Subj : M-DISCs
To   : All
From : warmfuzzy
Date : Fri Apr 14 2023 18:46:11

In making this Digital Ark, if you had the money (as its rather expensive)
then I'd suggest archiving the data using m-Disks.  These are a hybrid of LPs
and BD-R's.  Instead of aligning the digital code via the change in dyes
baked in to the disc, this new method actually etches the disc with a special
laser.  Some of the more common drives now support m-Disc technology.  To
archive 25G on one BDR/MDISC will cost you about $5 USD.  This is a huge
difference between the dye disc that might cost $1.50 USD per disc.  I have
heard that m-Discs can be whatever size normal media can hold.  So for
example BD-R discs can hold up to 100 Gigs of data, however the whole purpose
of using m-Discs is to store stuff forever and the denser the disc the more
room for error in burning.  So in terms of archiving, if you're going to make
your own Digital Ark then take this advice and use the 25G BD-R/mDiscs
instead of the higher capacity options.  With mDiscs they have no
magnetically active properties so an EMP full force would not hurt these
media.

As for software that will help you in your archiving without using DRM baked
nasties is the option of a software suite called RedFox AnyDVD.  It's as
expensive to make you look elsewhere, but is the current best in compact disc
mediums video extraction.  It works on DVDs and BD-R Discs.  The software not
only gets rid of the DRM functions, but also re-codes the disc to support
region free viewing (region 0) which means that anyone in the world who
receives one of those discs would be able to play it.  The images are saved
as .ISO files which can be played with the VLC media player without
extracting the data to the hard drive before playing, it can play the ISOs as
if they were MP4 files, just click and play kinda thing.

Have fun, but remember if you're going to do big time archiving to make sure
its a private archive and not a pirate distribution centre.  Fair Dealings
covers this activity, but it won't cover you if you're making money off stuff
or even if you're not making money and only sharing with your friends.  This
needs to be an archive that would be only, and really only, for the
preservation of media for future generations.

Good luck and keep the media from being lost to time.

Cheers!
-warmfuzzy

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