Pictures to CD or DVD

I have lots of .jpg pictures on my hard drive and want to save them in case
and when my computer fails. I have over 5GB and want to save to a DVD
because it has more capacity than a CD. Is this a bad idea or should I stay
with CD's and why? Thanks.

My suggestion is to write your photos in 2 CDs (of different brands) an one
DVD. Additionally every two years it is a good idea to transfer the photos
to new media.



The life of the CDs or DVDs depends from many parameters. It is not possible
to pre-specify this. Try and error, but the error will be found 2 to 10
years later, so better have 3 backups in different media and renew every 2
years.



As for the reliability comparison between DVDs and CDs, teh DVDs have the
sensitive surface better protected between 2 plastic disks, but as the info
is denser, is more sensitive. The CDs from the other side have not so dense
info, but it is written in the down side of the top painting, so it has not
good protection. The worst is that differs from brand to brand. Add to this,
that they are many more parameters to the life of the media to understand
that the truth is that we have not yet a reliable long lasting storage
media.
--
Dimitris M







I have lots of .jpg pictures on my hard drive and want to save them in
case
and when my computer fails. I have over 5GB and want to save to a DVD
because it has more capacity than a CD. Is this a bad idea or should I
stay
with CD's and why? Thanks.

Tass wrote:
I have lots of .jpg pictures on my hard drive and want to save them in case
and when my computer fails. I have over 5GB and want to save to a DVD
because it has more capacity than a CD. Is this a bad idea or should I stay
with CD's and why? Thanks.


The popular wisdom is that DVDs do not have the life expectancy of CDs
Advantage ....CD
Seven CDs vs 1 DVD offers some insurance against total loss of data in
case of disk damage.
Advantage .......CD
Two or more DVDs saved at different locations insures redundancy in case
of disk damage or loss.
Advantage.......DVD
I would make about 3 DVDs, and store them at different locations.
Check them all every year. If any one is faulty, make 3 new copies from
one of the intact disks.
Bob Williams

Tass wrote:
I have lots of .jpg pictures on my hard drive and want to save them in
case and when my computer fails. I have over 5GB and want to save to
a DVD because it has more capacity than a CD. Is this a bad idea or
should I stay with CD's and why? Thanks.

Both Bob and Dimitris have good points.

I will add that CD technology is a little more mature than DVD so DVD
does seem to have a few additional problems, but that seems to being
resolved.

I like the idea of using both.

I also suggest making more than one copy. Additional copies of either
are easy and quick to make and are cheap to make. Send at least one copy
off to a family member or friend in another city, preferable far away to
avoid loss from something like a hurricane.

I would make January a special time every year were you review all your
new images, organize them, delete the junk and then make new copies. That
way you will have current sets of data in safe places with little chance
that anything will get both sets.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

--
Tzortzakakis Dimitrios
major in electrical engineering, freelance electrician
FH von Iraklion-Kreta, freiberuflicher Elektriker
dimtzort AT otenet DOT gr
Ï "Tass" Ýãñáøå óôï ìÞíõìá
news1K4f.210584$oW2.55695@pd7tw1no...
I have lots of .jpg pictures on my hard drive and want to save them in
case
and when my computer fails. I have over 5GB and want to save to a DVD
because it has more capacity than a CD. Is this a bad idea or should I
stay
with CD's and why? Thanks.


First of all-do you have a cd or a dvd burner?

--
Tzortzakakis Dimitrios
major in electrical engineering, freelance electrician
FH von Iraklion-Kreta, freiberuflicher Elektriker
dimtzort AT otenet DOT gr
Ï "Dimitris M" Ýãñáøå óôï ìÞíõìá
news:1129542110.464216@athnrd02...
My suggestion is to write your photos in 2 CDs (of different brands) an
one
DVD. Additionally every two years it is a good idea to transfer the photos
to new media.



The life of the CDs or DVDs depends from many parameters. It is not
possible
to pre-specify this. Try and error, but the error will be found 2 to 10
years later, so better have 3 backups in different media and renew every 2
years.



As for the reliability comparison between DVDs and CDs, teh DVDs have the
sensitive surface better protected between 2 plastic disks,
Do you mean double sided DVDs?I don't think these are available for
recording,AFAIK only single sided single layer DVDs are available for
recording.
but as the info
is denser, is more sensitive.
Not only that, but the laser beam reading the data is also narrower (on the
original cd:infrared, on the dvd:red), so if the cd needed a um tracking
accuracy the dvd needs a nm t.a.
The CDs from the other side have not so dense
info, but it is written in the down side of the top painting, so it has
not
good protection.
Actually, that's one drawback of cd technology that showed only after 23
years of use (and abuse).
The worst is that differs from brand to brand. Add to
this,
that they are many more parameters to the life of the media to understand
that the truth is that we have not yet a reliable long lasting storage
media.
--
Dimitris M







I have lots of .jpg pictures on my hard drive and want to save them in
case
and when my computer fails. I have over 5GB and want to save to a DVD
because it has more capacity than a CD. Is this a bad idea or should I
stay
with CD's and why? Thanks.

Do you mean double sided DVDs?I don't think these are available for
recording,AFAIK only single sided single layer DVDs are available for
recording.

Oi bre syntekne,

I mean standard DVDs, single sided. (BUT double sided are available for
recording in high prices. Take a look at Plaisio - Iraklion)
--
Dimitris M

My suggestion is to write your photos in 2 CDs (of different brands) an one
DVD. Additionally every two years it is a good idea to transfer the photos
to new media.


Yeah, data storage is definately a worry with digital, on my end at least.
It is not like negatives or slides that you can touch and store at least
until water or fire damage, etc. But then digital makes it easier to copy
and backup to multiple locations. But it is a bit unnerving to know your
precious photos exist simply as 0s and 1s on various media that is subject
to deterioration, loss from formattting, etc!

I see no problems with storing all your images on DVDs.
Not sure why you may think that CDs and DVDs somehow store data
differently - to me, DVD store more, so I use em'.

Am I missing something here?

===============================================
Sincerely,
Gary Hendricks, Desktop-Video-Guide.com
Essential video software programs for making digital videos:
http://www.desktop-video-guide.com
===============================================



"Tass" wrote in message
news1K4f.210584$oW2.55695@pd7tw1no...
I have lots of .jpg pictures on my hard drive and want to save them in
case
and when my computer fails. I have over 5GB and want to save to a DVD
because it has more capacity than a CD. Is this a bad idea or should I
stay
with CD's and why? Thanks.

On Tue, 18 Oct 2005 01:54:24 +0800, "Gary Hendricks"
wrote:

I see no problems with storing all your images on DVDs.
Not sure why you may think that CDs and DVDs somehow store data
differently - to me, DVD store more, so I use em'.

Am I missing something here?

A little, yes. Try e.g.
http://www.itl.nist.gov/div895/caref...dlingGuide.pdf
for some details. Though I remember someone claiming that the checksums
on CD-ROMs are better than on DVDs, and they don't seem to be mentioned
here.

--
Stephen Poley