would be better and if off site storage is a consideration, cloud storage would be a third choice after internal (master) and external (primary backup).
External HDD isn't perfect either,- You have to run them ever so often as any motor/bearing system isn't done any favors by sitting still for years, not to mention magnetic fields decay and or are affected my other magnetic fields. No one can say how long an SSD will last in storage yet. Optical disks are cheap enough to be copied every so often, extending the "legacy" of the data. On the optical end DVD and Blu-ray blanks are more durable than CD blanks.
Feb 13, 2018 09:50:56 #
James Slick
Loc: Pittsburgh,PA
ygelman wrote:
Huh? I don't know about optical discs, but in my years listening to vinyl records, I always placed the needle on the outside to start playing.
You mean you never tried to listen to "Revolution #9" by "The Beatles" in reverse?!? That's the only time I started on the inside of an LP - Keeping the correct speed is impossible, LOL!
Feb 13, 2018 09:55:36 #
I store my photos on external hard drives (I like Samsung T5 because they are small) and I back up to iCloud. If I need to, I can create a new catalog in Lightroom to read directly from iCloud.
Feb 13, 2018 18:10:43 #
Thank you for all the input. I had not even thought about the external hard drive option. I thought I had that covered with the raid system but listening about the fast changing tech industry, will DVD'S be around in the next 5 or 10 years. I was looking at the gold plated optical cd's that last far past my years here on the planet. I guess i will go with the odds and use external drives thank you every one for all the great intel.
Feb 13, 2018 18:40:27 #
Most BluRay recorders will read and write MDisks also. MDisks are now available in sizes up to 100GB (and larger sizes coming). They are the most robust storage media available today - HDs are not even in the same league.
Feb 13, 2018 23:38:51 #
TriX wrote:
Most BluRay recorders will read and write MDisks also. MDisks are now available in sizes up to 100GB (and larger sizes coming). They are the most robust storage media available today - HDs are not even in the same league.
OWC/Macsales.com has them. One unit works on Macs and PCs.
Feb 14, 2018 05:56:27 #
I stopped using CD/DVD's a long time ago although I have kept all of them, I now keep all my files on external HDDs and a NAS.
One advantage of CD's or DVD's is that you can store one event such as a wedding or a holiday, and use them as you would an album.
One advantage of CD's or DVD's is that you can store one event such as a wedding or a holiday, and use them as you would an album.
Feb 14, 2018 06:42:20 #
Feb 14, 2018 06:44:07 #
CO wrote:
Use the M-Disc DVD's. They use a mineral based layer instead of the dye based layer as traditional CD's and DVD's. The data becomes permanently etched into the mineral layer. They're available in 4.7GB and 25GB versions. Accelerating life testing has determined they will remain stable for 1,000 years.
I'm not a fan of the M-disk.
(1) 25 GB isn't all that much for photos. Cameras are getting larger sensors and people are taking more pictures. And having a stack of disks to look through to find something is time consuming. Better to use a bunch of hard drives so all the files are on a single unit. They come in multi TB sizes for reasonable cost. Probably less than a M-disk reader/writer.
(2) I view the 1000 year lifetime as marketing hype. Extrapolation from 10 or 20 years of testing to 1000 years is a real stretch.
(3) Technology changes. 50 years from now all the M-disk readers will be toast and you'll have to switch to Z-disks or something and transfer all your files.
Feb 14, 2018 06:51:57 #
LarryFitz
Loc: Beacon NY
Once upon a time I had a backup tape system that plugged into the 25 pin serial port. It was 5 MB. Next I had my photos on PhotoCD. Had to convert the PhotoCD to jpg and store on CD. The tape system is long gone, PhotoCD is no longer a supported format, CD and DVD readers are no longer standard in computers. External hard drives work great right now, but that will change at some point.
Shoebox and hard copy are the only backup that was last the test of time.
Shoebox and hard copy are the only backup that was last the test of time.
