DVD durability

1. fairpaul
   Member

   
   I am new to this game with my first paid wedding imminent after a good few practice runs. I have been reading various articles on the durability of DVDs. There doesn't appear to be any definitive answer - it's somewhere between 5yrs and 100yrs? I suddenly went into panic mode - supposing someone pays me X amount for the wedding DVD thinking it's for life and in 4 or 5yrs the information on it is lost. Where do I stand? Or I am missing something. I am creating in Final Cut and burning my finished projects on the Apple Mac disk utility. The quality is good and I have had no compatibility problems using Tiayo Yuden discs but should I be doing something different to ensure life expectancy of the DVD.
   Does everyone write their own discs or do you use specialist authoring companies, which doesn't seem economical?

   Posted 4 years ago #

2. kkmac
   Member

   
   I've never heard (or read) that DVDs only last 5 years (unless your using really crappy discs). If they are properly stored, (in their case standing vertical at room temp), they'll outlast most marriages. Maybe not 100 years, but certainly until the next generation media storage comes along.

   Posted 4 years ago #

3. Coreece
   Member

   
   This problem is more common to data DVD's not video DVD's. After so many years you may or may not get a cyclic redundancy error. It's hard to say how long it takes for this to happen, if it happens at all. If it does happen, it is next to impossible to retrieve the data.
   
   This can happen to DVD video, but it is less common and will take longer. I'm not sure if it's inevitable at some point in time or not. It's a good idea to keep a disc image like an .iso file in case the couple needs a new copy. I would also educate the couple and tell them that it is always wise to make a backup of their DVD or store it on their computer in case it gets scratched or something. Just phase it in a way that doesn't make it sound like the DVD degradation is your fault.
   
   The main reason this happens is because the disc is burned on a computer. Professional autoring companies press the information into the disc which practically garuantees the DVD for a very long time and which is why you don't see those burn marks onthe disc.
   
   I've had DVD's for about 7 years and I haven't had any problems...

   Posted 4 years ago #

4. The Dubster (Greg)
   Member

   
   Alright let me get a little technical here to answer your question. The reason the answers are so vague is because it depends upon the quality produced. Standard for cheap media you buy at the store is to put a layer of reflective aluminum in between the disc to bounce the laser off to read the peaks and valleys (0s and 1s).
   
   If you want a long lasting media that wont have a CRC error eventually you are going to need to go with something other than aluminum. It's going to have to be either silver or gold lining. They can cost a couple bucks a piece but it's worth it if you want something that's not going to go bad.
   
   I hope that answers your question.

   Posted 4 years ago #

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