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Burned CDs lifetimes

J

johnny

Inactive
Inactive User
Guys,

I just read this article http://msn.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,124312,00.asp?GT1=7645 regarding burned CDs and their expected lifetimes. The article goes on to say 2-5 years. This is something that we all should be aware of since we are moving more and more from tape to CD. The last thing you want to do is to lose your precious aircheck (and other family files).

A few years back, I had read some other reports, and depending upon the quality of CD, that lifetime could go from 50-100 years or more when treated right. But, those were the more expensive CDs that most of us are probably not regularly using.

In my opinion, back up to multiple media and check every so often.

FYI,

John
 
> Guys,
>
> I just read this article
http> ://msn.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,124312,00.asp?GT1=7645
> regarding burned CDs and their expected lifetimes. The
> article goes on to say 2-5 years. This is something that we
> all should be aware of since we are moving more and more
> from tape to CD. The last thing you want to do is to lose
> your precious aircheck (and other family files).
>
> A few years back, I had read some other reports, and
> depending upon the quality of CD, that lifetime could go
> from 50-100 years or more when treated right. But, those
> were the more expensive CDs that most of us are probably not
> regularly using.
>
> In my opinion, back up to multiple media and check every so
> often.
>
> FYI,
>
> John
>
I find it hard to believe that major brands like TDK, Maxell, Sony, Memorex,etc would only last 3-5 years. If my crappy Ampex tapes lasted 25 years (squeal and all) then the CD's have to last just as long. <P ID="signature">______________

Co/Moderator: New York,Miami,Airchecks,Classic Radio and Where Are They Now?</P>
 
> ...burned CDs and their expected lifetimes. The
> article goes on to say 2-5 years.

I don't think so. I have several basic, garden-variety Maxell CD/Rs from 1998 that still play well in all of my machines, home and car. What's more, they're RITEK-made discs -- about as far from high-end as one can get!

Personally, I've never had a recorded CD go bad from age [fingers crossed, fur rubbed clear off rabbit's foot, etc.].

How you store them is perhaps a factor of longevity -- if kept in excessively hot environments, I imagine the discs might not last very long.

> In my opinion, back up to multiple media and check every so
> often.

Absolutely. I've since put hundreds of hours' worth of cassette matter to CD/R, and afterward I put the cassettes in storage ... One should <u>never</u> throw out the master!

I don't pay much heed to those articles that say our CD/Rs will be dead and unplayable in three years ... however, as with any new technology one shouldn't sit back and assume anything. The minute my oldest CDs begin glitching, I'll be backing up everything two hours ago!

--Russell W.
 
> > In my opinion, back up to multiple media and check every
> so
> > often.
> >
> > FYI,
> >
> > John
> >
> I find it hard to believe that major brands like TDK,
> Maxell, Sony, Memorex,etc would only last 3-5 years. If my
> crappy Ampex tapes lasted 25 years (squeal and all) then the
> CD's have to last just as long.
>

I think a big factor is storage method and abuse. I would assume if you kept your discs in actual cases and took care that they didn't get dusty or scratchy there shouldn't be a problem (I have some very cheap burned CDs from about 7 years ago that still play fine). Problem is when a CD gets scratched it may be "dead", and cassette will just "squeal" when it gets old (unless of course, it gets "eaten").

Though when I finally get a CD burner and start converting tapes to CD I'll take Russell's advice and NOT throw the tapes away!
 
What I found interesting was that the story said that
tape might last longer than a CD.

I have airchecks, music, photos all on discs.
Hopefully they will stay the way they are until the next
wave of the future pops up.
 
I set you guys up with this article. I saw it on the headline of msn.com and thought to post it. It was more to remind you all to have multiple copies of your airchecks because media... any media can fail.

I did a lot of research on this years ago, and one of the best summaries are on the cdrfaq.org site: http://www.cdrfaq.org/faq07.html#S7-5

You'll notice that the number of years is all over the place. It depends much on the dye type... and that's why I referred to certain brands being better than others... many use different dye types. One additional thing to know is that many of the major brands are NOT made by those companies. I don't remember exactly who made what, but most were made by knock-off companies. There are some programs that you can run that will show you who really made the CD-R that you just burnt.

I don't believe the manufacturers numbers as they are certainly high end estimates. Simulated aging tests have shown significantly less lifetime. But, then, as this website says, the tests aren't real world. So, who knows.

Heat, humidity, and direct sunlight are the worst for CD-Rs. Best not to leave your CD-Rs in a car in the summer unless it's expendable.

I also have been burning CD-Rs for a long time.. even before they out on PCs. I have some CD-Rs which must be nearly 10 years old. And they are fine. But, this doesn't mean yours will. IMHO, I am assuming failure in the 20-30 year timeframe. LOL, that Powerline show I posted last week was on a 30 year old Pic Pac cassette and sounded pretty good, didn't it? (surprised the heck outta me!)

