Posted by manualblock [ 24.45.24.101 ] on August 17, 2006 at 14:38:16:

In Reply to: Re: Vinyl still being sold? posted by telegraph.hill on August 13, 2006 at 12:48:27:

Not to detour off a tangent here but the NYT just had an article two pages long about the problem the Smithsonian is having with data transferral from the different formats. It seems that the new formats such as CD and DVD have a finite life-span; they deteriorate from oxidation. Then there is what is called Bit Loss; each time you transfer some data from another source you lose bits. That means less resolution until it is useless. Know what they said is the longest and most reliable info storage? Paper. It will last indefinately. Not digital storage. Life expectancy? 15 yrs. Vinyl is supposedly good for over 100 yrs or more. Scratches? true; but nothing like the complete disintigration of the data on CD in the future.
My point is if you build a CD library you will need to re-format it in 15 yrs and when you do you lose info. Makes vinyl look a little better than it did for me.
As for scratches; I have albums from the 60's I bought as a kid. They have a little surface noise but nothing intrusive. So ask for a garrauntee of quality when you buy or buy new.
Hope this is of some interest.

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