RE: [AV Media Matters] DVD as Storage Medium

[<W.Williams@ru.ac.za>]

I concur on the Mitsui Gold product.  This is the only media that we
consider acceptable for our archival storage.  I have noticed that
they appear to have changed their branding and, for some reason I
cannot fathom, now call their product MAM-E.  MAM, of course, stands
for Mitsui Advanced Media, but why mess with a good thing?

A point that has not been mentioned so far is that there is a new
range, known as the ProStudio, specifically targeted at professional
and archival use.  The disc contains the same technology as the Gold
Ultra, but is also optimised for slower speed burning.  This
requires less recording power and, by my understanding, therefore
extends the life of the burner and is less harmful to the disc.

I believe that a recent meeting between the IASA Technical
Committee, the Sub-Committee on Technology for the Memory of the
World Programme and major manufacturers of recording media has led
to the introduction of this range.  There is apparently only one
product currently available in this range (CD-R), but I understand
that DVD media and thermal and inkjet options will soon be
available.

I am not, however, entirely in agreement on the obsolescence
problem. There is increasing pressure by consumers for manufacturers
to provide backward compatibility in playback equipment.  This is
evident in that one would be hard pressed to find a DVD playback
device that is not also capable of playing compact discs.

I am more concerned with the parallel development of DVD-R/W,
DVD+R/W, DVD-RAM and other standards.  I believe that here the
different players in the industry need to start paying more
attention to the consumer and work together toward one unified
standard.  Failing this there will probably be only one surviving
standard, with all others becoming obsolete.

The greater concern therefore, in my opinion, is not so much whether
DVD is suitable as an archival format, but rather which recordable
standard to choose.  One can, of course, just purchase the new Sony
DRU500A and hope for the best, but that is dealing with the symptoms
rather than the root of the problem.

I'm sorry if I have gone slightly OT, but these were all factors
that we considered important when we undertook our assessment of
potential archival media.

Wayne Williams
Project Manager, Digitising
International Library of African Music
Rhodes University
Grahamstown
South Africa
+27 46-603 8557