Optical Media Backup

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Deleted member 49549

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Evening' all.

Bene thinking about my backups and want to have one extra layer. Primarily because my current backups would all require some effort if somebody other than me needed to access them, and secondly because i wish to have a number of off site, maintenance free, read only backups in case of ransomware.

So have narrowed it down to optical media. On each dvd i plan to create folders of personally important images and videos, ensure metadata is tagged (especially captions, gps data, dates set correctly etc), set up in a reasonably simple folder structure with text files giving instructions / descriptions. This will be a lot easier for someone to sort through than finding the correct folders in my NAS / laptop and wading through all the uninteresting photos..

So a couple of questions.
  • Is optical media a reasonable archival method?
  • What optical media would you recommend? Ive just read about M-DIscs and they seem to be what i am looking for?
  • What writers are the most reliable? In the late 90's when i used to burn cd's i had a poor experience with a lot of dud dvd's.
  • What storage method for these discs? Is the jewel case the best place?
PS, optical media will not be my main back up method. I currently have a synology NAS, some time machine discs, some discs rotated off-site, crashplan etc.
 
There are special archival (100 year) write-once BluRay available which would be the best option for a optical backup system.
 
Eloise said:
There are special archival (100 year) write-once BluRay available which would be the best option for a optical backup system.
Click to expand...
neil_g said:
Dvd you have to watch for delamination issues related to environmental issues.

Bluray is a different construction. Also has more capacity. Drives aren't that expensive now either.
Click to expand...

Thanks both.

I have been looking at Mdiscs - are these the best option?
 
DVDs are a good option if you buy a quality brand and as long as you keep them in a folder and not leave the in sunlight they will last.

I have DVDs with photos on which I burnt about 10 years ago and they are still good.

What storage method for these discs? Is the jewel case the best place?

Only if you keep them in a dark place and not exposed for any length of time to sunlight!

A few years ago I did a test on some DVDs.

In my test I left some on a window ledge exposed to sunlight and they were totally corrupted after only a few months (1 month and on!)

A Blu-Ray I tested in the same manner was still good after a year so would recommend them - but NOT the cheap dye types, you want the metal types.
 
Last edited:
Just tested my earliest backup from November 2002.

Cheapest of the cheap CD, stored in a drawer away from light.

Everything still works perfectly!

These days, DVDs are just as cheap as CDs and re-writers are usually very reliable and can be had for under £15.
 
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