How to backup large files onto multiple optical discs.
As of November 2008 Blu-Ray disc still hasn’t reached affordability and speeds enough to consider it for backing up mission-critical large files such as video. Currently the cheapest 4X 25GB Blu-Ray disc hovers around $9/each , and that is only if bought five or more of them, otherwise it’s $15/each, and the 2X speed Blu-Ray discs, at $8/ea, are excruciatingly slow to write and read from. On the DVD+R DL scene there has, however, been pricing updates and write speed increases. Enter Verbatim DVD+R DL 2.4X-6X 8.5GB . At only $1.25, when bought in a spindle of 100, this is a reliable ad affordable. Verbatim has strong reputation for its quality, and now it is affordable as well.
So how does one burn a, say, 30GB AVI video onto an 8.5GB DVD+R DL?
Here is a simple and reliable tested approach; (You’d need a copy of the latest WinRar to do this as well as Nero 8 or later)
1. Right click over that 30GB AVI file and select “Add To Archive…” (provided you’ve already installed Winrar). Choose “Best” in the “Compression Method” pull down menu. In the “Split to volumes, bytes” pull-down menu type in 8250 mb. Hit OK. What WinRar will do is compress this video file into chunks of 8250 mb.
2. Place Verbatim DVD+R DL in your DVD burner, open Nero Burning ROM and choose DVD from the pull-down menu in the upper left corner, then scroll down to DVD-ROM (UDF/ISO) and select that option. Hit the “New” button, and once it opens up a new window drop the resulting 1st file that WinRar created from that AVI video.
3. Burn the disc. Label it disc 1. Repeat the procedure to burn the rest of the 8250 mb chunks. Store in a dark dust-free cool place, I prefer storing discs in a spindle.
