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Is DVD-R really a viable backup medium?
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Moderator Emeritus  Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Illinois
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The reason I ask is that I recently got a DVD-R drive and have been backing up things like MP3s and other data files to DVD-R disks. But I found that copying the data back from the DVD take forever. I haven't copied a whole DVD's worth of data back to the hard disk at once so I'm not sure how long it takes for sure, but it seems much much slower than even CDs, which are pretty slow to begin with. Does anyone here regularly use DVD-R (or DVD-RW) for backups? I'm also a little worried since I have discovered some of my burned DVDs have errors where I can't access some of the files.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Pasadena
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that's only because Mac OS X is REALLY bad at handling file copying...if you try it on a 16x DVD on Win2k, it takes like a minute to copy a full disk...same file transfer takes like 10-20 minutes on the Mac with only slightly slower speed...
I find it faster to just transfer it over 100bt LAN over hotline...
But yeah, it's a good back up medium...sorta...scratches screw up much more data, and due to different frequency, it's less scratch resistant than cds...but i like it since i only have to carry around 100 discs instead of 700...
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G4/450, T-bird 1.05GHz, iBook 500, iBook 233...4 different machines, 4 different OSes...(9, 2k, X.1, YDL2.2 respectively) PiA to maintain...
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Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Ottawa, ON, Canada
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Originally posted by Evangellydonut:
that's only because Mac OS X is REALLY bad at handling file copying...if you try it on a 16x DVD on Win2k, it takes like a minute to copy a full disk...same file transfer takes like 10-20 minutes on the Mac with only slightly slower speed...
I find it faster to just transfer it over 100bt LAN over hotline...
But yeah, it's a good back up medium...sorta...scratches screw up much more data, and due to different frequency, it's less scratch resistant than cds...but i like it since i only have to carry around 100 discs instead of 700...
LOL, 100 DVD's @ 5Gb = half a terabyte. Dude, you ever heard of AIT-3 drives ? Three 8mm tapes to carry around the same data, read/write at 31 MB/s (yes MegaBYTE) I'd be mad if I had to carry 100 DVDs around.
Ben.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Caught in a web of deceit.
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DVD-R (at least with good quality media) is a good write-once archival medium. If you are using cheap media, then DVD-R is not reliable at all however. Spend the money and get Apple media or something like that.
DVD-RAM is a good rewritable backup medium (whereas DVD-RW isn't really). Most DVD-RAM media out there seems to be good quality too for some reason, fortunately. Too bad your drive doesn't support DVD-RAM. 
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Pasadena
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Originally posted by Brit Ben:
LOL, 100 DVD's @ 5Gb = half a terabyte. Dude, you ever heard of AIT-3 drives ? Three 8mm tapes to carry around the same data, read/write at 31 MB/s (yes MegaBYTE) I'd be mad if I had to carry 100 DVDs around.
Ben.
uh, almost every computer have a DVD-ROM drive now, but maybe 1% at best have an AIT-3 drive...and it's more expensive & to my awareness, uses SCSI. Compared to 700 CDs to carry around, it's so much better!
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G4/450, T-bird 1.05GHz, iBook 500, iBook 233...4 different machines, 4 different OSes...(9, 2k, X.1, YDL2.2 respectively) PiA to maintain...
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
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economically, it isn't as useful as an extra internal drive or an external firewire one.
me, I'd rather backup and archive to hard drives on a swappable external firewire enclosure. limitless and rapid data storage potential.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Pasadena
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Originally posted by fulmer:
economically, it isn't as useful as an extra internal drive or an external firewire one.
me, I'd rather backup and archive to hard drives on a swappable external firewire enclosure. limitless and rapid data storage potential.
false...100 DVD-R cost 'bout US$100 now, and the quality is not that bad, to my experience. 440GB of HD cost ~US$500. While you have to worry 'bout scratches with DVDs, you don't have to worry magnets . I have a friend who's HD got fscked 'cuz he packed it next to some kind of magnetic source when shipping it to school...
Using external HD to keep stuff that has a "date" is good, (ie software updates, etc, when a new update makes the old useless) but using DVD-R to store stuff you'll want to keep forever w/o replacement is better. 16x DVD on a PC is pretty damn fast for just 'bout everything. Just hope Jaguar make file copying a little faster...(9 was much better than X.1.5)
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G4/450, T-bird 1.05GHz, iBook 500, iBook 233...4 different machines, 4 different OSes...(9, 2k, X.1, YDL2.2 respectively) PiA to maintain...
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Dec 2000
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Originally posted by fulmer:
economically, it isn't as useful as an extra internal drive or an external firewire one.
me, I'd rather backup and archive to hard drives on a swappable external firewire enclosure. limitless and rapid data storage potential.
I use a hard drive as primary backup and either DVD-RAM or DVD-R (or both) as a secondary backup. DVD recordable formats are good because it's easy to store these backups offsite.
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