Message-Id: <mailto:199505082208.RAA18505@library.wustl.edu> Date: Mon, 8 May 1995 14:57:08 -0800 From: Brian Sullivan <mailto:bsullivan@GETTY.EDU> Subject: Re: digital image tape storage -Reply To: Multiple recipients of list IMAGELIB
A few comments....be sure to evaluate all your costs in choosing between CDs and tape (DAT and Exabyte).
#Playback hardware cost of CD's is significantly lower than that for DATs. A 10 workstation DAT configuration may cost $8000 more than CDs. #Access and retrieval time for DATs is significantly lower than CDs. (There are significant hidden cost is using DATs) #Permanence of DATs is lower than that of CDs #Information on a CD is more accessible across multiple platforms. (Tape media is usually platform specific and requires proprietary commercial backup/restore software).
If you have 100GB of data, the media cost for CDs will be a few thousand dollars more than that for DATs and this difference will decrease in the next few years as higher density becomes more prevalent. So what's the better deal? It depends.
Brian Sullivan Getty Information Resources