tchil wrote:
Something to consider is that DVD is a dying technology and DVD's dont last forever. Digital Media would be a better way to go. Don't just put them on a Hard drive though use a service like Crashplan and have a local and remote copy. That way you will have the information for ever. I have done this will all of my home movies and pictures so I never have to worry about them getting lost or damaged. If you have a digital copy it does not deteriorate with time either.
Folks had said the same thing about Reel to Reel, 8 tracks, cassettes, records and so on..
Vinyl records are STILL being pressed and new turn tables are still being manufactured!
Reel to Reel there are still a lot of folks holding on to them and enjoying the quality.. I spent many years owning R to Rs, sold off the last two I had 5 yrs ago and one was an extremely nice full 4 track pro unit which could run 10.5 reels..
Although I did keep one small portable r to r which is my Dads, he bought it back in the late 50s and recorded a conversation that his Dad (my Grandad who passed away when I was only a few years old)and a cousin of his Dad was having..
Yeah, the player electronics have long passed away (dead preamp) but with a little know how I disconnected the preamp, connected the head directly into a microphone input of a mixing console and recorded my grandads voice to a CD..
The quality stinks and over the years parts of the tape got erased but I managed to retrieve and salvage about a minute and half of my Grandads voice.
My Daughter thinks it is cool to be able to hear her great grandad who has been gone almost 46 years now! Priceless.
8 tracks well they were sort of a mixed up poor sounding mess that constantly jammed or broke but every once and a while I get someone asking me if I know of a way to convert them to CDs.. I have once let someone borrow my last 8 track recorder so they could copy off what they want..
Cassettes, vast improvement over a 8 track, very small compact do all method.. Still folks out there using them, I still have a couple laying around.. I still have hundreds of irreplaceable tapes I made over the years from High school concerts, interviews with family members who are no longer with us and yes, a lot of music which would cost thousands of dollars if I bought CDs of each tape..
It took over 20 yrs before 3.5" 1.44 floppy drives were discontinued by main stream manufacturers but you still can buy them from a host of China manufacturers!
Just because YOU think some media is no longer relevant to YOU does not mean it is "dead"..
There is nothing wrong with someone who is attempting to save a collection.. sometimes you save what you can and if possible you find it on newer media if or when possible but keep in mind, there always be newer media which will supersede the current media..
Even digital media files are not exempt from this. Eventually the media files you saved all your stuff to will no longer be supported.. Then what will you do? Buy them again?
As far as burned DVDs, yeah, no one really knows for sure just how long DVDrs will last, the dye layer can deteriorate so it is a good idea to back them up..
On home burned DVDs it is as simple as copying the TS folder to a hard drive, makes a quick and easy backup so give it a rest and quit beating up folks for wanting to save their VHS onto DVD..
Once the DVD has been made backup copies are a breeze and copying the TS folder to a PC HD or external USB drive is easy peazy..
The worst part is getting the analog source turned into a digital source.. Standalone DVD recorders are the best for folks who know how to press a record button.. Only advanced users should attempt USB dongles for recording although some of these will net a better result they have a steep learning curve.
