DVD-R

The DVD format for movies was released in 1996 and a year later the DVD-R format (Digital Versatile Disc Recordable) was released by Pioneer with the ability to record your own computer data. Apple released the SuperDrive in 2001, which was the first affordable optical drive that could burn DVD-R discs. The ability to record 4.7GB of data on a $10 disc was groundbreaking and prices continued to drop in the following years.

No digital cameras ever stored photos directly to DVD, but many people backed up their digital photo collections on optical media including DVD-R discs. Unfortunately, most DVD-R media relies on organic dyes which can degrade in as little as 18 months.

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