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Fact 1: Why is JVC's Silver Alloy solution better?
Fact 2: What should you know about organic dye decomposition?
Fact 3: How should you define longevity of optical media?
Fact 4: How should you measure quality in archival grade DVD-Rs?
Is there hardware that I can use to make my archives more dependable?

Fact 1: Why is JVCs Silver Alloy solution better?

JVC Archival Grade DVD-R utilizes our proprietary "silver alloy" solution, which has a better reflectivity and a lower error rate as compared to gold discs. And, did you know most drives are designed and developed for silver based media? Yes, it is true gold does not oxidize, however, it is important to note, that generally gold has reflectivity lower than silver.

(*)Low reflectivity may trigger a higher error rate and it follows that discs with a high error rate can be affected by external conditions more easily.

(*)The reflectivity rate (Rg) of JVC Archival Grade DVD-R is higher than 45%. This percentage is standardized per the book specification. Our research shows that the reflectivity rate of some gold discs is lower than 40%, which means a higher possibility of initial errors.

Archival lifetime could be affected by the storage capability of DVD-R. It goes without saying that rigorous specifications for the electrical and mechanical characteristics of the DVD-R are important, but the raw materials used for the DVD-R, such as reflective layer and organic dye, are also vital.

Our Archival Grade DVD-R employs a uniquely devel-oped "special alloy" on the silver based reflective layer to maintain suitable reflectivity so that long-term storage capability can coexist.

Employing JVCs unique technologies into a disc.

Employing our uniquely developed silver-alloy^*2 in the reflective layer to prevent deterioration of the reflective layer^*1.

The properties of metal particles are less likely to change during long-term archiving. By minimizing deterioration in the reflective layer with time, stable playback can be maintained for a very long time.

*1 Reflective layer
There is a reflective layer inside the disc that is adjacent to the recording layer. It plays the important role of reflecting the laser light during playback.
Minimizing deterioration of this reflective layer with time helps to stabilize light reflectance, thereby minimizing signal degradation, making long-term archiving possible.

*2 Silver alloy
In general silver is used for the reflective layer of DVD-Rs; however one shortcoming is that silver reflective coatings are susceptible to corrosion.
This product employs silver alloy, which has improved corrosion resistance, which has enabled successful long-term archiving.

Hard-coat recording surface that is scratch-, stain-, and dust-resistant

1. The unique high-performance hard coat developed by JVC makes the disc resistant to scratches, dust, and stains, which may impede precise recording or playback. With this hard coat, important data can now be protected for a long period.
2. For JVC products the degree of scratch-resistance improves by more than 200 times as compared to DVDs without a hard coat.
   And, the lubricity of the surface is optimized, making it more resistant and easier to remove stains including sebum from our finger prints. The results show the disc surface is seven times less affected by finger prints as compared to the standard disc.
3. Our products also have excellent antistatic, which minimizes the generation of static, thus preventing dust attachment (static charge decay time is about a thousandth compared to other JVC products).

Exclusive production line ⇒ clean management

Victor Advanced Media is the only manufacturer who can control all aspects of its manufacturing. Our Archival Grade DVD-R is manufactured, even after the acquisition of ISO certification, by exclusive production lines and quality standards are set at the highest level. Our commitment is to minimize the fluctuation of the products and to meet your strict storage needs.

[Fully automated production lines, manufactured only in Japan]

Furthermore, stress/acceleration tests are carried out to each lot to ensure the durability and reliability is high enough for "Archival Grade".

[Acceleration test to each lot]

Fact 2: What should you know about organic dye decomposition?

When an organic dye decomposes,signal (data) cannot be read back. The reflective layer is not the only important factor for long term archiving! Our research has shown that gold discs we purchased from the market employ the same organic dye as standard silver discs. For JVC Archival Grade DVD-R an organic dye with specially in-house developed additives is used. This minimizes decomposition of the organic dye and achieves higher archive capability.

Fact 3: How should you define longevity of optical media?

The test method to estimate optical media longevity varies depending on the manufacturer. Each individual company estimates the longevity based on their own test methods and there are claims in the market for 50, 100 and even 300 years of longevity! How reliable is this number?

