Are BD/DVD going to last forever?

[UniSol GR77]

If I purchase a DVD or a BD, and keep it SEALED and far from external factors, is it supposed to last 100 years or forever?

Is DVD/BD the last way to preserve data forever?

[Johnny Vinyl]

No

[FlipperWasIrish]

Originally Posted by UniSol GR77

If I purchase a DVD or a BD, and keep it SEALED and far from external factors, is it supposed to last 100 years or forever?

Is DVD/BD the last way to preserve data forever?

Multiple copies of your data is the best policy.

[Mr.White]

I've had a couple of Anchor Bay DVD's stop playing, "FM" and "The Bedroom Window", both were scratch free, and I noticed that BOTH discs playing sides are now sickly gray in color. I thought only laserdiscs had the "rot" problem. None of my blu's better never rot, I paid to darn much for them!

[Deciazulado]

[Rojas]

Originally Posted by FlipperWasIrish

Multiple copies of your data is the best policy.

Don't trust your multiple copies to one brand, use different brands of discs.
in case you got a lemon spindle.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Rojas

Don't trust your multiple copies to one brand, use different brands of discs.
in case you got a lemon spindle.

also, if it is critical data for you, re-copy it every few years and stash them in different locations. (if a fire happens in your home and it is burned down, it does not matter if you have 10 copies in the basement)

[syncguy]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

also, if it is critical data for you, re-copy it every few years and stash them in different locations. (if a fire happens in your home and it is burned down, it does not matter if you have 10 copies in the basement)

Yes, should fully agree. Multiple backups in multiple locations.

[tlmaclennan]

Haha, you shouldn't worry about your discs lasting 100 years. Every 10-15 years a new format arises. So your discs only have to last 10-15 years so that you can re-buy all your media!

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by UniSol GR77

If I purchase a DVD or a BD, and keep it SEALED and far from external factors, is it supposed to last 100 years or forever?

Is DVD/BD the last way to preserve data forever?

No, after 100 or 200 years, it can't be gaurenteed that the discs will be playable for whatever reason (Laser rot? Decomposition? Something?)

Certainly, after 1,000 years, the discs won't even exist any more.

[syncguy]

Originally Posted by UniSol GR77

If I purchase a DVD or a BD, and keep it SEALED and far from external factors, is it supposed to last 100 years or forever?

Is DVD/BD the last way to preserve data forever?

According to a report published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), based on accelerated aging methodologies as claimed by the manufacturers, DVD-R, DVD+R and CD-R should last 100 to 200 years.

This is based on the manufacturer's interpretation of the test results.

It is an interesting read:
http://www.itl.nist.gov/iad/894.05/d...dlingGuide.pdf