Hello everyone, I would greatly appreciate your input on this matter:
For my bachelor thesis, I aim to explore the topic of long-term storage/archiving with a focus on optical storage media. I have spent the past few months conducting research on this subject and am convinced that Blu-ray Discs offer a meaningful solution. I am aware that this is a controversial statement, as many people harbor a strong aversion to optical media, but that is not my primary concern. What I need help with is the following issue:
Several scientific publications claim that the original burn quality has a certain impact on the medium’s subsequent lifespan. I want to investigate this assumption by examining the burn quality of blank discs available today. The inspiration for this thought experiment comes from a study on cdrinfo.com, titled “Blu-ray Writing Quality Tests Vol 2.” However, since this test took place in 2009, I believe it is appropriate to conduct a similar updated version. Test results from 2009 cannot be directly extrapolated to 2023, given the advancements in both drives and media.
Currently, I envision the following setup:
- Two identical drives will be used to burn the discs. The only difference between the drives will be their operating hours – one drive will be brand new, while the other will have accumulated several hundred, if not thousand, operating hours.
- Optical media from two different manufacturers will be examined.
- The optical drives will be connected to a PC dedicated solely to the burning and analysis of discs. Resources will be maximized for these tasks, and interference from other programs (mail, office, browser, etc.) will be minimized.
- The study will encompass not only Blu-rays but also CD-Rs and DVD-Rs.
- Various types of media will be tested, including consumer-grade, professional-grade, and “Archival-Discs.” Each type of disc will be represented by multiple samples to prevent statistical outliers (e.g., 5 discs/type).
- Tools such as ImgBurn, Nero Disc Speed, and DVDInfoPro will be utilized.
Through this setup, numerous aspects can be examined, such as differences between manufacturers, disc generations (CD vs. DVD vs. BD), and potential variations between drives. For instance, there might be more write errors on the drive with many operating hours, requiring subsequent correction.
I have created a sketch to illustrate my idea; hopefully, it is comprehensible.
What are your thoughts on these ideas? Is it all complete nonsense? Have I overlooked something fundamental? I truly rely on your experience and expertise, as I currently lack an external perspective.
I am at a point where I might either a) give up and look for another topic or b) delve deeper into the rabbit hole. I am in the very early stages of my research, and if the experiment proves sensible and relevant, it would be conducted no earlier than spring 2024. Additionally, I would need to check if I can secure the necessary funding – another potential obstacle.
P.S., this is not only my first post on r/datahoarder but also on Reddit as a whole. :3
Blu-ray is not archival. The fatal flaw is in the construction, essentially an inverted CD with extra goo “protection” on bottom. And CD-R is not archival either. Sadly, HD-DVD had a sandwich platter construction like DVD, which could be considered the most archival of optical media to date.
“burn quality” is not some sort of singular measurement, but rather a simplistic (or simpleton) reference to multiple aspects. For example, how well the disc balance allowed burn accuracy without too much wobble. But also how properly “deep” the burn was in the dye, in conjunction with the reflectivity of the dye, thus affecting readability. Even something as overlooked as the temperature of the drive can affect burn quality, in subsequent burns in short time windows.
Optical media from two manufacturers? Uh, no. Not a relevant statistical sample.
Multiple optical drives must also be used, with multiple known-good software (Imgburn, etc).
Terms like “consumer grade” and “professional grade” are all nonsense in the realm of optical media. At best, it refers to the surface, like lacquer only (ie, intended for screen printing), or inkjet or laser. Any suggestion that some such “grade” refers to the burn quality is bullplop.
There is a LOT of media testing, vastly more than most people realize. It’s not about “batches” (which are 10k to 100k discs, not a dozen spindles), or misunderstood Datarius drives. cdfreaks/myce had a groupthink problem, and was the source of several myths (ie, “RitekG03 = best”, etc). Too much of that got parroted around online in the 2000s, so watch out for that. IBM also had anti-optical pro-HDD propaganda at the time, some 20 years ago.
I’ve helped students write optical media theses multiple times in the past 15+ years, though my available time is not what it used to be (health). At very least, I can wish you luck.
I do wonder, however, if your adviser will approve such a topic, since it tends to be more backward looking than forward. A thesis is generally intended to be current or forward looking, even a thesis in history or medicine. So you’d have to find a way to take optical media, and make it still revelant into the future, beyond just weak arguments. I’m not sure even I can do that.