I know everybody is advocating transferring your tapes to DVD, BUT... As a computer geek/guru, I must tell you that the lifespan of "recorded" DVDs is unknown, but probably much shorter than everyone assumes. One highly regarded computer security specialist recently stated that they may be good for 2-3 years, possibly 5 years, but should never be used for "critical" data beyond that. Yes, I realize your tapes are probably not "critical data", but bear with me. I think someone would consider their wedding video to be critical data. Commercial movie DVDs are stamped out. It's a physical process, like embossing. "Recordable" DVDs use a dye, which changes its reflectivity when "burnt" by a laser. The longevity of this dye is questionable. The lifespan of a VHS tape is another story. If kept in a temperature-controlled, humidity-controlled environemnt (not a garage!), maybe 10-20 years before deterioration. The answer? There is no good answer. The original Declaration of Independence is fully legible after 230 years. A copy of it on a DVD or VHS tape 230 years from now: probably unviewable. Another question: will anyone have a VHS tape deck or a DVD player 10 or 20 years from now? Will analog TV signals be playable, since switching to digital TV is mandatory in just a few years? How many of you have a 5 1/4 floppy disk drive? See the problem? This is an enormous problem which librarians are facing now. Microfilm machines? Microfiche? How about a disk from a WANG word processor from 20 years ago? An 8" floppy disk? I know I've gotten a little carried away, but all electronic media need to be copied to a new format every 5-10 years, because the formats fall out of usage. Got any out-of-print 8-track tapes? If it hasn't been reissued, then once that tape dies, IT'S GONE...FOREVER. I'm sure glad that the Declaration of Independence wasn't written on a word processor!

Ive heard the same thing about CD's. And I too doubt that those Gold CD's were first produced in 1977 so they could begin testing.... I usually back up my full size images onto an external HD (they are VERY affordable now, and some can hold up to 500GB), and then resize them and keep my smaller ones on my internal HD It really is a fear of mine to have all the pics I have taken get wiped out... I would look into the external HD...

I saw on HGTV where they took a set of the small indoor window type shutters, re-screwed them so they formed a box, added a bottom and had a CD storage cabinet. I think it was acutally on the show called Trash to Treasure. It even had a knob on it already as they used the knob used to hook the shutters closed. Alice

I purchased a CD case (tall and narrow, made out of wood) from Ikea. It's really nice, but you do see the DVDs. I like the fact that it is very narrow so you don't notice it as much. I don't think I paid over $75.00 for it. If you don't have Ikea by you I believe they have a catalog that you can order from. If you really don't like to look at them you should purchase a closed cabinet. Ikea also has those. Here is a link that might be useful: Christy's Thrifty Decorating