First heard about Millenniata’s M-Arc archival DVD system when the Long Now blog mentioned that the product was actually shipping.
Millenniata claims its M-Arc DVDs are backwards-compatible with existing DVD technologies, but rather than using a laser to heat up a photosensitive dye, the M-Arc uses a mechanical process to make scratches in a physical layer that M-Arc claims will last potentially for centuries if stored properly. According to a brief summary on the manufacturer’s site, the M-Arc:
Preserves data for centuries with physical changes in data layer Constructed with rock-hard materials known to last for centuries Backwards-compatible on all standard DVD drives Functions like a standard DVD with a capacity of 4.7 GB Exclusively written by the M-Writer™ Drive
The Millenniata site doesn’t list any prices, but Long Now reports $1,700 for the writer and $16-$25 per 4.7gb disc depending on the quantity.
Thanks for writing this quick post about our exciting new technology. Imagine digital data that is permanent. The key feature is the backwards compatibility. Once the data is on the disc, it can be read by a normal DVD drive (or any other drive with DVD read capabilities like Blu-Ray).
If you’d like to learn more, I’d be happy to send you a demo disc.