Recommendations for backup (not important stuff)

[jgandara]

I'm planning on backing up files that I don't care if I lose them, or that I plan to store for around 5 years (movies, files, docs...). I got 60 TDK DVD+R disks for important stuff like pics, home videos...

What would u buy? I don't know if I want to pay $20 for a Ritek brand (thinking about 100 discs). Where can I find cheap media for not so important backups?

Thanks

[The village idiot]

How much is too much, per disk. Those TDK must have been around a dollar each, you can get good disk for just under a dollar each, and then you can use them for all your burning. Or you can get the 58 cent each disks and hope that they make it. Super cheap and most likely unreliable media can be had at shop4tech, meritline, and most of the others. They also sell good media too. I would lean toward the good media, and maybe only get 1x disks for the data to make it cheaper.

[jgandara]

Less than a dollar. I'm thinking 1x Ritek media. It's cheaper and good quality. U R right, if I get 20% of coasters for a cheap brand, it would be pretty much what i'm paying for a better quality DVD.

[SLK001]

I'm confused... Why would you want to back up something that you don't care if you loose? If that really is the case, just back up all that stuff to the "RECYCLE BIN" - it's really fast, and very cheap.

It's also a lot of work to back up something at 1X. Get some good, reliable 2X media and save your stuff for that "rainy day".

[jgandara]

Not important stuff: Videos, demos, shareware progs. that if I lose them I can get them easily. For few things I also have a backup in my HD, like pics and home videos. I jsut want to move stuff from my HD to DVDs.

I have a Plextor 708a and I thinking if the Ritek G03 1x can be burned at 2x. It costs like 89 for 100. The web site says it can be burned at 2x with pioneer, so I assume it can be done with the plextor, Am I right?

[SLK001]

People have had good luck with the Riteks (me, included). The Riteks will burn 2X in a Pioneer only with a firmware hack. Don't know about the Plextors. Check http://forum.rpc1.org/dl_all.php for upgrades for your burner.

[ampex]

I burn RitekG03 discs at 2x with a NEC 1300A and have no problems with dvd playback.

[Colmino]

I was going to start a new thread but I see someone else was already wondering about the same thing.

In my case, I need to backup a raid because one drive out of 12 is going bad. The raid is 1.3 terabytes. 89 cents is just not cheap enough. Meritline is selling a brand called "HQ" for 69 cents a pop. Anyone have experience with this brand?

I'm sort of in the original poster's shoes, here. I *could* reacquire the stuff I need to backup, if it became absolutely necessary to do so. So if it turns out that there's an occasional file on an occasional disc that is unrecoverable, then so be it. I think the original poster was mainly hoping to find some media that is cheap but reliable in the following sense: It won't make total coasters, or no more often than any other brand.

I suppose that depends largely on what software and hardware one uses, so let's stipulate that I'm using a pretty stable mix (I think I am). I'm wanting something cheap, but not cheaply made to the point that I end up with so many coasters that it would have been less expensive to go with another brand.

Recommendations?