[Dixielandjazz] Service life CD-R's

[john petters]

Jim said
> I, for one, still prefer to have my masters recorded onto DAT tape as a
> storage medium, and use the CD's for listening, etc.  A DAT tape can't
> be erased once it is recorded....even in a bulk eraser!!

 I certainly do not trust DAT in the long term. I copied some masters onto
dat for a client some time ago and we found that DAT suffered from drop outs
after a period of time. Any tape based system is unreliable due to tape
/head drum friction. There is also a problem with tape stretching, so for me
DAT is a no no. In fact it is possible that the old Sony F1 betamax system
may be more reliable if you can find a good machine. The tape width is much
greater than DAT. To date I have not had problems with CDRs. Time will tell.
John Petters
Amateur Radio Station G3YPZ
www.traditional-jazz.com