While many experts have predicted the demise of optical media, it has failed to fade into obscurity as expected, and continues to offer options for data storage and retrieval in a digital world.
This is according to Ruben Naicker, Verbatim product specialist at Drive Control Corporation
"One of the biggest factors driving the decision of which storage medium to use is cost. While it is true that hard disk drives (HDD) and flash drives are a lot cheaper than they used to be, for mass reproduction and dissemination of information, optical media, specifically CDs and DVDs, remain very popular," he says.
"For example, a lecturer may wish to hand out notes to a class, and not all students may have access to shared cloud storage. In this case a CD is a cost-effective option for the distribution of the information."
Naicker notes that although flash drives have become popular for the distribution of information at conferences, DVDs are still widely used as they are a highly cost-effective option, particularly at events with thousands of delegates.
"Another issue to bear in mind is that of theft. Hard drives and flash drives are, by nature, highly portable, but they also have a higher intrinsic value than optical media, because they can be erased and used again and have high capacity storage," explains Naicker. "A CD or DVD, on the other hand, is generally written once and can then only be read, and even if it is a rewritable disk, the value is generally not sufficient to warrant the theft of the disk."
For this reason, adds Naicker, information may safely be stored on an optical disc without the risk of the actual storage device being stolen. This makes CDs and DVDs popular options for consumers to store downloaded music for playback in motor vehicles, for example, as although this music can be played back using a digital music player or even a flash drive, these are more likely to be stolen.
"In the home entertainment space, DVDs and Blu-ray discs are still widely used, particularly in South Africa. Although it is possible to download movies or stream them to your television, the speed and cost of bandwidth in the country makes this an option available only to a select few."
By far the majority of individuals will still visit their local movie store and rent a physical disk, according Naicker.
"When it comes to music, the same applies. While music can be downloaded from the Internet, many people still visit music stores and purchase a CD or DVD of music from their favourite artists."
He further states that while smart televisions and media centres have become more common, they are not the norm in the local market.
"This means that playing downloaded movies and music on a television may be difficult, whereas many people have a DVD player or Blu-ray capable of playing various media easily. And for backup and data storage purposes, portable hard drives or flash drives "
Naicker observes that \while storage devices such as flash drives and portable hard disks have become more affordable, and the availability of digital content has seen downloads become more popular, there are still many uses for optical media storage such as CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs.
"It is affordable and easy to create, easy to duplicate and durable, and is unlikely to be stolen, making it the perfect alternative for storing, sharing, transporting and distributing information," concludes Naicker.
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