Data retention is not an easy issue these days. Infoworld reports that a physicist and storage expert at IBM warns that most burned CDs and DVDs will last only 2 – 5 years under typical conditions. Basically, he says the dyes used in the discs can degrade over time.
Rather against popular opinion, he recommends magnetic tape as the long-term storage solution, saying it’ll last 30 – 100 years. Of course, that prediction is a little more reliable simply because magnetic tape has now been around for about sixty years, and there are many recordings that have survived that long.
I thought the prevailing wisdom was that decent blank CD and DVD media could be expected to last more like 10 to 20 years. I’m pretty sure I have CD-Rs that are more than five years old that still read fine — though I have made no systematic check or analysis.
The problem with magnetic tape for backup data storage is that it’s much more expensive than optical media, at least partially due to the fact that the hardware and media is intended for server use. Tape, however, is still viable for digital audio and video, although this year Sony ended production of digital audio tape decks.
I guess in the absence of good hard data about the longevity of blank optical media the best advice is to back up often and onto multiple copies. It would be a shame to lose the cultural heritage that you’ve created.
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