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Earlier quoted context omitted.
The drives are expensive and the tapes are pretty much only useable for offline storage and not for keeping the data accessible.
Pretty much only useable for offline storage and not for keeping the data accessible. Which is pretty much what is meant by "long-term archival storage".
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The drives are expensive and the tapes are pretty much only useable for offline storage and not for keeping the data accessible.
Pretty much only useable for offline storage and not for keeping the data accessible. Which is pretty much what is meant by "long-term archival storage".
Stone tablets are the only media I know of that lasts 1000s of years. In all seriousness, this isn't a popular opinion around here, but cloud storage. I back my photos up to both iCloud and OneDrive. This way there is triple redundancy if you include the local copy. I trust Apple and Microsoft a lot more than myself to protect my data from spilled beverages, floods, fires, other acts of god, or just my own stupidity…
I would place my bets on: CD-R because it is still around after more than two decades and the media is still in production, there are many drives and they are repairable. My second choice would be DVD-R for similar reasons, but less history. Third choice would be FAT formatted spinning disks used as write once. But they are much more susceptible to environmental flux. Anything that is expensive or hard to come by or…
I have heard that writable Blu-Rays are thought to be much more durable than all but the best DVD-R.
I don’t think the hardware was/is as widespread and I don’t expect blue ray was/is as commonly specified in government contracts, integrated into medical devices, etc.
My primary consideration with all digital media is what will the ecosystem be like in twenty years. How easy will it be to start with only a disk?
I would place my bets on: CD-R because it is still around after more than two decades and the media is still in production, there are many drives and they are repairable. My second choice would be DVD-R for similar reasons, but less history. Third choice would be FAT formatted spinning disks used as write once. But they are much more susceptible to environmental flux. Anything that is expensive or hard to come by or…
Go cloud, ZFS or tape.
I’ve been thinking of this question too, and think a combination of cloud storage (GDrive + iCloud), HDs, and these MDiscs is what I’ll do. Just haven’t bought the MDrive writer yet.
MDisc DVDs and Bluray discs are supposed to last for a thousand years. https://www.mdisc.com/ I’ve been thinking of this question too, and think a combination of cloud storage (GDrive + iCloud), HDs, and these MDiscs is what I’ll do. Just haven’t bought the MDrive writer yet.
Those you can burn at home relies on a chemical reaction which will degrade after several years, faster if exposed to sunlight.