The Cold Storage of CD, DVD, and VHS Tape Media

Abstract

Cool and cold or below freezing storage have been effective tools for preserving unstable information carriers such as acetate and color films. Modern information carriers such as optical discs and magnetic tapes can also be very unstable and might benefit from low temperature storage. Slowing the degradation of these materials safely would allow heritage institutions the time required to develop preservation plans and to transfer the information from the old format to a new one as equipment obsolescence begins to become an issue. This study examined temperatures lower than those recommended by storage standards in order to determine if damage to media would occur under these extreme conditions. Several brands of CDs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, movie DVDs, DVD-Rs, and DVD-RWs, as well as new and old VHS (format) magnetic tapes were tested. Samples were exposed for 16 weeks to a stable storage environment of -20°C and a storage environment that fluctuated daily between room temperature and -20°C. It was determined by measuring error rate changes before and after below-freezing storage that most CDs and DVDs can withstand the experimental conditions without problems. However, certain low stability CD-Rs did suffer from an increase in error rate at freezing temperatures and should not be stored under these conditions. No physical damage such as delamination occurred under the test conditions. Although the results cannot be extrapolated to other formats of magnetic tape or to all VHS tapes in general, storage of the VHS tapes used in this study (dated 1990 to 2008) at freezing temperatures did not cause any problems. There was no appearance of any lubricant on the surface of the tape and no increase in dropouts or loss of recorded signal strength.