Which DVD+R blank disc will last the longest for archiving?

Question

There are so many brands out there it's hard to know which one will play in years to come! I have my wedding on DVD+R and i know these disks dont last long. So which brand will guaranmtee a long life disc (if any)? Thanks! :-)

Answer 1

1) Panasonic
2) Verbatim
3) Sony.

But please read this: The subject (he says unhelpfully) is a hugely contentious and complex area. I know this because I have agonised over it before embarking on a mass transfer of my stuff on VHS to DVD recently and so I do sympathise with the question. There is not only the issue of brands but also which manufacturer they have used. Brands will change manufacturers over time and, more significantly, many will outsource to several different manufacturers at the same time. The point is that there is huge variance in quality of DVD media depending on who made it and where. The souces mentioned below go into more detail. Having pored over various sites including forums it is clear that many ‘in the know’ believe Made in Japan is optimum. The problem is that in the UK mijs, as they are known, are not easy to come buy except in the case of Panasonic whose manufacturers (Taiyo Yuiden) have an outstanding reputation. I would therefore place them numero uno. Close second is Verbatim, though those sold in the UK are unlikely to be mijs, they have an excellent reputation and are not timid about making claims about archival standards. I use these predominantly. Finally I would recommend Sony. They are among the best known brands for a very good reason.

Don’t buy from dubious sources as there are a lot of fakes around. Don’t buy cheap. If the prices seem too good to be true, they are too good to be true. On the high street at the moment Verbatim is however attracting good deals from certain well-known retailers. Don’t buy on eBay.

As I said it is a highly contentious area. DVD technology is relatively new and so nobody really knows their lifetime. We know magnetic tapes last generations because they have been around generations, but you can count the number of years DVDs have been about on the fingers on of your hands. I have read quite a few accounts of people who have returned to their recording after only a few months to find them unplayable. It quite disturbing. For this reason I am holding on to my VHS tapes for a little while. Where you have really important stuff, like a wedding to your beloved,

a)back up to a second DVD, perhaps an alternative brand (I do this with my pics), and
b)distribute a fair number to friends and family so that you have other copies to turn to should some accident happen to yours.

Finally, the advice I read in another answer about backing-up to a hard drive is a valid one. In connection with this possibility you may find it useful to google "divX".

Answer 2

It really depends how much you got in your pocket?
Because none of them are long lasting.
try to take backup of your video on Hard disk of computer also and make 1 back up DVD which you only use when backup is required.

Answer 3

sony, samsung, maxell ... plenty many

don't know why u think they are unreliable media

make a couple of copies, keep in good case, surface scratch free
dont think there is any chance of data loss / corruption

pretty much immune to magnetic fields too

and ya, click on verify option post burn process

think u might find this link usefull,
http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/specsformats/CDDVDlongevity.php

Answer 4

im a computer geek. i've tried alot and the best i've tried is MEMOREX. just for the record, no disc will work as long as u live

Answer 5

sony is good...