Feb 14, 2018 07:07:45 #
James Slick
Loc: Pittsburgh,PA
DirtFarmer wrote:
I'm not a fan of the M-disk. br br (1) 25 GB isn'... (show quote)
I'm not going to comment on M-discs specifically, but I'm not too worried about DVD/BluRay going away for a while. (CDs, due to a low capacity and less robust construction, perhaps..) Well in to the HD (and now UHD) video era DVD is still a much used and valid format, BluRay, being HD even more so. NO STORAGE MEDIUM IS PERMANENT! One should copy over digital (and analog) media to the current mainstream medium anyway. I have audio recordings that were home made disk records, open reel tapes and cassettes from the 1930's thru the 1990's that long ago were digitized as *.WAV files and are now stored as DVD and BluRay data disks (Multple perfect copies exist, not possible 30 years ago!) in addition to external HDDs and "cloud" like all my other important data.
But for a couple of decades (at least) DVD and BluRay will be around. Consider this: the 78 RPM record was introduced in 1888 and was rendered obsolete in the late 1940's by microgroove mono 33.3 RPM and 45 RPM records - Those themselves made obsolete in 1958 by stereo 33s and 45s (no new 78s were released after 1960) - ALL OF THESE were rendered obsolete by the CD in 1982.....Yet in 2018 you can buy a BRAND NEW turntable that will play ALL of those 1888,1949 and 1980 disk standards!
Feb 14, 2018 07:14:56 #
Bferrara wrote:
Storing on CDs
I have been storing my photos on CDs with only 4.7 GB. I was wondering if anyone has moved on to the Blu-ray CD writer to store their photos? I shoot raw and the small CDs just doesn’t hold many pictures. I am not sure if I can even use a Blu-ray for my pictures. I do have a raid system for back up but was always told to copy Pix on a CD. I don’t want to lose anything. Looking for any suggestions. Thanks in advance
I have been storing my photos on CDs with only 4.7 GB. I was wondering if anyone has moved on to the Blu-ray CD writer to store their photos? I shoot raw and the small CDs just doesn’t hold many pictures. I am not sure if I can even use a Blu-ray for my pictures. I do have a raid system for back up but was always told to copy Pix on a CD. I don’t want to lose anything. Looking for any suggestions. Thanks in advance
for the price of a stack of CD's and especially Blu-ray, that money would go a long way toward a usb external hard drive. Or you might want to look at one of WD's cloud drives for backup. I do backup to DVD's and Blu-ray DVD's for a solution BUT it isn't my only backup. CDs/DVDs do deteriorate over time and become unrecoverable. There is NOTHING more irritating than needing to get something off of your backup cd/dvd and finding that the entire disk is unrecoverable. What ever choice you use, don't put all of your eggs in one basket. OH and I never EVER use a backup rental service. I do use a safe deposit box in my local bank and that vault is fireproof/storm proof and flood proof. But, that isn't my only backup either.
Feb 14, 2018 07:28:56 #
I am going to chime in with my 5 cents. (No pennies in Canada.)
I have two 3TB drives attached to my iMac, one is primary, the second is redundant AND I back up to a Cloud storage site. I have 30,000+ Digital images going back to my first DSLR in 2000 so I am not in the mood to lose anything.
I have two 3TB drives attached to my iMac, one is primary, the second is redundant AND I back up to a Cloud storage site. I have 30,000+ Digital images going back to my first DSLR in 2000 so I am not in the mood to lose anything.
Feb 14, 2018 07:35:32 #
spraguead
Loc: Boston, MA
Used to write to DVD's but others have pointed out, there are plenty of cheap external drives out there. And now my Macbook Pro doesn't even have a disc reader, so I'll probably be getting all those old files off the DVDs somehow and putting them on drives or cloud storage. Technology's subtle hint that I need to clean and cull my files.
Feb 14, 2018 07:46:17 #
CD's are on the way out. Best Buys is nolonger handling them. I would suggest an external drive.
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.