OT? Reliability of dual-layer DVD+R media

[Ashley Aitken]

Hi Adam (et al.),

On 15/04/2007, at 7:13 AM, Adam Bridge wrote:

> As I sit here writting a DVD+R I'm wondering how it fares as  
> archival storage.

I've read that DVD+R is better than DVD-R (in terms of archiving and  
efficacy of the DVD format).  Now that Macs do them fine (and have  
for a while) I'd stick with them.  The top recommendation, across the  
board for archiving, seems to be Taiyo Yuden (Plextor, Miflop  
Xtreme).  Although Sony, Ricoh (DVD+R only), Verbatim and Panasonic  
also received an honourable mention (although, for the latter two,  
only disks "Made in Japan").

As for the archival quality of the dual-layer media, I am not really  
sure (but I doubt Scott's concerns), although I do know that ${2 x  
single layer} << ${1 x dual layer} so unless you can't afford the  
time, single layer seems best.  I, personally, only use dual layer  
when I have an iDVD project that I don't want to snip down below an  
hour (and keep the quality etc.).  I had some trouble with one drive  
but a cheaper Samsung works fine.

I realise some will scoff but I also do backups to firewire drives  
using Apple's Backup software, since it is easy to schedule, and  
allows incremental backup (not just incremental update of a clone).   
I've used various rsync-based tools (with the fancy hard linking for  
multiple clones) in the past and I would again (even though they have  
some issues), but I find Backup easier to use and keep tabs on.

Hope that helps, but no guarantees of course.

Cheers,
Ashley.

--
Ashley Aitken
Perth, Western Australia
mrhatken at mac dot com
Skype Name: MrHatken (GMT + 8 Hours!)