Expert: Cleggsan - 12/24/2010

Question
QUESTION: What is the most durable and resilient  analogue format? What is most resistant
to damage and the effects of time?

ANSWER: I suppose you are thinking not only of format but storage media?

Vinyl recordings when stored in cool, dry places last for a very long time.  CDs will keep around in archival spaces for long periods of time too but they are not analog but are digital.

Tape storage systems are subject to constant deterioration over time.  Magnetic tapes of any kind should be re-recorded or master transfers to new storage media after 3 or 4 years.

Also, USB storage sticks (Flash memory) is pretty good but there are no standards for recording analog to them.

Let me know more of your specific application and we can dialog further. If you are in an archival environment there are many things to consider.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: No I am thinking of format from a purely theoretical standpoint.

ANSWER: Then I think you mean media.  Analog information must be stored somehow onto a media.  It does not reside unless it is recorded somehow, either directly or in some converted fashion.

In any event, durable and resilient storage is mechanical, like grooves in a non-volatile material.  Early Edison recordings are still around after 100 years. Other storage formats don't last so long.

But, dialogue with me as I am not sure where you are coming from on this matter.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Is any magnetic media unbreakable?

Answer
What do you mean by unbreakable?  Are you referring to its mechanical strength or the security coding of the format?

All commercial magnetic media are breakable, physically - such as when it is run over by a truck!! But, some media are stronger than others, for sure.  Vinyl LPs are quite strong but very high temperatures cause melting of the vinyl and severe flexing can cause the material to crack and break.