PS. As an aside, Blu Ray and HD-DVD are fighting it out to become the next wave. (aka VHS vs Betamax). You should start seeing this stuff really soon, both in video and computers.

Just protect your aircheck, family photos, and anything else important to you.
 
My important stuff that I want to keep is on a gold CD-R. The sellor has a written guarantee that the CD will have a useful life of 300 years! That sold me. They are not cheap. $.99 each. But if it just lasts 100 years, I will be happy.

available at

www.kingdom.com

Well it says in the website 70 years but in the catalog it says 300 years.

http://www.kingdom.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=CDKSGFL


> Guys,
>
> I just read this article
http> ://msn.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,124312,00.asp?GT1=7645
> regarding burned CDs and their expected lifetimes. The
> article goes on to say 2-5 years. This is something that we
> all should be aware of since we are moving more and more
> from tape to CD. The last thing you want to do is to lose
> your precious aircheck (and other family files).
>
> A few years back, I had read some other reports, and
> depending upon the quality of CD, that lifetime could go
> from 50-100 years or more when treated right. But, those
> were the more expensive CDs that most of us are probably not
> regularly using.
>
> In my opinion, back up to multiple media and check every so
> often.
>
> FYI,
>
> John
>
<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by peppertree5706 on 01/13/06 03:15 AM.</FONT></P>
 
> I set you guys up with this article. I saw it on the
> headline of msn.com and thought to post it. It was more to
> remind you all to have multiple copies of your airchecks
> because media... any media can fail.

I actually am in this boat. I have some failing CD's. The CD's wont play correctly in any player - nor can I rip all of the tracks via PC anymore.

What's interesting is that the discs themselves are "real", official discs (but yes, CD-R's), from a syndicator of "It's A Wonderful Life" radio version, and "Miracle on 34th Street" radio version, I believe from Radio Spirits. They are only about 2-3 years old. Not too old at all. But they did work fine when delivered to a radio station.

You can still play the last tracks of each disc but they occasionally skip. The first track, and most of the second track, from the discs are totally unusable. They are being stored like every other disc in my collection in Sterilite storage containers. All of my other discs seem fine.

Of course, these shows should be easy enough to replace with all the OTR collectors so I'm not worried but I was surprised around Christmas-time this year when I pulled them out to replay them for my own personal use.

On the other hand, I still have the first CD I bought from 1985 or so, and it sounds PERFECT. CD's overall are great.
 
> Guys,
>
> I just read this article
http> ://msn.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,124312,00.asp?GT1=7645
> regarding burned CDs and their expected lifetimes. The
> article goes on to say 2-5 years. This is something that we
> all should be aware of since we are moving more and more
> from tape to CD. The last thing you want to do is to lose
> your precious aircheck (and other family files).
>
> A few years back, I had read some other reports, and
> depending upon the quality of CD, that lifetime could go
> from 50-100 years or more when treated right. But, those
> were the more expensive CDs that most of us are probably not
> regularly using.
>
> In my opinion, back up to multiple media and check every so
> often.
>
> FYI,
>
> John
>
Another reason why tape is still my favorite media.

Howevr I got CDs about 5-6 years old and they still work fine.<P ID="signature">______________

</P>
 
> Another reason why tape is still my favorite media.
>

Gee, and I thought I was the only one!!


> Howevr I got CDs about 5-6 years old and they still work
> fine.
>
 
> > I set you guys up with this article. I saw it on the
> > headline of msn.com and thought to post it. It was more
> to
> > remind you all to have multiple copies of your airchecks
> > because media... any media can fail.
>
> I actually am in this boat. I have some failing CD's. The
> CD's wont play correctly in any player - nor can I rip all
> of the tracks via PC anymore.
>
> What's interesting is that the discs themselves are "real",
> official discs (but yes, CD-R's), from a syndicator of "It's
> A Wonderful Life" radio version, and "Miracle on 34th
> Street" radio version, I believe from Radio Spirits. They
> are only about 2-3 years old. Not too old at all. But they
> did work fine when delivered to a radio station.
>
> You can still play the last tracks of each disc but they
> occasionally skip. The first track, and most of the second
> track, from the discs are totally unusable. They are being
> stored like every other disc in my collection in Sterilite
> storage containers. All of my other discs seem fine.
>
> Of course, these shows should be easy enough to replace with
> all the OTR collectors so I'm not worried but I was
> surprised around Christmas-time this year when I pulled them
> out to replay them for my own personal use.
>
> On the other hand, I still have the first CD I bought from
> 1985 or so, and it sounds PERFECT. CD's overall are great.
>
Do you think putting lables on CDS and DVDS would do any thing to them or what we play them in.<P ID="signature">______________
Roger</P>
 
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