Auszug von einem Bericht über das größte Audio/Film Archiv in Virginia.

John La Grue, der zuständige für das Konzept der technischen Abwicklung einer langlebigen Archivierung sagt:

“Ironically, many of our historic audio formats (cylinders, LPs, 78s) will far outlive their original digital archives. While many of today’s HDDs have a rated “mean time before failure” of over 100 years, reliable data retention is far shorter. A friend who designs HDDs told me that a shelved (non-powered / non-refreshing) HDD shouldn’t be expected to hold reliable data much longer than ten years, if that. And writable DVD longevity isn’t much better.

This means that archivists must re-copy or auto-refresh their existing digital archives on an ongoing basis – in parallel with creating archives from original formats. Until cost-effective, ultra-long-term digital storage is achieved, “re-archiving the archives” will be standard archival procedure.

After decades of technology breakthroughs, it brings a smile to my face to think that a vinyl or lacquer platter with mechanically implanted grooves is still, by far, our longest-lived audio format.”