Hehe if I was in the piracy business I'd be pressing/replicating my own discs
Much cheaper that way
But I don't want to invest in something like that - too expensive for short runs for clients.
And collecting and using quality media for me is somewhat of a hobby, an addiction. I don't ever want to run out of blank media!
I do post-production and shoot live performances, music videos, and the occasional "kaibigan" projects - like transfers of old video documentaries to DVD, stuff like that. I also do short runs of CD albums for the slaving and non-abot-kaya "kakilalas" - actually anything I could dabble into. I like choosing my own projects, I hate "the man" and corporate desk jobs.
And burning the project files (and using multiple discs) makes the consumption worse.
You use hundreds of TDKs and That's? (8x TDK and 16x That's?) Care to tell me where you get such great media? (You can PM me if you want to keep it a secret lol)
I have a half-empty spindle of TDK (16x CMC Taiwan though) and found a retailer of 16x That's Write (I prefer the 8x TY though) but overly overpriced (90-120 per disc! In slim jewel cases).
As for optical vs magnetic backups, I'd choose magnetic (HDD, tape). Although the costs are higher for magnetic due to the "storage equipment" for tape, and while hard disk drives are actually getting cheaper (by the minute), they'll only be truly safe if you store them properly. Pero if you use a hard drive backup, if you're not going to use it after backing up (and only for backing up), mas matibay siya theoretically and robust, lalo na pag may hardware RAID-1/5 like some high-end external enclosures. Ako I opted for the optical (DVD) backup plan kasi it's actually cheaper for smaller files (project and/or documents) and I could put ECC (error code correction) sa discs and add redundancy using multiple discs without incurring a hefty investment - kung kelan lang need gumastos. From experience kasi yung mga internal HDDs di ka talaga sure kung kelan mamamatay kahit may UPS or line conditioner ka lalo na pag laging tinatakbo. So dun ako sa ikkeep ko lang and read when needed. Footage are on miniDV/DV/DigiBeta tape naman and it's easy to duplicate and split P2/XDCAM/whatever digital storages on DVD, so DVD backups work for me. Multipurpose pa, di lang for storing, pwede rin for duplication of many copies for a client, personal use, and whatever I could think of (coasters!).
Cost per GB/MB - better ang HDD. Storage conditions - advantage ang DVD basta walang ilaw, kahit may magnetic interference (same other requirements as HDD - humidity, temperature). Flexibility - depende: small files, DVD; big files, obviously HDD. Compatibility - almost the same (DVD=HDD). Reliability - depends on media/HDD. Consistency - no assurance! (that's why I do double backups)
I also use external HDD backups for some projects that I know will need constant access to, pero I normally reduce the clutter to the essential data to be backed up and transfer it to DVD. I don't have the capital to invest in a lot of external HDDs and do redundancy on multiple units, so basically I use what works best for me depending on the situation.
Personally, I have double backups with ECC of personal data and home photos/videos on DVDs. If it's something I use everyday I burn one on cheaperbut decent media and have duplicates specifically for storage. I don't touch those in storage until my "work/constant access" disc gets unreadable.
Potentially - HDD can last longer. I still have a 500MB internal HDD (40 conductor, 1-word lang yung company na parang pangalan ng tao) na gumagana (stashed somewhere) na circa 1990s, and a few WD Caviars and Seagate drives (all 4GB or less) na gumagana pa. DVDs can easily be crushed and destroyed with overexposure to light.
