[geeks] Best media for personal long-term backup?

[nate at portents.com]

> Taiyo Yuden DVD+R.
>
> The DVD+R format has error-correction vastly superior to DVD-R, and
> Taiyo Yuden have a reputation for producing the best archival-quality
> DVD+R media.  Expect to pay 4x - 5x what you'd pay for your local
> electronics store's discount media brand.

Yes, I'm familiar with the claimed advantages of +R media and the brand,
but how much better is it *really* than good quality Verbatim media for
instance?

> If money is no object, you may want to consider DVD-RAM.  Allegedly it was
> designed for archival-quality from the beginning, but drives and media are
> costly.

Yes DVD-RAM has pretty awesome error correction, but the cost of the media
is what's held me back in the past, and I've kind of felt that if I'm
paying a lot for media, maybe I should just go MO...

However DVD writers that also write DVD-RAM are actually quite cheap these
days - such as the Sony AD-7220A which writes DVD-RAM at 12x and costs $20
with free shipping from places like Newegg.  Hard to argue with that, and
I'll certainly have more choices for reading back DVD-RAM media down the
road than MO media.

> The other downside is media capacity.  To approach DVD levels of capacity,
> you'll need to chunk $2000 or so at a MO drive.

Yeah new they are expensive, but I've seen some of the older MO drives on
ebay for under $200 though (used), and I've been wondering if I could find
a deal on a drive that way.

> Consider also how you want to store your media.  You can extend the life
> of even crappy media by storing it in an airtight fire-safe where most of
> the oxygen has been purged and replaced with nitrogen.

That would be cool, and something I would consider when I've figured out
other things like owning a house (vs. renting)!

- Nate