BD-R DL / 50GB pathways...

**aphexafx** · 22-Mar-2009, 01:33

50GB on a disc is going to totally make my life easier as I am now working with 50 - 80 megapixel files from my scanner. For one thing, I hate spreading projects over multiple DVD-R discs, especially when I am making multiple copies for backup. A recent Lightroom project I finished out for a set of just ten images weighs in at 6GB, including printing output TIFFs. 10 images, 6GB, yikes.

BD-R DL drives are nearing affordability and the reliability/quality is stabilizing. Who is going to be a wizard here first and move to Blu-ray recordable media in order to show us the path???

Aside, if anyone has any experience with this new technology vs their imaging, I'd love to read it.

Ex: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136137

Anyone?

**Joanna Carter** · 22-Mar-2009, 02:33

Since even plain old CDs are now proving to be far from archival (they can self-corrupt with age) I would rather use a large RAID data tank.

**jim kitchen** · 22-Mar-2009, 08:48

What Joanna said...

CD deterioration will eventually cause you and your storage solution grief, so even if you decide to use a single separate non RAID hard drive setup to store your precious files, the hard drive method may be your better choice, but knowing that, you must store your external hard drives with care, too.

No magnetic fields and no static electricity...

jim k

**Nathan Potter** · 22-Mar-2009, 08:57

I have audio CDs that have been very clearly damaged within a 2 year exposure to TX. heat. I don't know anything about the record technology for blueray discs but I'd be very suspicious about longevity with this consumer stuff let alone the longevity of the software needed to easily read the contents of the discs in the future. Save and protect your films.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

**aphexafx** · 22-Mar-2009, 11:25

Thanks for the comments. Joanna/Jim, I do have nearly three terabytes online at this point and I do store all of my digital work online this way. However, I also back everything up to DVD-R, as do many of us. I use archival DVD's when appropriate, but they are hard to find in DL format. I make duplicates and store my DVD’s carefully – and I do check and refresh the media – for instance I recently moved most of my older CD archive to DVD, etc.

I trust magnetic media such as HD's when online, especially in RAID config with error correction, but I do not trust offline HD's for data archive. Optical media, even with its faults, has the advantage here, imo. HD's in storage often do not come back when we attempt to mount them.

Nathan, I am aware of the ability for DVD media to deteriorate. I do save and protect my film. I also wish to save and protect my scans and digital work. I currently do this via DVD as do many of us. I am not concerned about the future of Blu-ray media as it has been standardized and will be around for a very long time. As a software developer, I have to say that the fear of file-format longevity is quite unfounded, and the data on any media can (and should) be moved to modern media quite easily. ??

??

Anyway, Blu-ray is here to stay, and the media is stable and getting cheaper. My curiosity stands, is anyone moving over to BD-R?

**PenGun** · 22-Mar-2009, 12:36

Originally Posted by Joanna Carter

Since even plain old CDs are now proving to be far from archival (they can self-corrupt with age) I would rather use a large RAID data tank.

http://www.printfile.com/index.asp?P...S&Category=180

300 years for the CDs. As good or better than B&W film, certainly much more archival than any colour film

**PenGun** · 23-Mar-2009, 13:04

If you really need Blu Ray size the first discs to be usefully archival will be the XDCAM media Sony uses for it's video cameras. They claim 50 years useful life. It is all pro stuff at the moment but there was some movement towards a data standard on the same discs. The main useful difference is the insane data rates they can support but the actual discs are quite a bit better than standard Blu Ray, which officially supports only 1000 read and write cycles.

**aphexafx** · 24-Mar-2009, 11:14

Interesting, thanks PenGun. I would like to see a data standard on these Professional Discs. Or is Sony moving completely over to the SxS memory cards? Hmmm.

Anyway, as BD-R DL drives have recently dropped below the $200 point and with BD-R media dropping below $10 for standard and below $20 for DL, I am on the lookout for any technical information regarding longevity/stability/performance.