Digital BW, The Print

Walt,
  The quote is entirely accurate. So, I used it. (I have nothing
whatsoever to do with Mitsui, btw) Mitsui has maintained a VERY high
level of quality in their Gold CDs for many years.
 If you are truly using the GOLD Mitsuis, the problem is NOT in their
disks, as you assert, but in your recorder or recording methodology. 
We carefully test and monitor the Gold CDs for our project. I cannot
speak for their other lines. Very few people pay the significant extra
cost for the Gold line.
I am involved in an ongoing archiving project for a large company. We
test all our media and media in relation to burning speed. Our testing
equipment has a $25,000 figure base cost. We monitor the media for,
among other things, BLER. (Block Error Rate)
 Mitsui has consistently been the best media we have tested for quite
a few years. Of interest, in CDs, right now, their 700 meg CDs have
fewer errors than their 650 meg CDs. In the past, the opposite was the
case.
Recording speed will affect the end-product error status so we test
different recorders at different recording speeds. The very best
recorders can be used as high as 16X but no higher for archiving
projects. 8X is safer. (Talking about data CDs here only)
 Not all recorders have the ability to make good CDs/DVDs. Some
produce far more errors than others regardless of media quality.

 Block error Rate (BLER) is defined as the number of data blocks per
second that have any bad  symbols. BLER is the most general and useful
measurement of the quality of a disc. The Red Book specification (IEC
908) calls for a maximum BLER of 220 per second averaged over ten
 seconds. Discs with higher BLERs are likely to produce uncorectable
errors. Presently, the best   discs have average BLERs below 10. A low
BLER shows that the system as a whole is performing well, and that the
pit geometry is good.

 Relying on the BLER alone is not advisable, however, although the
BLER provides information on the number of bad blocks per second, it
does not indicate the severity of the errors. In  principle, a disc
with an average BLER of five can be unusable, if all the those errors
are uncorrectable! The error codes described above provide details
that indicate the severity of the errors and distinguish between
correctable and uncorrectable errors.

  Well, I could go on and on, but will stop here. 

Best Regards
Howard


\--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "wwodets"
<odets@...> wrote:
>
> Howard-
> 
> Your post is verbatim the advertising copy from the MAM-A Inc. 
> website, the (presumed) manufacturer of the disks with which I had an 
> extremely high rate of data corruption.  
> 
> I would not recommend these discs--with the very common Phillips 
> recorder I used they showed about a 75% corruption rate.  So their 
> logevity is moot.
> 
> Walt
> 
> 
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "how786" 
> <how786@> wrote:
> >
> >   I would think that the best DVD media currently available are the
> > new Mitsui Gold  Archive Grade. The reflective layer is comprised of
> > 24 karat gold, which allows maximum resistance to chemical breakdown
> > -- one of the major causes of disc failure. Along with choosing the
> > right recording dye material and bonding agent (Note: A DVD-R is 
> made
> > of two polycarbonate discs bonded together) the long-term stability 
> of
> > the reflective layer is crucial. Reflective layers using your 
> standard
> > "silver" surface are subject to oxidation (rust) over a long period 
> of
> > exposure to moisture. Unlike silver jewelry, a gold ring won't rust
> > and neither will the gold reflective layer in this disc. In optical
> > discs, the use of gold can triple the life of a standard disc.
> > 
> > Best
> > Howard
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Rob"
> > <digitalblackandwhitetheprint@> wrote:
> > >
> > > He's right Gary. Not all recordable DVDs are created equal. None 
> > > should be considered a long term archival solution. DVD/CDs all 
> > > decay. Their failure rate is quite high. However, if you insist 
> on 
> > > using DVDs for backup storage, to improve your chances, you 
> should 
> > > always uses the highest quality writable media available. For 
> more 
> > > information on that, see:
> > > 
> > > http://www.best-dvd-burning-software-reviews.com/best-blank-dvd-
> > > media.asp
> > > 
> > > or (shortened)
> > > 
> > > http://tinyurl.com/7lssl
> > > 
> > > And if you do decide to use DVD/CD for backups, you should always 
> > > have backups of your backups.
> > > 
> > > Rob Greer
> > > http://www.robgreer.com/
> > > 
> > > --- "Gary Brown" <baffin@> wrote:
> > > 
> > > > Would you care to elaborate a bit further, where did you find 
> this 
> > > > information. Its sound very inaccurate (I am trying to be 
> polite).
> > > 
> > > 
> > > >> ----- Original Message ----- 
> > > >> 
> > > >> >From my current studies I have read the saving onto DVD or CD 
> is 
> > > a wast of 
> > > >> >time. They don't last as long as we are >all led to believe. 
> You 
> > > are better 
> > > >> >off getting a 200gig drive and saving your images their.
> > >
> >
>