Re: [ARSCLIST] Further thoughts on the new CLIR report. DVDs

[Jerry Hartke <jhartke@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Please be careful. The NIST report was based on only a few samples, and the
conclusion appeared to reflect bias instead of test results. As I recall,
silver metallized cyanine CD-R discs from one manufacturer performed best.

Also note that the writer and recording speed can be just as important, or
even moreso, than the media itself. All media degrades with time and
handling. Discs with high initial quality withstand more degradation, while
discs that are marginal after recording are "worn out" from the beginning.

Jerry
Media Sciences, Inc.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
> [mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Steven Smolian
> Sent: Friday, March 24, 2006 7:16 AM
> To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [ARSCLIST] Further thoughts on the new CLIR report. DVDs
> 
> This report suggests the use of DVDs, recorded at 24/96, be considered as
> a standard on which preservation work would be stored.
> 
> We know from last year's (?) NIST report on optical media longevity that
> the only medium truly capable of long-term, reliable storage is a CD with
> a gold reflective layer.  Unless it slipped past my radar, there is no
> such recordable DVD at present.  Using a DVD for long-term stoage appears
> as much of a gamble as using anything but gold for similarly intended CD
> storage.
> 
> It follows that archivally-intended projects for which the final storage
> medium is the DVD should also be preserved at 44.1/16 on gold CDs until
> there is a gold DVD on the market.
> 
> Steven Smolian