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Anyone actually use rewriteable media?

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Scott:
I've never tried DVD rewriteable technology, but I assume it's just as bad.-superboyac (April 20, 2006, 05:01 PM)
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No, it's not.  It's worse, much, much worse.  They pack so much more data into the same overall amount of space, problems arise as a result.  I do work for a backup software vendor, and DVDs are probably the #1 support issue:  "The burn doesn't work."  "The disc can't be read." "I'm getting errors." "What does this sense code mean?" To which the reply is generally:  "Try new firmware ... Or a different brand or type of media, or, hell, even a different lot of the same media.  Did you check nomorecoasters.com?  Try a slower burning speed ... Enable the MY HARDWARE SUCKS setting in the BIOS ... Fart out magic pixie dust and sing a chant under the light of the full moon..."

DVD sucks, period.  It's unreliable and problematic as hell, and not nearly as long-term stable as the liars told us it would be during early adoption.  (Tape media is actually much better in that regard.)  The relative storage capacity is a complete joke.  Anyone who disagrees has a mystical, magical combination of hardware, software, and ordained luck that I could only dream of attaining.

I utterly despise all current optical media technology.  The capacity sucks.  The process is horribly slow and unreliable.  The inter-device compatibility sucks.  The media is fragile and a pain in the ass to handle.  I mean come on, why are we stuck with technology that requires sites like nomorecoasters.com to exist?  Media that you can't even write on the reverse side of, or it may screw up?  Media that you are advised to store standing up, not lying flat, because even a slight bend, introduced over years, could also screw it up?

And writing the data is only half the battle--you have to then cross your fingers and toes that it'll actually be read correctly, too.  And, of course, if you read it using different hardware and/or firmware, your results may vary wildly.

Rover:
Scott - I'm a little unclear on your opinion.... so you're are you saying you don't like DVD   ;D

</sarcasm>

superboyac:
Scott, I can't say I disagree with you.  But what backup storage do you recommend besides hard drives?  Do you think Bluray will be any better, or probably worse?  Remember magneto-optical disks that were encased in hard plastic cases?  Were those more reliable than these optical devices?  I had the feeling that they were a little more reliable and easier to work with.

Carol Haynes:
I would have thought on the basis of what Scott said that almost all future optical drives can only get worse as they pack more and more info into the same area.

Having said that I don't really see a big problem (personally) with CD-R, DVD-R or DVD-RW. The only type I have had problems with is CD-RW and that is mainly because of buggy software from Roxio and Nero as far as I can tell. Nero allows discs to be verified at the end of writing which is great (too many burning packages don't) and so the handful of coasters (and it is really only a few out of hundreds burned over the last 5 years) have been spotted instantly. Touch wood (... thumps head ...) I haven't had problems reading discs at a later date once they have been verified after the initial burn.

Scott:
Scott, I can't say I disagree with you.  But what backup storage do you recommend besides hard drives?  Do you think Bluray will be any better, or probably worse?-superboyac (May 11, 2006, 12:00 PM)
--- End quote ---

The only thing I use for backup are hard drives.  They're not entirely ideal, but they're better for my purposes than optical media.  Too early to say how Blu-Ray will turn out, I think, since not too many average users have begun using it.  The best solution for you depends on how much cash you have.  The consumer-level stuff really blows.  There are some really good solutions if you happen to have a social circle that includes Warren Buffet and Bill Gates.  The rest of us get crap.

Regarding what Carol said...  Even if CDs and DVDs work well for you, there's no escaping the abysmal capacities they offer.  I backup a couple hundred GB of stuff regularly.  DVDs aren't even an option.  The people who request tech support related to DVD writing often mention things like "...I get an error on DVD number 9..."  Yeah, OK, I have better things to do with my life than babysit my DVD drive and watch a little LED turn on and off for eons.  (And my favorite thing is when the damned tray ejects with no warning, just to entice my dog or little girl to run into it or inspect it.  And even if that doesn't happen, I get a nice influx of dust.)

And as far as reading discs at a later date, well, better be careful not to scratch those discs in the slightest.  DVDs are really touchy about that.

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