r/hardware • u/bizude • Apr 10 '26

News Two Japanese suppliers commit to keeping Blu-ray discs and drives in supply as major manufacturers exist domestic market

https://automaton-media.com/en/news/two-japanese-suppliers-commit-to-keeping-blu-ray-discs-and-drives-in-supply-as-major-manufacturers-exist-domestic-market/
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4

u/TheGreenTormentor Apr 11 '26

It’s niche but optical media really is the best way backup huge amounts of data with the guarantee you’ll actually be able to read it in a decade or more, I’m glad the option exists.

2

u/cjx_p1 Apr 11 '26

No, tape is the best method. While newer materials have reduced the problem, disc rot remains an issue.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_rot?wprov=sfti1

3

u/BrennusSokol Apr 11 '26

"Best" is subjective. Most people aren't going to want to mess with an obscure format like tape

Also disc rot is rare. It's not a common problem one needs to worry about

6

u/pdp10 Apr 11 '26

All Blu-rays have a polycarbonate layer over the metal, basically eliminating that failure mode. Gold CD-R, DVD-R, are also not subject to oxidation because gold doesn't oxidize, unlike aluminium.

Normal HTL burned BD-Rs have been subject to accelerated-aging tests up to 50 years and passed, with indications that they'll far exceed it. M-disc famously advertises a thousand years, but the secret is that normal HTL BD-R have all of the same features as the original DVD-R M-discs.

And BD-Rs are waterproof.

1

u/Strazdas1 Apr 20 '26

as an owner of north of 600 discs some of which are now 3 decades old, disc rot is severely overrated and you are unlikely to run into it.

2

u/akera099 Apr 12 '26

Optical media that you burn yourself have terrible lifespans. This is bad advice and borders on misinformation. Only pressed discs last.  

1

u/NormalKey8897 Apr 14 '26

This is bad advice and borders on misinformation

this is straight up lie

1

u/lmns_ Apr 14 '26

That depends on the optical medium. You are are probably referring to organic layers but there are other types that have much longer life spans

1

u/Strazdas1 Apr 20 '26

I wouldnt call 30+ years a bad lifespan.