2. digital
  3. 1014831608

vaporware

Here is a new spin on "vaporware". I have discovered 2 cdr copies
that are no longer playable. One is a year old the other 4 years. I
use the best media and factories, when choosing blank media and
store all of my media in optimal temp away from UV light.

I have not gone through all of my CDRs to determind if others are
unreadable but this is a disturbing turn of events.

After recording on DAT for 13 years, I have had little to no
problems. Luckly, I have the master DAT for the 2 lost CDRs. But, if
I didn't, "vaporware"!

This is not good. Has anyone else had this problem? If so, I believe
as consumers we are being duped and have a legitament beef with the
industry.

Also, it may be a "real" reason for us not to leave behind magnetic
media. I know this was the complaint when people were jumping from
analog to digital and the catastrophic loss with DAT but at least
DAT last a lot longer than CDR's. At least that is what my
experience has been so far. I have DAT tapes that are 13 years old
and play back with 0 errors.

Other's feedback is appreciated. However, please remember that all my
media is optimally choosen and stored. I've been at this game for
too long to make a "rookie" mistake.

For more information on CDR's see www.cdmediaworld.com
ramstl

Showing 2 responses by slartibartfast

slartibartfast
100 posts
 
"For preservation, said Gibson, the Library of Congress - the largest information collector in the world – depends on half- track, quarter inch analog audio tape for backing up its over three million sound recordings."

Namely, all digital media are not considered for long term archival purposes by anyone serious about longevity. Analog master tapes 50 years old play as well today as the day they were recorded. DAT or CD-R are short term storage solutions.
slartibartfast
100 posts
 
The shredding/baking was a result of a defective tape manufacturing process from the 70s. The problem was that the polyeurethane in the binder hydrolized causing sticky tape syndrome. Any magnetic tape medium with ployeurethane in it could exhibit the same problem if the tape was imporperly manufactured and/or stored.

An analog tape that is stored under proper conditions (low humidity and temp controlled) and is not from this time period has been determined to have the longest archival shelf life for these purposes. Even tapes that do exhibit sticky tape syndrome can be baked and played with complete recovery of all information on the tape, something that will not happen when CD-Rs and DATs start to die.

Also keep in mind that the technology to play back an analog tape has remained consistently available since the format's introduction. I am not sure in 50 years you will be able to say the same about digital based technology...
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