Check out the quoted text below for more from KSL 5 on the M-DISC or head on over to the original article by click here.

Most of us have photographs, documents and music that we wish we could keep forever. Unfortunately, DVDs eventually fail, and data back-up can be expensive and difficult to manage. But a homegrown Utah company recently launched a solution that lasts.

It is called Millenniata and they produce the M-Disc. On a standard DVD, the data is written on a reflective layer on the disk. With the M-Disc, the data is actually etched into the disc itself. The company earned praise for the product at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week.

They call the M-Disc “the new standard in digital storage.”

“Now you can keep your data for a long, long time and not have to worry about managing it, or transferring it from one media to another,” said

The start-up is a BYU spin-off based in American Fork, with just 12 employees. Their technology creates a very enduring disc.

“So, rather than manipulating the dye layer, which is what happens today, we are actually etching, or engraving into the stone layer within the disc,” Decker said. “So, we’re making a permanent change into a hard substance.”

The disc can take a real beating, unless you bend it sideways in which case it will will snap. Because the dyes and reflective layers have been removed, you can actually see right through it.

“You can use it to keep your family photos, to keep your family records, your geneology records,” Decker said. Or your music and business records. Any kind of data at all that you would like to be permanent. Companies can use the M-Disc for permanent file backup and archives. You can use it use anytime, for generations, without losing data.

Millenniata earned the “Visionary Product of the Year” award at the Consumer Electronics Show. The company now partners with LG Data Storage to make M-Disc compatible DVD drives and disc writers, and that availability will grow.

You can buy the discs in packs of 5, 10, and 25 on their website, for $3 a disc, and you’ll start to see the M-Disc in stores soon.

“You have control over your data, and it’s long term. It’s not something that’s going to disappear and go away on you,” Decker said.

Millenniata Discs: “More Than” Archival Storage On American-Made DVDs

One of the main reasons we go to CES early is to attend the Storage Visions conference. This is the third year we’ve covered the conference just before the CES Show and it gets bigger each year. Once again it’s at the Riviera Hotel, just a stone’s throw from our hotel so that makes it very convenient for us to attend. Two of the organizers are Andy Marken and Tracy Laidlaw and they always do an excellent job.

There’s hardly anything less exciting than the materials and strategies for storing and backing up your digital files. Until something goes wrong. Then the lack of access becomes a central emergency in your life. The Storage Visions Conference is the place where the people who are planning how to keep us in touch with our exploding data and communication needs confer annually to share the current state of the art and guide the vision for next steps in the industry.

Millenniata had a truly unique product on display. Their M-Disc were developed in conjunction with LG and provides truly lifetime data storage. Unlike normal storage media, the M-Disc doesn’t use magnetic fields like many discs or organic dyes like regular DVD drives. The M-Discs are
actually physically altered to make a permanent record that never changes. Your data is literally chiseled in stone. Millenniata won the
Consumer Storage Award for Visionary Storage and it is well deserved.

We loved meeting Chuck and appreciate his write-up. Be sure to head on over to his site for other computer related chronicles!

M-DISC is on display today in booth #8 at Storage Visions and in the LG booth #8204 in Central Hall during CES Jan. 10-13.

“We are pleased to be recognized with this award,” said Scott Shumway, Millenniata CEO. “It recognizes the need of permanent storage across many different industries and applications, and is a true testament of the devotion and innovation displayed by our developers, employees, partners and investors.”

Millenniata received the award Sunday during the 11th Annual Storage Visions Conference. The conference features sessions on media and entertainment technology, consumer electronics, computer applications and all aspects of digital storage.

In August 2011, Millenniata launched the new optical disc technology ushering in a new era of information storage with its M-DISC and M-READY disc storage—technology that permanently etches data onto the write layer of the disc for use anytime and for generations to come without data lost.

Millenniata also entered into a manufacturing and marketing partnership with Hitachi-LG Data Storage, Inc. to manufacture M-DISC compatible DVD drives under the LG brand.

The M-DISC will not degrade over time and is usable on a daily basis. M-DISC is a perfect storage solution for music, photos, videos, genealogical records, business records, data loss prevention, permanent file backup, medical imaging, government usage, and for archival purposes.

M-DISC optical discs are currently available through all of Millenniata’s retail, reseller and distributor partners and through the Millenniata website. LG-branded M-DISC compatible DVD drives are available immediately from newegg.com. Drive availability will steadily increase throughout 2012.

The M-DISC is the first backward compatible non-dye based DVD optical technology constructed of inorganic materials that are known to last centuries. M-DISC compatible drives are a high quality optical drive specifically designed to laser-etch digital information onto the M-DISC. This combination allows information to be written once and read over time and offers the best permanent data storage solution in the industry.

