[hortoholic]

Hello Everyone,

I'm sure us auiophiles have some CD's laying around but what would be the bestway to preserve this data?

Taiyo-Yuden or Gold?

I have heard the the life span of CD's is fairly short. I have some Cd's that are 6 or 7 years old and play very well. My only collection is I have a music collection that some music cannot be bought in the US or is very hard to obtain. Anyhow, Some of these CD's are professionally recorded (I.e music companies.). I would like to preserve this data which also includes the videos and pictures as well as the music (most important) for years to come. I have a portable Cd player that's working on about 7 or a years and still plays great. I am an audiophile (person who listens to music at high quality or high fidelity and loves listening to music). I would prefer to save the data on my music CD's to be in a lossless format so I can listen to them at their optimal quality. I ask any way to preserve the data on my CD's for the future. Since I am a young person I hope this will work. Some of this data is to valuable to me and cannot be lost. So what format should I use? (physical and digital) I also thank your for taking the time to read this long question.

I would greatly aprecoate your responses and thought. I Hope this is in the right section though.

hortoholic

 

[Jo-Vo]

Hello!

Maybe you want to search for something like "backup strategy" in your favourite search engine.

In your situation I would rip the CDs to a lossless format and copy the files to two seperate hard drives or DVD-RAMs if you consider them to be safe (read for yourself). Don't forget to put a decoder for the big operating systems to the drives/discs, too. You could even choose FLAC and get the source code. Just in case...
Protect the drives/discs from light, extreme temperature, humidity and physical forces.
You might want to check the drives or discs from time to time if they still work. As soon as you notice any problem or errors, copy them to new drives/discs. If a new technology (Bluray?) is available that could have better wide-spread reading ability in the future (and safety), use it.
This whole thing could get a bit expensive but it should be relatively safe.

Jonas

 

[nvkid909]

well i have some discs older than that, they're fine. when i was younger i would be a little careless with some of them. you can buy mains operated CD repairer that grades down (& then polishes) the scratched or scuffed layer so it will play again. you can do this 3 or 4 times in fact as the data is at the bottom of the polycarbonate. also you should get a CD drive or lazer cleaner. i have a battery powered air blower with directional hose for blowing dust out of these places.

then you might wanna consider using foobar2000 or EAC to get the data off the discs, seeing as how any repaired discs are now 'on the way out' (having shed some ploycarbonate layers).

but yeah, first thing is to store them properly. usage itself contributes the most towards wear & tear, so by importing the data off them you can store / preserve them.

 

[jezza.risky]

If you really REALLY wanted to preserve this music you would want to preserve this music for long periods of time, to the point of several decades, the only really good way is to rip in Flac and then put it onto specialized cassettes, The only company I really know of would be under the name Ultrium. These cassettes will last from my limited understand 50+ years to the 15ish years of a CD. But I wouldn't know the first place to get a hold of one of these, and the practicality of it is very limited Unless you have in your possession hundreds of gigs of music.

Or in a more practical rip the music to Flac, and burn to a CD and use that, while the Hard copy stays in a cold dry place. and the final solution is buy a copy of it on vinyl since those last pretty much as long as the cassettes and still playable during that time.

 

[Lunchbox2]

Yeah I'd rip everything to FLAC, and get a backup hard drive, or look into a backup solution like Mozy. Unlimited backup space for 5 dollars a month. I've been using it to back up my work and my music, and it works really well.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I bought my first CD in 1986, a copy of Dark Side of the Moon.

I still have it and it plays fine. There is no noticeable degradation. Neither is there on hundreds of others I've bought since. Further, when was the last time you saw a thread here about a degraded CD?

 

[hortoholic]

These seem to be good solutions. Thanks everyone!

 

[BradJudy]

Pressed CDs should last several decades. On the other hand, there have been some issues with the longevity of various burned CD media and there has been research into the best options in that area.

If you keep CDs in jewel cases stacked on edge (to keep them from getting warped, etc) and keep them indoors (i.e. not in >100F or <40F) they should last a very long time.

That said, there's nothing wrong with being safe and keeping a ripped, lossless copy stored and backed up. Burning it to a CD-R is only useful if you want a copy to kick around so the original doesn't get damaged (since the original pressed CD will most likely outlive the burned copy).

 

[japc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif I bought my first CD in 1986, a copy of Dark Side of the Moon. I still have it and it plays fine. There is no noticeable degradation. Neither is there on hundreds of others I've bought since. Further, when was the last time you saw a thread here about a degraded CD?

Well, I had two original, pressed CDs, become transparent on the course of about 5 years. Bizarre stuff.

Edit: forgot to add that i also have many cds over twenty years old that are mint. And that at least one of CDs that "became transparent" was from a rather obscure label if that explains anything.

 

[Orcin]

I have several CD's that are 20 years old, and not a one has shown any sign of degradation. I have not done anything to preserve them other than keep them in the jewel case when not in use.