Frequently Asked Questions

Q:  Why don't you generally like using DVD anymore?

A:  It was a dead end when Blu-Ray disc players became standard and are now 25GBP or less on the used market. 

The DVD format is limited to 6-9mbps in MPEG-2, however most agree visual transparency is not reached until 20-50mbps with a codec such as MPEG-2 4:2:2 10-bit was a broadcast standard for recorders and cameras for example.

Blu-Ray makes far more sense since the 2010s with the modern AVC/H.264 codec a limit of 40mbps for SD/HD under the original 2005 BD specs and 100mbps for mastering in HEVC/H.265 codec under the upgraded 2016 UHD specs of the media format what comes next? most likely AV1 and 10/12-bit 4:2:2 with any luck.

A key note here is MiniDV tapes are 20.8GB max so simple math is one tape per BD25 (25GB) disc or upto 6 full tapes with BDXL128 (128GB).

But in reality, DVD archival grade in-organic discs cost far more then Blu-Ray ones, so it does not make sense anymore to use them past legacy support. 

Q: What do you do with the extra space on a disc?

A: I use a program called DvDisaster which is a open-source tool for recovering optical media, however it can do something very useful add ECC (Error Correcting Code) and make use of that extra dead space on a data disc down to the MB level. 

Q:  Why are you the only service that offers M-Disc/DataLifePlus? 

A:  Mostly because I focus on using standardised modern methods & systems, not the outdated and cost-ineffective ones established in the early 2000s by services and who don't think about long-term archival and just hammering out what a consumer knows but does not care about, which is selling the analogue era short and pushing onto the consumer and there future generations a poor offering.

Q: I can buy normal Blu-Ray discs for cheeper?

A: M-Disc/DataLifePlus/DM-Archive and Sony XDCAM discs are some of the very few discs with one critical quality difference proper fully enclosed rim bonding, virtually stopping any and all air or water molecules getting inside and physically expanding/contracting and destroying the sub straight that stores the physical pits of data.

Take a piece of paper and write something on it, laminate it but then go and use a tac pin to put it up on a board outside as just broke its bond encasing it the air and humidity will eat away it at over time, the best and most painful example is the disc rot of LaserDisc. That's how the FM RF archival revolution started, to get every bit of signal as best as possible to stack with discs also damaged but in different places to make a single perfect copy in the digital realm.

Q: Why do you offer this service when you write the wiki's for the decode projects?

A: While It may seem silly at first glance, I have the equipment while I may not always have the time, I have a workflow that I maintain and constantly tweak for this project, if you need help doing it yourself, I am not gatekeeping and will help, but if you can't physically do it yourself or it's 1-2 tapes and you really can't justify costs or time learning how to use the RF capture workflow today but want your tapes captured and done right now to deal with later. Well then you understand why I decided to start providing this as a service to help not only combat poor services not taking advantage of the era we live in but to keep fresh and upto-date.

Q: Why should I use you instead of buying my own equipment?

A: I know what I’m doing and wasted more time and money learning the hard way. However everything I know is well published, so please go have fun doing it yourself you may find a interesting or hacky workflow I would be interested in seeing!

Q:  What If optical becomes replaced by a new standard? 

A: It wont for a long time.

Optical data discs and video ones too, uses the UDF (Universal Disc Format) file system, any full fledged operating system will support UDF disc image files for the next 100 years or more as its a solidified digital production and storage standard for DVD/Blu-Ray discs with media & data.

For consumer archival there is no other practical ownable alternatives then physical visual formats, such as protection film and ultrafine microfiche that is cost probative. 

Blu-Rays are supported by 18 years worth of readers/writers for example M-Discs once written are just normal Blu-Ray discs as far as reader compatibility its not going anywhere in terms of reading support, however, with current development 500GB Discs are here today (Sony Archive Disc) and 1TB disks (12TB cartridges) are set to be around by the late 2020's to early 2030's and so we will of course support new standards that prove to be market viable to save on physical space and allow affordable redundancy but will stick to tried true modern and methods as long as practical.