A panel of industry experts and journalists will serve as judges. For each product category, the judges will give priority to the product/service or company’s role in fulfilling the vision of a digitally-connected universe of products and services. For complex products, judges may require access to physically inspect and review a demonstration by a company representative or designee. When possible, samples of products are useful for the judging.

Below, you can read the press release about the Storage Visions Conference and other finalists.

2012 Storage Visions Conference Announces Annual Visionary Awards Finalists

– New Sponsors and Exhibitors are Kroll OnTrack, Oracle, Panzura and PureSilicon—

San Jose, CA—December 20, 2011—The Eleventh Annual Storage Visions Conference held at the Riviera Hotel Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 8 & 9, 2012, features great sessions on media and entertainment technology, consumer electronics, computer applications and all aspects of digital storage with the theme of “Heavy Storage for Thin Clients.”  More information is available on the conference at www.storagevisions.com.

The finalist products and companies for the annual Storage Visions Visionary Awards are listed below.  Congratulations to the award finalists!  As usual we had more great product and company submissions for all of these award categories than ever before.  The award winner announcements and trophy presentations will be done at the conference reception the evening of January 8, 2012 in the exhibit hall of the conference.  In addition to the award presentation there will be many great door prizes from our sponsors and exhibitors given out at the reception as well as other times during the conference.

Finalists for Visionary Products Awards: 

• Mobile Consumer Electronics Storage
  • Kingston Technology Wi-Drive
  • SanDisk and Asus Customized SSD Form Factor
  • Hitachi Global Storage Technology G-Connect

Home Consumer Electronics Storage

• Digistore Solutions Centurion DiscHub Blu-ray
• Netgear ReadyNAS Duo V2 and NV+v2
• Samsung Semiconductor USB SE 2088W-Smartlink
• Consumer Storage Device
  • Millenniata M-DISC
  • OCZ Technology RevoDrive Hybrid
  • Other World Computing Mercury Aura Pro Express 6G SSD
• Enabling Consumer Storage Technology
  • Datalight Reliance Nitro
  • Micron RealSSD C400 Self Encrypted Drive
  • Lexar Media Crutial Cache Solution
• Enabling Professional Storage Technology
  • DataDirect Networks Web Object Scalar
  • Hitachi Data Systems Content Platform
  • Alactritech ANX 1500 NFS Acceleration Appliance
• Media and Entertainment System
  • Rorke Data Aurora with HyperFS
  • Nuvel NDT
  • CET Universe Constellation VCM with Archive Station
• Media and Entertainment Storage
  • Amplidata Amplistor
  • SeaChange Universal Media Library
  • Thought Equity Motion T3 Library Manager

Finalists for Visionary Company Awards:

• Visionary Home Consumer Electronics Company
  • OCZ Technology
  • SanDisk
  • Visionary Mobile Consumer Electronics Company
    • Samsung
    • Intel
    • Visionary Media and Entertainment Company
      • Violin Memory
      • IBM

Finalists for Art of Storage Award:

• Hitachi Global Storage Technology 8 TB G-RAID with Thunderbolt
• iTwin Plug and Play USB Device
• Kingston Technology Wi-Drive

Other SV 2012 sponsors and exhibitors are, Platinum:  Intel, Micron and SanDisk (also the SV 2012 bag sponsor).  Our Gold and lanyard sponsor is Toshiba.  Silver sponsors include Flexstar, Imation, NVELO, OCZ Technology and Samsung (reception and registration sponsor).  Bronze sponsors include Amplidata, Atempo, Brightsign, Cadence, DataDirect Networks, Datalight, SNIA SSSI, Thought Equity Motion and the Trusted Computing Group.  Exhibitors are Active Storage, DigiStore Solutions, Drive Savers, Dynamite Data, For-A, ioSafe, MemoRight, Millenniata, Philips LiteOn, Recycle Your Media, SATA-io and Xendata.   Our official News Wire sponsor is PR Newswire (VPO).

Our many organization and media sponsors can be found on the conference web site.

I often get questions about how to store digital image files safely and securely. Although there have been a lot of options, all of them have involved compromises. Recently, however, one of our readers told me about Millenniata, and I immediately looked into this new American company. I found that Millenniata has a new DVD disc technology that provides “more than” archival life expectancy, as established by the US Department of Defense’s Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Divison at China Lake, California.

