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Millenniata Permanent Optical Disc Archival Media


FAQs

Product FAQs

What is the capacity of the M-DISC™ in terms of photos, songs, or videos?The M-DISC™ is a single-layer single-sided DVD-compatible disc which has an approximate capacity of 4.7 gigabytes (or 4.3 Gibibytes).
Using estimates with typical file sizes, each Millennial M-DISC™ has the following capacity.
description approx qty
raw 4MB uncompressed digital photo 1174
3MB MP3 song 1566
compressed 26MB/sec video stream 3 hours
How do I store M-DISC™ products to best protect them from damage?The M-DISC™ is extremely durable and does not corrupt even in extreme environmental conditions (heat, humidity, light, etc.). However, we suggest storing M-DISC™ products upright (like a book) in disc "jewel" cases. Ideally, store the "jewel" cases in plastic or steel containers manufactured specifically for the type of medium in cool, dry storage that is free of large temperature fluctuations. Generally, damage is avoided by storing discs at room temperature and low relative humidity.
What is the preferred method for labeling M-DISC™ products?Best archival procedure is to only label the container in which your M-DISC™ is stored. If you really want to label the M-DISC™ itself, we suggest marking the inner hub of the disc where no data is recorded. There is no information available to indicate what will happen to an M-DISC™ over time if labeled or marked over the data area.
The M-DISC™ may be permanent, but why would that matter if DVD players are not around that long?Every storage technology faces the same question. The M-DISC™ is unique because it provides options that didn't exist before. The stability of the M-DISC™ allows people to migrate data at their own convenience. This is in contrast to today's storage technologies that incessantly force a constant and expensive physical rotation of stored data—trying to rotate the data before the media's expiration date. This frustrating and costly challenge disappears with the M-DISC™. No longer will people be forced to rotate data onto a new storage medium because of data rot. It is now standard practise for large long-term primary archives to also store an archive of all the hardware and software required to read the media. The M-WRITER™ drive has been designed to be durable and long lasting.
Can the M-DISC™ withstand UV rays and prolonged exposure to the sun?M-DISC™ products can withstand the full spectrum of the sun, including UV rays, for days with no effect to the data or the readability of the data in a standard DVD drive.
Obviously, in order to maximise archival lifetime and minimise risk, it is STRONGLY recommended to use the safest possible storage environment for all your optical media. The extreme conditions of testing are an engineering method to discover the likely minimum lifetime of a disc.
However with the M-DISC™ you have the added benefit of knowing that if your carefully maintained storage environment suffers a failure, that your data is going to survive under conditions that would quickly destroy traditional archival optical media.
What temperature can the M-DISC™ withstand?The M-DISC™ can withstand temperatures of 80°Celcius for days with no effect on the data or the readability of the data in a standard DVD drive.
Obviously, in order to maximise archival lifetime and minimise risk, it is STRONGLY recommended to use the safest possible storage environment for all your optical media. The extreme conditions of testing are an engineering method to discover the likely minimum lifetime of a disc.
However with the M-DISC™ you have the added benefit of knowing that if your carefully maintained storage environment suffers a failure, that your data is going to survive under conditions that would quickly destroy traditional archival optical media.
How can you prove that the M-DISC™ is permanent?No one can prove beyond all doubt that anything will last permanently, but there are international standards for estimating the archival lifetime of optical media. The ECMA-379 (2nd edition, December 2008) is a widely recognized standard that tests the effects of temperature and relative humidity. Researchers at Millenniata have tested the M-ARC™ disc using the ECMA-379 temperature and humidity (+85 Celcius / 85% RH) and added further elements to develop the most rigorous testing possible. They have combined temperature and humidity (+85 Celcius / 85% RH) tests with exposure to the full-spectrum of natural light. The M-DISC™ is the only survivor after this rigorous testing. Considering the combination of the M-DISC's™ test results and its rock-like data layer, it is reasonable to conclude that the M-DISC™ has a greater longevity and durability than any existing technology.