The past practice dictates the ordinary test method to be a test of the discs under a shocking condition (normally 80C/80%humidity) then the time until error rate exceeds 280 is measured to estimate the longevity. This test method is not practical and does not accurately estimate the longevity at ambient condition (25C/50% humidity), which is a critical point that needs to be known. In order to obtain a reliable estimation the test has to be done with multiple samples and in multiple conditions. Each result should be statistically processed.

Ordinary Test vs. ISO/IEC10995 Test

Test Method	Sampling size (PCE)	Test Condition
Ordinary Test*	1-5	varies (normally 80C/80% RH)
ISO/IEC10995 Test	20	85C/85% RH
	20	85C/70% RH
	20	65C/85% RH
	30	70C/75% RH

* Test condition previously performed.

The JVC Archival Grade DVD-R passed ISO/IEC 10995. This is the only standard in the world that defines the test method of estimating longevity of DVD-R and is a very reliable and stringent test method.

What is ISO/IEC10995?

International Standard

ISO/IEC10995
First edition 2008-04-15

Reference number: ISO/IEC10995:2008(E)

Information technology-Digitally Recorded media for information Interchange and storage Test method For the estimation of the archival lifetime of optical media.

Only one international standard defining test method to estimate the archiving lifetime of DVD-R.

Eyring Method

Calculation of Estimated Life Using Eyring Method Based on 25C and 50% RH

Test Condition	Temperature (C)	Humidity (% RH)	Total Acceleration Test Time	Sample Size
1	85	85	1,000	20
2	85	70	1,000	20
3	65	85	2,000	20
4	70	75	2,500	30

Life Expectancy and Average Down Time of Optical Disc

The ISO/IEC10995 defines the life expectancy of an optical disc as the point of 5% failure rate (95% uptime rate).

Disc products with a life expectancy of 30 years or longer are certified by ADTC.

In short,

(1) Calculation of estimated life based on 25C and 50% RH (simplified into a 2-dimensional graph)

Accelerated aging time under the different temperature/humidity environments are processed statistically to calculate the distribution of the estimated life based on 25C and 50% RH.

Distribution of Estimated Life Based on 25C and 50% RH ISO/IEC 10995

ISO/IEC10995 Certified

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Fact 4: How should you measure quality in archival grade DVD-Rs?

The JVC Archival Grade DVD-R is manufactured only in Japan. The exclusive production and strict Quality Control used ensure quality and reliability on a consistent basis. Each lot is tested and passes stress/acceleration testing to ensure the archival capability and consistency of the product.

Specially Tuned up Drives and Error Checker

• Specially tuned-up drives provide the most suitable laser power for our "Archival Grade DVD-R", which minimize the occurrence of writing error.
• Drives have a "Self Diagnostic Function". This function prevents drives from running under unfavorable conditions (Such as laser power deterioration, laser pick-up getting dirt/dust etc.) which minimizes the risk of high error rate because of drive issues.
• Our user-friendly error checker analyzes the error rate without any complex operation. You can measure initial writing error rate immediately after writing or error rate during long-term storage for future migration purposes.

• Optimized drive for JVC Archival Grade DVD-R. This drive used with JVC Archival Grade DVD-R achieves "low occurrence of writing error".
• Self-diagnostic function

DV-W5000S-76 (DV-W5000U)
Appricable Discs	DVD	DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-R DL DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL DVD+RW
	CD	CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-R
Disc Dimension	12 cm, 8 cm
Measurement	DVD	PI Error Rate
	CD	Block Error Rate
Measurement time	DVD	Standard Mode: 10 min. 30 sec Quick Mode: 2 min. 30 sec
	CD	Standard Mode: 6 min Quick Mode: 1 min. 30 sec
Interface	USB 2.0
Loading Mechanism	Disc Tray
Loading Lifetime	More than 40,000 times (in clean environment)
Environmental Conditions	Temp.	Operating: 5~35℃ Not operating: -10~50℃ Tansportation: -20~55℃
	Humidity	15~85℃ (without condensation)
Power	100~240V AC 50~60Hz
Size	172W x 64H x 242D (mm)
Weight	1,350 g

Manufactured by TEAC