After getting a hands-on look at the M-DISC and a new LG Drive, David was impressed by the noticeable visual differences, as well as, the incredibly quiet and smooth operation of the drive. Examining the M-DISC he said, “It is the same size as a typical DVD and will run and read with most DVD drives, but it looks very different. It is a clear, see-through grayish disc, looking much like a neutral density filter.” The drive that David tested was the LG BE12LU30, our top-end drive that records M-DISCs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs. To be sure no data was altered during the burn process and that his photographs stayed crisp and beautiful, he tested several M-DISCs and accessed the data using a number of different drives. “The [LG BE12LU30 drive] I used was very quiet and smooth, one of the best DVD/CD drives I have used…Checking the files recorded on the M-DISC against the originals, I could not find any differences in the content.”

The M-DISC is truly more impressive once you’ve had a chance to hold a disc, examine it for yourself and preserve your data for generations to come. David concluded by saying,

Considering the investment, especially if not a Blu-ray drive, is modest and the $3 M-DISC cost is also competitive with a standard DVD-R, it is not a great risk, so anyone who wants their photographic files preserved for those in the future is not held back by cost. Even without the Department of Defense’s testing and favorable report, I would take Millenniata seriously. By the time I use up my stock of gold-gold CD-R discs, I will be ordering an LG drive and a supply of M-DISCs.

If you would like to read the full article check out http://www.shutterbug.com/ or head on over to your local bookstore and pick up a hard copy of the magazine.

SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 1, 2011— Millenniata today announced it has entered into an OEM and distribution agreement with Systor Systems who will distribute M-DISCs to its customers and channel as well as provide M-DISC compatible duplication systems allowing for the mass duplication of permanent content on M-DISCs.

“We are very pleased to count Systor among our growing list of partners who will bring permanent storage solutions to a greater number of people throughout the world,” said Scott Shumway, Millenniata CEO. “Their experience and relationships with top government divisions and departments will be invaluable.”

Systor distributes and sells its products in North America, Europe and Korea and specializes in providing content duplication technology to education, U.S. Department of Defense, military, and other government and corporate organizations. The company will be releasing seven different M-DISC compatible duplication systems.

“Many of our customers are currently plagued with the need to migrate their information to new discs every five years or so,” said Young Yeun, president of Systor Systems. “M-DISC associated with our duplication systems will make it easier for our customers to permanently save their content and data and drastically reduce the frequency of on-going migration.”

Whether for duplication, music, photos, videos, genealogical records, business records, data loss prevention, permanent file backup, medical imaging, government or archive, M-DISC provides long-lasting storage by literally etching data into a rock-like material. The M-DISC will not degrade over time and is usable on a daily basis.

Millenniata, Inc. is based in Salt Lake City. The company’s patented technology is the world’s first permanent digital storage solution and is composed of the M-DISC™ and M-DISC compatible drives. The M-DISC is the first backward compatible non-dye based DVD optical technology constructed of inorganic materials that are known to last centuries. This combination allows information to be written once and read over time and offers the best permanent data storage solution in the industry.

Systor Systems provides optical disc media including M-DISC, automated disc publishers and manual standalone duplicators with competitive pricing and leading customer and technical service.

Your method of data preservation is one of two key conclusions in her thinking. But lets assume we’ve solved those issues with the M-DISC, that based on the China Lake Study you can be confident that your data will be preserved for up to 1000 years. The second key is what transforms us into curators. Kari says, “We generate over 1.8 zettabytes of digital information a year. By some estimates, that’s nearly 30 million times the amount of information contained in all the books ever published. Even if we had perfectly stable storage, could we ever have enough to preserve everything?” Her answer, no. But that’s because our preservation practices mimic those used for hundreds of years to preserve paper archives. In the past, preserving paper archives started only after the document had been used–a type of retirement system. Kari believes that data should not follow this method, the decision whether to save the object should be made during its useful lifespan or better yet, along side its creation. She makes the powerful statement, “We must replace digital preservation with digital curation.” In this manner, truly valuable data won’t be lost because the only attempt to save it occurred after its lifespan. As a model that follows this method she refers to the fans of retro video games, saying;

In the face of negligence from the game industry, fans of “Super Mario Bros.” and “Pac-Man” have been creating homegrown solutions to collecting, documenting, reading and rendering games, creating an evolving archive of game history. They coordinate efforts and share the workload — sometimes in formal groups, sometimes as loose collectives. Nor does the data just sit around. These are gamers, after all, so they are constantly engaged with the files. In the process, they update them, create duplicates and fix bugs.

