DVD As Media For Digital Image Distribution?

Buran asks: "I work in a research lab at a major university. We currently record a lot of visual data from a light microscope on large Panasonic optical disks. They're so old that replenishing the supply is iffy, and we can't get replacement recorders or players anymore. We want to move to DVD for image storage because they're much smaller, players are widespread, new computers can play them, and because there's a lot of storage space on each disc. However, I'm having trouble finding information on DVD recorders (certainly we have the technology to make them!) and players with high-quality digital output (for making digital movies for sending to collaborators over the Internet.) I'm hoping the Slashdot community can provide suggestions. I'm all set up to import FireWire video from digital sources, now all we need are the recorders and players." While a neat idea, I think that it would be easier to use something more open. How about tying a video microscope to a PC, saving the images in a format like JPG for distribution on a CDR? Thoughts?