Archiving Footage for Long Term Storage?

T

TheDingo

Veteran
I was recently asked by a client about archiving footage I produced for long term storage, and I am kind of clueless on this topic.

I thought of burning files to a Blu-Ray data disc, but I am unsure about the longevity of BD-Rs.

I always heard that for archival purposes, tape is the way to go, but should I be looking at digital HD video tape or should it be digital data tape to store the raw files?

I would appreciate any pointers you can send my way.

Thanks!
 
digital data tapes (LTO i think theyre called) are supposedly the most fool-proof...

i used digital tape many years ago. but i found the restore process clunky and actually had a couple tapes fail. though im sure the technology is far better these days. but its still pretty pricey lsat i checked. several grand for a drive

so ive been using good quality, off the shelf hard drives for about the past decade and not a single one has given me any problem.
 
LTO is the way to go. Your bank records are backed up onto it.

All hard drives fail eventually.

Hard drives are NOT a "long term" solution.
 
All hard drives fail eventually.
Click to expand...
EVERYTHING fails eventually.

Hard drives are NOT a "long term" solution.
Click to expand...
personally i consider a decade "long term" and in that time. ive only had about 3 clients ever need access to their footage anyway...

my experiences (and luck!) and matt's may be well different. but lets not get bogged down in conjecture here.

to answer the OP's question:
- bluray discs? NO. too small. too slow.
- HD video tpae? NO. not the right use

YES. LTO is a current widely accepted "archival" format.

http://www.dell.com/us/en/business/storage/tapebackup_external_scsi/ct.aspx?refid=tapebackup_external_scsi&s=bsd&cs=04&ST=tape%20drive&dgc=ST&cid=19862&lid=607499&acd=58857,8,0,61270165,750926083,1278367414,,12431548,2948484747

http://www.quantum.com/Products/TapeDrives/LTOUltrium/LTO-3/Index.aspx
 
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Hard drives fail FAR more often than LTO.

HDs are great for mid term storage (6 months - year), but for everything longer, LTO is king.
 
I use redundant HDDs.

Sure they fail, but LTO isn't random access. True it is reliable, but I've had some drives over five years.
 
but LTO isn't random access
Click to expand...
that was another problem i had with tape. i couldnt just retrieve individual items.
i would have assumed that would have changed by now...?
 
I am with Iron Mountain Entertainment services and we are providing Long Term Archival Digital Storage through the DCR, Digital Content Repository. All files a (no matter what the res) are stored on 3 geographically (e coast - w coast) separated "managed" media and proxies directed related to the files are available via a highly secure Web interface. The DCR acts as a cloud but in no way is, in terms of storage. There is no cost to initiate the DCR and the digital storage costs are less that 4 cents per GB per month. Please feel free to contact me direct at jeff.beaulieu@ironmountain.com
 
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