Re: [PLUG] How to Store Video Files for 25 Years?

[Steve Litt <slitt@troubleshooters.com>]

On Fri, 7 Dec 2018 04:28:32 -0500
Casey Bralla <MailList@NerdWorld.org> wrote:

> As a Christmas present to my wife, I'm converting old VHS home movies
> that we started filming in the early 1990's.  I bought a $35 USB gizmo
> that came with a Windows-only application.  I'm using an ancient
> laptop with Windows 10 (ugh!  I HATE Windows 10, and the the laptop
> is way under powered for it.)  But it seems to be working pretty
> well.  It creates mpg files which I will edit and burn to DVDs on my
> Linux machine.  My wife wants DVDs, but I'd like to also give copies
> of the videos to my 20-something kids.
> 
> I figure the videos will be most valuable to my kids in about 25
> years. I'll be in the rest home (or worse), and their kids will be
> interested in their parents as infants.
> 
> How do I store the files so that they are secure and readable in 25
> years?
> 
> My options:
> 
> 1.  DVD.   Pros:  Media will survive intact in normal environments.  
> Cons:  Bulky.  Will you be able to buy old DVD players at Goodwill in
> 25 years?
> 2.  USB Hard Disk:  Pros:  Media will probably survive.  Good size
> (not too big, but not too small to lose)   Cons:  Will USB 3.0 still
> exist? 3.  USB SSD:   Pros: Small size.  Physically robust for
> storage. Cons: Will SSD data last 25 years?   Will USB 3.0 still
> exist? 4.  USB Thumb Drive:  Pros: Easy to mail to them.   Cons:
> Small, so can get lost easily.  Will data last 25 years?  Will USB
> 3.0 exist? 5.  3.5 Floppy (Yes, I still have the drives!)  Pros:
> None   Cons: Don't be silly
> 
> 
> Any suggestions?

When you said "burn to DVD", I hope you meant putting your mpg on a
data DVD, not creating movie DVDs. If your wife wants movie DVDs to
view right now, that should be an additional task, not the main
preservation one.

My experience tells me that DVDs stored in dark, shady places with
controlled humidity do the best. Read
http://troubleshooters.com/lpm/201408/201408.htm#the_great_backup_shred_of_2014
and the article after it to read about my experiences. I keep my burned
backup optical media in a wooden rolltop box away from direct sunlight
and at an angle from man made light, and my house is air conditioned.
An improvement might be to keep my optical backups in one of those
airtight metal ammunition boxes, perhaps with a couple of desiccant
bags (https://secure.drierite.com/catalog3/page16.cfm). However, if you
use desiccant, be sure to check on it every few months to make sure it
isn't starting to release moisture in the form of liquid water.

I'd approach the 25 years as 3x8, for all the reasons you outline.
Software formats change, hardware changes. At each 8 year interval, you
can recopy the stuff to **quality** formats that are more modern. But
not too modern: You want formats that will stand the test of time.
ISO9660 will be with us for a long, loooonnnng time.

There's no reason to restrict yourself to only one archive strategy.
Why not keep the movies on your daily driver computer, and also on
optical media? If one bombs, you've got the other.

Spinning disks are great and reliable when they're spinning. When left
turned off for years and years, not so much. I'd not rely on spinning
disks, even though they're much cheaper per gigabyte. And I *really*
wouldn't rely on thumb drives: Those things can lose data after two
weeks.

I keep copies of my backups in my bank's safety deposit box, and I made
sure to get a box high off the floor (flood protection). The same
tornado or hurricane probably won't take both my house and my bank. If
you have trusted friends in other states, you can snail mail them
discs. I'd stay away from The Cloud: They have a track record of
security breaches.

If you burn movie dvds as part of your strategy, you could send them to
your relatives to enjoy. And those copies become one more arm of your
backup.

I hope my opinion helps.

SteveT

Steve Litt 
December 2018 featured book: Rapid Learning for the 21st Century
http://www.troubleshooters.com/rl21
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