Jesus 'n Jim
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cd's, cdr, dvdr, dvd+r, dvd-r, blu-ray, hd-dvd

 

gold is archival 300-year media. silver is archival 100-year media. taiyo yuden are standard AZO cyanine 30-year media. normal cdr media only lasts 5 years I read somewhere, normal DVD's for 30 years, floppies for 3-5 years. silver is good for archiving family photos. check out the FAQ. Green-dye cdr's last 30-100 years but are sensitive to light like the sun (shortens lifespan, so could be 5 years with use). DVD+R/DVD-R difference: DVD-R is promoted by Pioneer, and is the default drive in software/video copying and distribution. DVD+R is promoted by Sony and Phillips and is focused more on the home recorder/enduser market. As the market moves forward the formats are becoming more compatible.

CDR Media
Taiyo Yuden 80min./700MiB cdr Media Supply, mediasupply.com taiyo yuden page, quantities to 600/pack, $29.90 (100)silver-lacquer in cake box free fedex ground shipping taiyo yuden
Available in watershed, silver-lacquer, white inkjet hub-printable, white thermal for rimage everest, silver inkjet, white inkjet. shrink wrap also available, which ships great. shrink wrap means it has no spindle - you supply your own. you can get it with or without spindle. this media will last 30 years on the shelf (recent durability projection testing). professional quality media - works with any burner. As with Any generic CDR media, it will probably not last 5 years in sunlight. Taiyo Yuden works in any device and with any burner.
taiyo yuden 80min./700MiB cdr, mediasupply.com, stack 100, $35.80 white-inkjet-hub-printable, shrinkwrap free fedex gnd shipping
ships great. shrink wrap means it has no spindle - you supply your own. you can get it with or without spindle. this media will last 30 years on the shelf (recent durability projection testing). professional quality media - works with any burner. As with Any generic CDR media, it will probably not last 5 years in sunlight. be careful unwrapping it so you don't scratch media or get finger prints on it (hard to do). prevents breakage of spindle during shipping - taiyo yuden doesn't know about putting foam spacers in the top and a spacer on the bottom of the spindle yet. somebody should write to them.
taiyo yuden 80min./700MiB cdr, mediasupply.com, stack 100, $35.90 white inkjet, cake box free fedex gnd shipping
taiyo yuden doesn't know about putting foam spacers in the top and a spacer on the bottom of the spindle yet. somebody should write to them.
taiyo yuden 80min./700MiB cdr, mediasupply.com, stack 100, $35.90 silver-inkjet free fedex gnd shipping
taiyo yuden doesn't know about putting foam spacers in the top and a spacer on the bottom of the spindle yet. somebody should write to them.
taiyo yuden cdr supermediastore, Cyberguys.com, mediasupply $29
ships great. shrink wrap means it has no spindle - you supply your own. you can get it with or without spindle. this media will last 30 years on the shelf (recent durability projection testing). professional quality media - works with any burner. As with Any generic CDR media, it will probably not last 5 years in sunlight.
DVD Media
DVDRW DL media doesn't exist yet it seems.
taiyo yuden 8x DVD+R, available from mediasupply $43
media may come with some broken and spindle may also be broken. you should have an extra spindle on hand just in case. might be better to have shrink-wrap/value-line shipped and supply your own empty spindle. this media will last 100 years in a cool dark place. professional quality media.
Ritek Ridata 8X DVD+RW Media in Cake Box Spindle, available from supermediastore.com
DVD+RW and DVD+R Media, available from cyberguys.com
Ritek Ridata 2.4X,8x DVD+RW DL Media in Cake Box Spindle, available from newegg.com$19-25
8.5GB DVD+R DL disc
high turnover on these things. drives are cheap
, available from newegg.com $24-48
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache EIDE/ATAPI 22X DVDR DVD Burner - OEM, available from newegg.com $24.99+$6.98
Verbatim DVD+R DL 8.5GB 2.4X(up to 6x) White Inkjet Spindle 95123, available from $39.80/20
25GB Blu-Ray Discs
this format will grow from 25GB to 50GB and then to 100GB in the future.
Blu-Ray $48 50GB R media & $25 25GB RW media from sony direct or from newegg $14-33. Both Sony and TDK make media.
ridata 2x,verbatim 2x & 4x media, available fromcyberguys.com $7-13ea
Microboards 25GB Blu-ray Media, Silver Lacquer Thermal, 25-Disc Spindle, (4X), available from mediasupply.com $69.50
HD-DVD discs
The HD-DVD format is now obsolete and no longer supported.
Verbatim 15GB HD-DVD R media cyberguys or newegg $10
only see 1 mfr of this kind of media so far as of May 31, 2007.
Verbatim 30GB HD DVD-R1X media, available from cyberguys.com $20ea+$10shipping
long-term MAM-A gold/silver Archive Discs
Gold Archive CDs & DVDs, available at mediasupply $100
predicted to last 300 years. they are hard to write, too, so verify.
Mitsui - MAM-A (silver & gold), available at mediasupply, $61-100
silver thermal and gold thermal. gold shelf life of 250 years. silver (blue dye I think) shelf life of 100 years.
cd marking pens
water-based cd marking pen, available from mediasupply $3
less chance of damage than using certain colored ultra-fine-point sharpies which bleed through. water-based. This has the disadvantage that they are water-soluable - you can wash the cd and the writing off.
(12)Black Ultra-fine-point Sharpie, available from staples.com $7.79+$10shipping
does not seem to bleed through like color sharpies. when I test, I leave it for a few weeks. it starts to show creep & bleedthrough, if any, but on this paqrticular black, it does not. I have not tested the more expensive black ultra fine point that costs $19.99/dozen. Sharpies have the advantage that they are waterproof - you can wash the cd and the writing will not come off.
(1)Black Ultra-fine-point Sharpie, available from staples.com $1.19+$10shipping
does not seem to bleed through like color sharpies. when I test, I leave it for a few weeks. it starts to show creep & bleedthrough, if any, but on this paqrticular black, it does not. I have not tested the more expensive black ultra fine point that costs $19.99/dozen. Sharpies have the advantage that they are waterproof - you can wash the cd and the writing will not come off.
(5)Black Ultra-fine-point Sharpie, available from staples.com $4.99+$10shipping
does not seem to bleed through like color sharpies. when I test, I leave it for a few weeks. it starts to show creep & bleedthrough, if any, but on this paqrticular black, it does not. I have not tested the more expensive black ultra fine point that costs $19.99/dozen. Sharpies have the advantage that they are waterproof - you can wash the cd and the writing will not come off.
(12)Black Ultra-fine-point Sharpie, available from staples.com $19.99+$10shipping
I have not tested these particular sharpies on a cd yet - they cost more, but are supposed to have better performace. when I test, I leave it for a few weeks. it starts to show creep & bleedthrough, if any. Sharpies have the advantage that they are waterproof - you can wash the cd and the writing will not come off.
cd/dvd cake boxes
25-cd cake box, available from meritline $0.30
50-cd cake box, available from meritline $0.43
useful for storing Mitsui MAM-A and Taiyo Yuden media. I searched far and wide for these - they actually lock. This size or smaller should be optimal for mailing, given some cd blanks on both ends for spacers and it's full to the brim.
100-cd cake box, available from meritline $0.59
useful for storing Mitsui MAM-A and Taiyo Yuden media. I searched far and wide for these - they actually lock. (smaller sizes available)