It may seem trivial, but these fans are tackling the issue of keeping old and outdated data alive and accessible before it’s too late. You may question the relevance of saving a game, but you wouldn’t question saving your family’s genealogical data and is exactly where this method of thinking can be applied. Take the initiative to curate your most precious data so that when the time comes, you won’t be asking yourself “where did I put those pictures of Grandma Susan,” or “I’m pretty sure I saved those documents in my email somewhere.” Preservation should be seen as an active endeavor, a form of constant personal curation.

If you would like to read Kari Krauss’ article, When Data Disappears, please click here.

FamilySearch.org understands this dilemma. They offer you the tools to help you find out about your lineage, and now they have delved into the debate of data preservation. We weren’t surprised to see the M-DISC as part of their solution, but their research goes beyond stroking our ego. FamilySearch.org discusses all the benefits and challenges we will face as we attempt to preserve the past indefinitely.

While gathering family history records over the years, you’ve probably been preserving them physically. So why consider preserving them digitally now?

This paper discusses the benefits and challenges of using digital preservation to both augment and enhance the preservation of your family history records. It also presents solutions to the challenges, identifies what types of family history records are suitable for digital preservation, and summarizes what is required to get started archiving digital records.

We encourage you to read the full article by clicking here.

Etched In Stone

We live in a digital world. Precious family photos that once would’ve been recorded on film now exist as digital files. Important documents can now be disseminated and stored with the push of a button, and mp3 technology has forever altered the way we listen to and share our music. What once took up many square feet of storage space in closets and on bookshelves can now be easily stored on computer hard drives, CDs, and DVDs. But just how secure is that data?

Hard drives have been known to crash, taking their data with them. Recovering it can be a costly and frustrating experience. And if you think burning your data onto CDs or DVDs will protect it forever, you’re sadly mistaken. Most experts seem to agree that the lifespan of your run-of-the-mill recordable CD or DVD could be less than 10 years, even if they’re properly stored and protected from the harmful effects of things like UV rays and high temperature and humidity.

The main problem with conventional CD-Rs and DVD-Rs is the layer of organic dye upon which the data is written. This dye degrades normally over time, and exposure to UV rays and high temperature/humidity will accelerate the process, eventually making the data unreadable. Another problem that can affect conventional CD-Rs and DVD-Rs is the material used for the reflective surface, which can be aluminum, silver, silver alloy, or gold. Of these, only gold does not corrode and lose some of its reflectivity, affecting data retrieval. For that reason, it is currently considered the standard for archival CDs and DVDs. But gold is expensive, less reflective than silver, and there is still the problem of dye degeneration. So how can you make sure your data is safe?

A new company called Millenniata has developed technology that may solve that problem. The new technology is called M-READY™ and unlike CD and DVD technology, it etches, rather than burns, data onto the write layer of a DVD-like disc called an M-DISC™. Although the company won’t reveal exactly what materials are used in their M-DISCs, they claim they’re more chemically stable and heat resistant than the materials used in conventional CDs and DVDs. The real key to their longevity, however, is the recording technology, which uses higher temperatures and a laser that’s up to 5-times more powerful than those used in conventional DVD writers to physically engrave data onto an M-DISC’s inorganic layer. It does this by creating tiny voids or holes, called “pits,” rather than simply burning it onto a layer of dye. The folks at Millenniata liken the process to etching the data in stone.

Physically altering the inorganic material means the data layer cannot fade or degrade over time, so theoretically that data should be accessible for as long as the disc survives, barring any physical damage. The question then becomes, how long can a disc survive? According to data compiled by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the substrate materials used in most CDs and DVDs should last for 1,000 years.

To test their technology, Millenniata recently had the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at China Lake, CA conduct a series of accelerated life tests on their M-DISC, as well as five other brands of conventional archival-quality DVDs, for data longevity and reliability. The M-DISC was the only test specimen that showed no data loss or degradation.

Since writing data to an M-DISC requires higher temperatures and a more powerful laser than conventional CDs or DVDs, using the technology will require new hardware. Millennniata has addressed this issue by partnering with Hitachi-LG Data Storage to manufacture M-READY compatible DVD drives. The demo unit they sent us for evaluation was little more than a modified Blu-Ray disc writer, which is kind of ironic because they don’t have a Blu-Ray version of the M-DISC ready for release yet (it’s coming), but that’s not important. What is important is that any conventional DVD player can read the data on an M-DISC. Equally important is the projected cost of an M-DISC, which should be comparable to a conventional archival-quality DVD.

M-DISC technology is scheduled to hit retail store shelves this year, just in time for the Christmas shopping season no doubt. Will it be a game changer or significantly alter the way we think about data storage? As with most technology, only time will tell. In this case, we have about a thousand years to find out.