PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT
Should I use M-Discs to preserve photos?
Q I keep my main photo archive in online storage, but I’ve been encouraged by my family to archive my whole library in a physical format for future generations. M-Disc technology has caught my eye, as it’s supposedly ‘indestructible’. Is it worth the expense of buying the discs and a Blu-ray disc burner? For peace of mind (and a quiet life), I need to find a lasting solution and this seems like a good option. Do you agree?
John Ashe
A Yes, to a degree, but with a few reservations. Millenniata, the company behind the M-Disc format claimed the discs can last up to 1,000 years. That’s significantly longer than the firm itself, which went bust a few years ago. Regardless of this, some companies still manufacturer M-Disc media and, in principle, an M-Disc burned today should remain readable for many years – and possibly longer than less-durable alternatives. A variety of laboratory tests certainly suggest that M-Discs are sturdier than traditional DVDs and Blu-rays.
The trouble is, there’s zero guarantee that future generations will be able to use M-Discs, or any other current optical disc format. Just as floppy disks were replaced by newer technologies, so too will today’s popular physical-media formats – and we’d argue optical discs’ days are numbered. Few new PCs now include DVD/Blu-ray drives as standard, and that decline will only accelerate.
Fast-forward a generation or two and we’d imagine that reading an optical disc will be akin to trying to recover data from an 8in floppy disk. Technically impossible? No. But not something the average person in the street would want or be able
