Printable DVD: I need to order DVD's for photo backup suggestions as to the best ones to buy?

Photokon

I need to order DVD's for photo backup suggestions as to the best ones to buy?

Los-Angeles-Shooter Loc: Los Angeles

Best are the gold or silver archival dvds. Worst are Fry's house brand, which self-destruct in a few years.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Photokon wrote:

I need to order DVD's for photo backup suggestions as to the best ones to buy?

It depends what you are looking for. DVDs are questionable as a back up medium, you will still need a device that can read them. You would be better using a backup mechanism to local and cloud storage. Then if the DVD degrades, some do, then you can just recreate it.

If the DVD is just for convenience, it doesn't matter that much, just a quality brand at a reasonable price.

DVD's are not forever, like diamonds or herpes.

moomoo951

M disk is the best way it will last 1 thousand years but you need to get a burner about 50 dollars at b and h

Haydon

I'm a little confused. Your title thread says "printable DVD's" yet your are asking about archival disks. Are you looking for both of those characteristics or just the thread content instead of the title.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

moomoo951 wrote:

M disk is the best way it will last 1 thousand years but you need to get a burner about 50 dollars at b and h

Good luck getting a burner/reader a thousand years from now! It's getting tough to get blu-ray stuff now, and VHS players are history, since first introduced in the mid 70s, a mere four decades.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Photokon wrote:

I need to order DVD's for photo backup suggestions as to the best ones to buy?

I've probably gone through thousands of CDs and DVDs. I shop on Amazon and Supermediastore.com. I've used all sorts of brands, like Verbatim, Sony, HP, and Kodak, always buying a pack of 100, if available. Taiyo Yuden seems to have a good reputation among those who use a lot of blanks. I have never gotten a bad batch of any brand, and longevity isn't an issue. If I get even two bad ones out of 100, that unusual.I always get white hub-printable CDs and DVDs.

http://www.supermediastore.com/product/u/taiyo-yuden-white-inkjet-printable-8x-dvd-r-media-100

don26812 Loc: South Bay of Los Angeles, CA

I am also confused. No one seemed to answer the question you asked. FWIW I am finding it harder to find printable DVDs in stores like Best Buy. DVDs still provide a way to distribute videos and slide shows for people who are not streaming yet, routinely using YouTube etc.

don26812 Loc: South Bay of Los Angeles, CA

Haydon wrote:

I'm a little confused. Your title thread says "printable DVD's" yet your are asking about archival disks. Are you looking for both of those characteristics or just the thread content instead of the title.

I am also confused.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

don26812 wrote:

I am also confused. No one seemed to answer the question you asked. FWIW I am finding it harder to find printable DVDs in stores like Best Buy. DVDs still provide a way to distribute videos and slide shows for people who are not streaming yet, routinely using YouTube etc.

"I have never gotten a bad batch of any brand, and longevity isn't an issue."

From my experience, it doesn't matter. Of course, if you are looking for storage disks that will last 100 years, that's a different story. I don't need that.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Peterff wrote:

Good luck getting a burner/reader a thousand years from now! It's getting tough to get blu-ray stuff now, and VHS players are history, since first introduced in the mid 70s, a mere four decades.

The safe storage unit near the north pole in Norway is converting digital to analog for just that reason. They will be storing thousands of pieces of data of all kinds, and future people will not need technology to access it.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

jerryc41 wrote:

The safe storage unit near the north pole in Norway is converting digital to analog for just that reason. They will be storing thousands of pieces of data of all kinds, and future people will not need technology to access it.

What future people?

Smudgey Loc: Ohio, Calif, Now Arizona

The best I have ever used is taiyo-yuden disks. I order them from Super media store on line.
http://www.supermediastore.com/product/u/taiyo-yuden-16x-dvd-r-media-water-shield-white-inkjet-hub-printable-50pk-in-cake-box-spindle

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Photokon wrote:

I need to order DVD's for photo backup suggestions as to the best ones to buy?

Your money is better spent on a good external hard drive.

-Faster (by a long shot)
-More durable and dependable
-Will not obsolesce nearly as fast

Optical media (CDs and DVDs) drives are on their way out. Many laptops no longer come with them, and if you want one in that desktop you're buying, you have to explicitly tell them that.

lsimpkins Loc: SE Pennsylvania

Haydon wrote:

I'm a little confused. Your title thread says "printable DVD's" yet your are asking about archival disks. Are you looking for both of those characteristics or just the thread content instead of the title.

I can't be sure, but I think the OP was asking about "writable" DVDs.

I concur with most here that due to speed, storage capacity and, not least, lack of true archival capabilities, DVDs are not my choice for archiving photos. External HDs combined with cloud storage would be better, IMHO.