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Best Way To Store Digital Video For 20 Years?

Posted by kdawson on from the thanks-for-the-memories dept.

An anonymous reader writes "My kid is now 1 year old and I already have 100G of digital video (stored on DVDs, DVD quality) and photos. How should I store it so that it's still readable 10 to 20 years from now? Will DVDs stil be around, and readable, 10 years from now? Should I plan for technology changes every 5 to 10 years (DVD->Blue-ray->whatever)? Is optical storage better, or should I try to use hard drives (making technology changes automatic)? And, if the answer is optical, how do you store optical disks so that they last?"

6 of 805 comments (clear)

  1. My method by everphilski · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Pictures: Backed up to HDD, DVD and Flickr. For $24.95, it's cheap offline backup and the grandparents love it.

    Movies: Taken on MiniDV, backed up to HDD.

    The only worry I have is that the MiniDV's and HDD are in the same house although they are stored in separate locations. But every picture is backed up offsite.

  2. Re:CDs are still readable by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Only professional CDs have that sort of shelf life, because they're physically stamped. The consumer grade ones use a type of photosensitive dye that DOES decompose in less than a decade.

    --
    ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
  3. How much could you store? by veganboyjosh · · Score: 4, Interesting

    No one's brought it up yet, so I will... As the price/convenience/long term compatibility and viability of storage goes down and down, I wonder to what end we will end up keeping this stuff? How many hours of video that you're paying (in time, money, security against fire/damage/loss, etc) to keep up you're actually going to watch? Sure, it's nice to have every single event in your child's life on demand at the touch of a button/click of a mouse, but aren't just plain old memories ok? Does his entire life have to be recorded and watchable?

    At some point, I came to the realization that I had downloaded over 6 solid months worth of music. This doesn't include CD's, LP's, or 7 inch records, of which I probably have 1000 total. If I were able to put all that music on a big loop, and not repeat anything, I'm thinking it would last over 12 months. Some of these I'll probably never listen to. I'm thinking the same is true for the submitter's videos.

    My parents have a big box of photographs from their childhoods, as well as those of their parents. There are some great photos in that box, and I could and have spent hours going through them. Each time I do, I make a mental note that one day I'll scan them and make them digital. Then I realize that we only drag out that box once or twice a year, and never do anything with the photos anyway, and resign to scan them once it gets even cheaper.

  4. Re:Without meaning any offence... by mbone · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I suspect that in a few decades, estate planning will include what to do with the family terabytes.

  5. Re:Gold Disks by Kjella · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Claim up to 300 years. On a very nice theoretic assumption on accelerated aging from disks stored less than a year. I expect at that age it's more than simple temperature and humidity factors that come to play, but I'm sure the company is happy to be long gone with your money before you start complaining in a few decades. Sure it might be good but it's hardly a proven technology.
    --
    Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
  6. Flash Storage by ady1 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm amazed that no one mentioned it. Just get 16gb usb flash disks.
    It has theoretically unlimited life for archiving. The only time it deteriorate is when you continuously write/erase it.