Tips for a Personal Music Archive

[Nathan]

On Tue, 2008-03-04 at 16:02 -0700, Hans Fugal wrote:
> As for archival, I do keep my CDs of course, but I have had CDRs rot on 
> me and I have to wonder if pressed CDs are going to end up rotting too. 
> Maybe ripping is the more long-term solution (if you back up).

For what is it worth,  A pressed CD (one you bought from a store) will
last a lot longer than an CD-R.  This is because of how it is made.  The
short answer is that a pressed CD contains ridges or physical features
that contain the audio.  A CD-R uses a discoloration of a
photo-sensitive Dye.  That means that if you leave a CD-R upside down in
light it will eventually become blank. ( a good science project: about a
day or 2 of direct sunlight should erase anything on a CD-R)  CD-RWs
have the same faults to it.  

That being said, your pressed CD should last 100 years or more as long
as you don't break it.

Nathan
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