SSD for permanant archive?

Davenlr · Mar 25, 2012

OK, I know DVD-R's and presumably Blu Ray recordables have a lifespan of 10 yrs or so. Hard drives in a server on a HTPC also have a finite lifespan.

I know SSD's have a limited amount of Read/Write cycles, but how about writing to them once with content from the HTPC you dont want to lose (like rare music videos, and recorded content that isnt often repeated)? Would the SSD outlast the 10yr span of a DVD for example? Any specs on their lifespan if just used for repeated read only's?

TBlazer07 · Mar 25, 2012

I think I'd be more concerned with the SATA interface. 10 years from now you might not be able to find a computer to read it. Same even goes for DVD, CD's etc.

You bring up a good general question. How to store electronic documents etc for a "lifetime." Maybe put them all on vinyl? :eek2:

The Merg · Mar 25, 2012

"TBlazer07" said:
I think I'd be more concerned with the SATA interface. 10 years from now you might not be able to find a computer to read it. Same even goes for DVD, CD's etc.

You bring up a good general question. How to store electronic documents etc for a "lifetime." Maybe put them all on vinyl? :eek2:

Well, as long as USB is still around that might just work... :lol:

http://www.usbturntables.net/usbpoweredvinyltomp3turntable-p-8869.html

- Merg

dpeters11 · Mar 25, 2012

The limited write cycles on an SSD is greatly overexaggerated.

dmspen · Mar 25, 2012

Offline storage in 'THE CLOUD'. Pay someone else to keep up with technology. Of course if you're talking 30 years it could get a little pricey.

Or, keep copying stuff as newer technologies arrive.

I'm running into the issue of old 8mm video tapes being unusable in that I have no way to play them anymore. I could take them to a conversion place but the cost is prohibitive due to the sheer number of tapes.

MysteryMan · Mar 25, 2012

dmspen said:
Offline storage in 'THE CLOUD'. Pay someone else to keep up with technology. Of course if you're talking 30 years it could get a little pricey.

Or, keep copying stuff as newer technologies arrive.

I'm running into the issue of old 8mm video tapes being unusable in that I have no way to play them anymore. I could take them to a conversion place but the cost is prohibitive due to the sheer number of tapes.

The days of long use technology are over. Since 1990 I've had to convert my decades old cassette and vinyl music collection to CD. My VHS collection to DVD. My DVD collection to BluRay. My Sony Wegas TVs to Bravias. My DirecTV system from SD to HD. CRT PC monitors to LCD monitors. Not to mention several Home Theater system upgrades and PC upgrades. Very pricey.

TBlazer07 · Mar 26, 2012

"dmspen" said:
Offline storage in 'THE CLOUD'. Pay someone else to keep up with technology. Of course if you're talking 30 years it could get a little pricey.

Or, keep copying stuff as newer technologies arrive.

I'm running into the issue of old 8mm video tapes being unusable in that I have no way to play them anymore. I could take them to a conversion place but the cost is prohibitive due to the sheer number of tapes.

You can probably find a cheap 8mm on eBay which is what I did last year and then buy a cheap projection box and roll your own DVDs. I don't trust"the cloud" at all for long term archiving and of course that won't work for VHS and 8mm.

Davenlr · Mar 26, 2012

If you had said Betamax, I could have helped you out. I still have a working one. Unfortunately my 8mm deck died.

CCarncross · Mar 26, 2012

FOr the current costs I'd still stick with optical media...and until the next big breakthrough comes along, just make new copies every 10 years.

billsharpe · Mar 26, 2012

I still have an old 1988 Fisher stereo with two cassette tape decks and a two-speed phono (33 and 45 rpm) that works. I have converted a lot of my old records and tapes to mp3 files by running the output of the stereo to my computer audio input. With Audacity installed on my computer I can even play convert some of my old 78 rpm recordings to mp3's. How long mp3's will last is something else.

TBoneit · Mar 26, 2012

Davenlr said:
OK, I know DVD-R's and presumably Blu Ray recordables have a lifespan of 10 yrs or so. Hard drives in a server on a HTPC also have a finite lifespan.

I know SSD's have a limited amount of Read/Write cycles, but how about writing to them once with content from the HTPC you dont want to lose (like rare music videos, and recorded content that isnt often repeated)? Would the SSD outlast the 10yr span of a DVD for example? Any specs on their lifespan if just used for repeated read only's?

Do you think a SSD would last better than a USB flash drive? Why not just get 16Gb or 32Gb flash drives?

These here are $23 to $25 for 32Gb. At $100+ for 60Gb SSD these are cheaper.
http://www.pcwarehouse.com/ssdept.a...ga_2=32+GB|34359738000&gi_3=33111116919&ga_3=

MysteryMan said:
The days of long use technology are over. Since 1990 I've had to convert my decades old cassette and vinyl music collection to CD. My VHS collection to DVD. My DVD collection to BluRay. My Sony Wegas TVs to Bravias. My DirecTV system from SD to HD. CRT PC monitors to LCD monitors. Not to mention several Home Theater system upgrades and PC upgrades. Very pricey.

I'm at a loss as to why you changed the DVDs to BluRay format. Since you started with 720 by 480 resolution on the DVD. I expect DVDs to be around nearly as long or as long as BluRays.

Or do you mean you replaced the original DVDs with Original BluRays?

phrelin · Mar 26, 2012

I have a bunch of old movies on VHS tapes; some music on 8-track tapes, cassette tapes, and reel-to-reel tapes; data on 8" floppy discs, 5" floppy discs, 3.5" floppy disks, CD's, DVD's and a variety of hard drives.

My worry is not what to do to update the media but what to do about having become a hoarder. :grin:

Stuart Sweet · Mar 26, 2012

I don't trust cloud storage. I don't know that the company I pay today will be in business 20 years from now. At the moment I'm storing everything on flash drives. If it looks like USB will be superseded by "something else" I will move everything to that.

I have a lot of big files, movies videos and such and DVD isn't sufficient. It doesn't look like writeable Blu-ray is taking off either, and at this point I'd need 10 Blu-rays for my archives.

I read somewhere that you should simply plan on transferring your electronic files to a new medium at least once every 7 years.

davring · Mar 26, 2012

Stuart Sweet said:
I have a lot of big files, movies videos and such and DVD isn't sufficient. It doesn't look like writable Blu-ray is taking off either, and at this point I'd need 10 Blu-rays for my archives.

I have been using BD for quite some time now with no difficulty. A single layer disc hold 22.5 GB and can be purchased for about a buck each. Dual layer, 45 GB are very expensive about $5-6 each. Longevity is not really proven one way or another, AFAIK.

Stuart Sweet · Mar 26, 2012

For me it's not a matter of difficulty, it's a matter of, if the technology will be there in 5 years. My current computer has a BD-ROM but I doubt my next one will.

MysteryMan · Mar 27, 2012

TBoneit said:
Do you think a SSD would last better than a USB flash drive? Why not just get 16Gb or 32Gb flash drives?

These here are $23 to $25 for 32Gb. At $100+ for 60Gb SSD these are cheaper.
http://www.pcwarehouse.com/ssdept.a...ga_2=32+GB|34359738000&gi_3=33111116919&ga_3=

I'm at a loss as to why you changed the DVDs to BluRay format. Since you started with 720 by 480 resolution on the DVD. I expect DVDs to be around nearly as long or as long as BluRays.

Or do you mean you replaced the original DVDs with Original BluRays?

I upgraded my DVD collection with their BluRay counterpart just like I upgraded my cassette and vinyl music collection with their CD counterpart.

SSD for permanant archive?

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