What burning software is compatible with the M-WRITER™ drive?Almost any DVD burning software will work with the M-WRITER™ drive. In fact, current operating systems ("Windows Vista"©, "Windows 7"©, "Mac OS X"© and many Linux© distributions) come with compatible software pre-installed and will recognise the M-Writer™ drive automatically. Additionally, the M-WRITER™ drive works with most common third party software. Some older operating systems such as "Windows XP"© will require third-party software as DVD burning software is not included by Microsoft™.
What types of computer Operating Systems can I use with the M-WRITER™ drive?The M-WRITER™ drive will work with most computers and operating systems. "Windows XP"©, "Windows Vista"©, "Windows 7"©, "Mac OS X"© and Linux© are all supported.
Can I use the M-WRITER™ drive to write data to an M-DISC™ without a computer?No. The M-WRITER™ drive requires a connection to a computer to read or write data.
Should I close/finalise the M-DISC™ after writing the data? (closing/finalising a disc can also be referred to as "close session" or "fixate the disc")Closing/finalising the disc assures maximum read back capability on other drives. Please Note: Do not close/finalise until you are completely finished burning data to the disc as you will not be able to add any additional data to the disc after it is closed/finalised. Refer to your burning software documentation for more information about this.
Can I add additional files to an M-DISC™ after it has been burned?M-DISC™ behaves exactly like normal blank write-once DVDs in this regard. Most burning software gives the option to "close/finalise" or "not close/not finalise" a disc after burning some data (assuming you have not yet filled the entire disc).
After using the "not close" option you can always add more data. However as soon as you use the "close" option even once, you cannot add any more data to your disc. Refer to your burning software documentation for more information about this. This multi-session capability may or may not be turned on by default in your software.
Is the M-DISC™ re-writable?No. The M-DISC™ is designed to permanently archive information. Once the information is burned it cannot be changed.
Can I erase or remove files from the M-DISC™?No. The M-DISC™ is designed to permanently archive information. Once the information is burned it cannot be changed.
How is the M-WRITER™ drive different from a regular DVD writer?The M-WRITER™ drive is different from regular DVD writers because it is designed to make permanent physical changes (etching) to the rock-hard data layer of the M-DISC™.
What does "burning a disc" mean?"Burning a disc" refers to writing data to optical media (CDs or DVDs). In this case it means copying files and other data from your computer to an M-DISC™using the M-WRITER™ drive.
How quickly can the M-WRITER™ drive burn information to an M-DISC™?Typical writing speeds for DVD's range from 2.4x, 4x, 8x, to 12x depending on the system. The M-DISC™ can be written at speeds up to 4x (approx 5.40 MB/s).
How does the M-WRITER™ drive interface with my computer?Just plug the M-WRITER™ drive into a USB 2.0 port. The M-WRITER™ drive is a portable external drive with an industry-standard USB 2.0 Interface.
How much data can the M-DISC™ hold?The M-DISC™ has a capacity of 4.7 gigabytes.
Can the M-DISC™ be burned or written to by regular DVD drives?No. Only the M-WRITER™ drive can burn information to an M-DISC™.
Can the M-DISC™ be read by regular DVD drives?Yes. The M-WRITER™ drive etches the M-DISC™ using a compatible data format that can be read by most quality DVD drives.
How is the M-DISC™ different from regular DVDs?Most writable DVDs, including the most expensive "Gold" archival DVDs, burn data into an organic dye layer. Organic dyes start to degrade and fade as soon as they are written. This leads to a condition called "data rot". This problem is so severe that the U.S. National Archives warns that the shelf life of a regular DVD is 2-5 years. The M-DISC™ contains no organic dyes. Instead, the M-DISC's™data layer is composed of rock-like materials known to last permanently. Millenniata’s M-WRITER™ drive etches the M-DISC's™ rock-like layer creating a permanent physical data record that is immune to data rot.