Posted by stocksami@earthlink.net on 02/12/07 00:18

On Feb 6, 1:46 am, Charlie+ <char...@xxx.net> wrote:
> On Mon, 05 Feb 2007 14:38:07 GMT, Eamon Skelton <Xnos...@oceanfree.net> wrote as
> underneath my scribble :
>
> Hi Eamon
> The faults vary from recoverable (with recovery software) errors to one disk
> witha few unreadable errors - all the 16X disks are still mountable at this
> time.
> Thanks for your observations as to recording speeds - yes, for sometime now I
> have been buying only 8X speed disks and then recording at the write strategy
> speed (4X) this would seem to be the safest for longevity but I have had no
> failures under this regime yet.
> If you read my OP carefully, you should be wary with your own method as some of
> these 16X disks I recorded at 4X 8X and 16X and I am getting errors at all
> recording speeds and this after only one year.
> Media I use is always bulk drums but I check compatibility when I get a new drum
> that the disks give perfect recordings with minimal error correction from the
> drives (NEC). I would expect more longevity from branded disks but the ones I
> have tested to destruction with heat and UV light have been no better than the
> bulk, ( I havnt tested any archival rated disks as they are so expensive to use
> in bulk) also you still get disks with visible flaws in the branded versions.
> Please avoid interspersed posting, it is very confusing for other readers!

I would distinguish between miscellaneous stuff and irreplaceable
items like family videos. For the REALLY important stuff I would
invest in the higher priced disks that are promoted as archival
quality. There are several varieties and they aren't all that
expensive for things of great importance. I purchased some MAM-A GOLD
DVD-R for family videos. It might be worthwhile to do some
destructive testing of disks such as these to see if they do indeed
hold up better.

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