[BuffaloJack]

Have you ever had stuff on a CD or DVD?
The recording is made on a laser sensitive dye backed with aluminum. Take a CD or DVD and put a piece of tape on the label side. Leave it a day or two then remove the tape. The tape will pull off the label, and aluminum layer and the disk will be shot. A big gouge on the record side is easily buffer out and repaired, a tiny scratch on the label (like writing with a ball point pen) will render the disk un-usable. The atmosphere can slowly corrode the aluminum right through the label, rendering the disk useless in a few years. Any time you record a CD or DVD make two copies because you don’t want to depend on these disks to archive data.

[stainlessbanner]

Oh yeah, I've had plenty of coasters over the years. CD/DVD is not good media for archiving important data. Not sure what the industry standards are, but different manufacturers use varying thickness, too. The cheap media tends to cause problems with writing and accessing data.

There's really two parts to the discussion: the physical file format and the storage media. Both will need to be accessible and operational for future use.

Good advice on the two copies, too - thanks.

[RightWhale]

Some CDs last barely two years. They look as permanent as the Grand Canyon, but they come apart.

[PissAndVinegar]

2 words:
Taiyo Yuden

Stop buying those crapass Memorex CDs and you’ll have far less coasters...not all CDs/DVDs are created equal (and I have a special hatred for memorex after 1 wasted evening)