Tweet Warner Archive DVD-R longevity issues.

Hi all, I have been buying a lot of the Warner Archive releases lately. As I live in Australia I have been paying a premium for them plus high shipping. I have heard that DVD-R disks may have longevity issues. Does anyone have any solid information on these disks and is it a good idea to make back up copies for insurance?

Cheers

Paul

Depends on how much you use them, if there's dust around and if you're prone to scratching them. But to be honest, any optical disc media is prone to damage no matter what the commercials tell you. As for the legalities of it, that's another matter.

I have been burning DVD-R's since 2003, and all are luckily still in perfect condition. I store them very carefully, and every now and again check selected contents of each to make sure they still open or play.

As for the legalities, it seems to be a little known fact about Australian copyright law that consumers here are legally entitled to make a single archival backup copy of their paid-for DVD's, as long as you are the original owner or purchaser of the DVD. This also applies to DVD's purchased legally in a country ouside Australia. Be sure to retain your receipts to prove ownership and purchase.

The last time I tried to insure my DVD collection, I was refused specific cover but they are covered under my household contents insurance.

If you spend the extra money for good blank discs, you have less to worry about. Some of my cheapo Office Depot DVDRs have developed a lot of unreadable sectors, if they can be read at all. Worse, I can see my writing from the label eating through to the data!

The Warner DVDRs are supposed to be really good- significantly better than consumer blanks.

Depends on how much you use them, if there's dust around and if you're prone to scratching them...

Would dust really matter that much? Can't dust be easily and safely wiped off a DVD-R?

Thanks for all the advice. I am pleased to hear that WA may be using top quality disks. I look after my DVD/CD's and had very few failures over the years but I will be copying them to my computer in case I have problems in the future. As for buying blank disks, they are so cheap these days that it makes little sense in not spending a few cents more and buying top quality.

Rather amazed to discover these concerns & this discussion, because I'd assumed (foolishly, it appears!) that the very raison d'etre for the invention of DVDs was their increased longevity over VHS tapes. Some of the latter I recorded 30 yrs ago in LP mode look very good today, with a bit of color-fading the only sign of their age. Some others, pre-recorded in SP mode, look perfect.

Recently bought some DVD+Rs by mistake. Found they record & play-back exactly as -Rs, but waste several minutes in initializing & menu-making.

You make a very good point.

I am also constantly amazed at the longevity of a lot of VHS tapes, especially those I have recorded starting about 30 years ago.

I recently transferred to DVD my 1988 recording of “Olympia” – the German documentary by Leni Riefenstahl of the 1936 Olympic Games. Despite the LP recording mode I used all those years ago, the picture and sound quality is IMHO still far superior to any commercial DVD release of this documentary I have yet viewed.

I recall that when the Archive started up, the WB folks said they had created proprietary software that would ensure the longevity of the Archive DVD-Rs.

Has anyone found a disc that previously played has gone bad?

[silentfilm]

The Warner Archive is actually using a proprietary disk system by Hewlett Packard.