How Durable is the Cd

G Georgopoulos · « **on:** 6 Sep 2013, 03:12 am »

How durable is the cd,can it last 1000 years,also compared to ipods can the cd disc last more than ipods and music digital files?

Your input will be appreciated!!

*Scotty* · « **Reply #1 on:** 6 Sep 2013, 03:35 am »

Beats me? I have 30+ year old CDs that play perfectly. All they really have to do is last longer than I have left on this earth and at my age
there is a good chance of that occurring.

Scotty

Chromisdesigns · « **Reply #2 on:** 6 Sep 2013, 05:36 am »

The problem with digital media in general is that the media itself is likely to outlive the technology required to read it. Unless the content is continually copied forward into newer formats, it will eventually be lost to anything but heroic-scale retrieval methods.

This has already happened with several generations of computer storage media.

An argument, perhaps, for cloud storage.

Photon46 · « **Reply #3 on:** 6 Sep 2013, 10:30 am »

A little research effort on your part will yield lots of reading. Just try Googling "longevity of cd media." The first hit that takes you to a Library of Congress .pdf of a research paper on this subject will give you lots to think about. It looks like that that study is limited to commercially burned aluminum cds though. If you research Mitsui/MAMA gold cdr's, those are an entirely different animal, very durable if stored correctly. Also, cdr's manufactured with phthalocyanine dyes are very durable as well, when stored correctly. Accelerated aging tests indicate 200+ years lifespan.

G Georgopoulos · « **Reply #4 on:** 7 Sep 2013, 12:58 am »

Guys is there wear of cds if played

thanks for all your posts

today there is back compatibility with cds,dvd and blue ray players play cds,that's good to know,i think the original cd format is not gona dye ,look what's the case with vinyl,I think will be different to computer storage
case where technologies became absolute.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #5 on:** 7 Sep 2013, 01:43 am »

Cassette tapes, 8-Tracks, reel-to-reel, and cylinders are all cases where technology has forgotten about the past.
And we won't even mention beta tapes, laser discs and newer formats like SACD and (what's it called??) HD-DVD?

But asking a CD to last 1000 years?
I suppose kept in an environment considered "perfect" for it's chemical make-up, sure I guess 1000 years is acceptable.
Question is, "Why"?
If something is worth keeping that long, the recording of it will live on and be remastered as technology advances.

One example, "One small step for man" will never be lost despite the format it was originally recorded on.
Cellulose based movies are fading away as time goes on. With the tech we have now, I wouldn't worry about anything (worthwhile) getting lost.

Even content like "Lady Ga-Ga" will be around....FOREVER.

Russell Dawkins · « **Reply #6 on:** 7 Sep 2013, 06:50 am »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 7 Sep 2013, 01:43 am

Cassette tapes, 8-Tracks, reel-to-reel, and cylinders are all cases where technology has forgotten about the past.
And we won't even mention beta tapes, laser discs and newer formats like SACD and (what's it called??) HD-DVD?

Not to speak of minicassette, microcassette, elcassette (Sony's attempt to put reel to reel performance into a cassette), SDAT and RDAT, Minidisc, DCC (Digital Compact Cassette - Philip's answer to Sony's minidisc and an attempt to follow the cassette with a digital version - the players would play regular cassettes as well, so they were backwardly compatible) mini CDs (3" in diameter instead of 5") and HDCDs.

A bit of an overview here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_audio_formats

G Georgopoulos · « **Reply #7 on:** 10 Sep 2013, 04:58 am »

I guess the vinyl is more durable than the cd if not played?

Your say, thank you..

G Georgopoulos · « **Reply #8 on:** 10 Sep 2013, 05:57 am »

I have done some googling and came up with this:

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/longer-lifespan-vinyl-or-audio-cds.77043/

what do you think?..

JohnR · « **Reply #9 on:** 10 Sep 2013, 08:59 am »

George, I think what's missing here is the reason for the question. Ultimately, it's the data that counts. Per the suggestion above about "cloud storage", if something's important, get the data onto "live" media i.e. if something stops working it's noticed immediately, as well as redundant copies. I'd hate to be in the position of inserting a CD into a drive 20 or 30 years from now and crossing my fingers that it will be readable.