tiggerlou Posted December 2, 2007 Report Share Posted December 2, 2007 Some years ago I transferred much of my old cassette recordings to minidisc. I have been reshuffling my storage arrangements and I've considered dubbing to CD-R instead. But I've been reading some things online about how CD-R's sometimes only last a couple of years. These are irreplaceable recordings, including some studio recording masters. What should I use for maximum longevity. Also are minidiscs susceptible to sunlight or heat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmachine Posted December 2, 2007 Report Share Posted December 2, 2007 Never rely on a single medium for important data. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmachine Posted December 2, 2007 Report Share Posted December 2, 2007 Try lossless audio compression - about half the size of wav's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiggerlou Posted December 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 So what is the expected shelf life of minidiscs, compared with CD-r's? That's my main question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 It depends on the manufacturer of the CD-R. I have had some CD-R's with coatings that flaked off in 2-3 years. Ruined. Now, actually, I use Sony CD-R's rather than the generic ones I was using, and I hope they will be more stable. (By the way, Memorex "Disc Keeper" sleeves are an active menace to stored CDs--they stick to the coating. Get archival quality sleeves or forget about any kind of longevity.) For something I wanted to keep permanently, I would never trust CD-R as a serious storage medium. Minidiscs are supposed to be very durable, and the case keeps the discs themselves well protected from the outside world. Maybe someone like Guitarfxr who's had MDs from their introduction can tell you about how his oldest discs are surviving. On the other hand, how long is your MD player going to last? A perfectly preserved minidisc is going to be useless without a unit that plays it, and nobody's making new ones any more. I'm still wondering when I'm going to get around to uploading all my legacy discs--and whether doing that is going to wear out my RH1, which I'm unlikely to be able to replace. Greenmachine put it clearly: "Never rely on a single medium for important data." Make a CD copy or a DVD copy, put the files on a hard drive, and keep the MD too if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strungup Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Well as per 440's plug for me , The very first MD I recorded , is still playing fine. I have many that are 93-94 vintage I recorded a lot of stuff , and they are still going . the only problem I get is on Other brands of players the Atrac format might be just a little different and it might not read on that unit , but that is a rare issue .I somewhat agree with the Multiple medium storage thought , but then I still have LP's and a Turntable . Back at ya 440 ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobt Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 I'm trying to get my Teac Reel to Reel down here, (or something else if it's cheaper) and will put stuuf on tape, just love watching those reels go round. Might het my son to ship my Revox turntable down as well.As for longevity I have several 6 or 7 year old MD's that work great, none of my burned cd's from that vintage are any good.Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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