How to best store digital video

Almost everyone knows what digital video is.The technological age is always evolving and with it bigger and better gadgets are hitting the market.Digital video recorders are more popular than ever.Digital video recorders give everyday people the ability to record, edit, add audio to and manipulate their videos in countless ways.Distributing digital video is easier than ever before as well.For example, digital video can easily be copies onto disks and sent by mail or uploaded to the internet to be viewed on a web page.

With all the benefits of digital video more and more people are taking advantage of this innovation.You may have noticed that everywhere you turn there is some sort of digital hand held devise that that can record or take pictures at any moment.With all this digital footage now so easily obtainable, a new problem arises, where are you going to store all of your digital videos?

There are lots of different options for storing your digital videos and all of them have their advantages and disadvantages.The best method of storage will depend on your needs and on the ways that you choose to take advantage of the digital videos that you have.Below are some examples of storage methods for digital videos.You are best suited to decide which suggestions to put into action.

Hard drives

The lifespan of a hard drive is roughly 5-10 years.Hard drives are not meant for archival type long term storage.But for a few years while you organize, edit and sort your digital videos the hard drive of your home computer is a convenient option.Just keep in mind that the data and files tend to deteriorate before the entire drive itself becomes unusable.This deterioration may occur at any time.It doesn't seem to make a difference whether you keep your hardware relatively clear and gently used or not.The same wear and tear problems with deterioration over time or even suddenly because of a programming error are unpredictable and potentially irreversibly problematic.

DVD

The most cost effective and simplest way that most people choose to store their digital video data is on a DVD.Depending on the quality of the media that you wish to copy to a disk, a DVD could become corrupted in as little as 5 years or it could stand the test of time and stand up to other archival quality storage means.A lot depends on how well you maintain the disk while it is in storage (i.e. keeping it clean, scratch free, moisture free, etc.).

Tapes

Some people who may not feel as comfortable or as familiar with disks and computers choose to stick to using VHS tapes to store their digital information on.Although it may seem a bit counterintuitive, tapes are popular options for some.Because the use of tapes is far less popular that it used to be finding storage tapes can be difficult and expensive. Additionally there is substantial risk for damaging a tape as tapes are highly sensitive to the elements, magnetic energy and impact.

Top of the line

There are some options for the individual who is willing to spare no expense in order to make sure that his digital video memories are given the best storage protection possible.With professional storage costs ranging from $80 to $3,000 you may be forced to put a price on your priceless memories.There are even options for storage disks that have a 24 karat gold reflective layer that is meant to offer the best resistance possible against chemical breakdown.