CD or DVD Media Typical Lifespan

The Typical Lifespan of a CD is 3 years!
The Typical Lifespan of a DVD is ...

With proper care it is thought that CD-Rs should be readable one thousand times or more and have a shelf life of three to five years. Common handling practices can reduce shelf life to only one or two years. This seems to be the standard for DVD's also; however there are many variables that can come in to play...

When cleaning a CD: Dust can be removed from a CD's surface using compressed air or by very lightly wiping the information side with a very soft cloth (such as an eyeglass cleaning cloth) from the center of the disc in an outward direction. Fingerprints or stubborn dust can be removed from the information surface by wiping it with a cloth dampened with diluted dish detergent (then rinsing) or alcohol (methylated spirits or isopropyl alcohol) and again wiping from the center outwards, with a very soft cloth (non-linting : polyester, nylon, etc.). It is harmful, however, to use acetone, nail polish remover, kerosene, petrol/gasoline, or any other type of petroleum-based solvent to clean a CD-R; the use of petroleum based solvents will damage the polycarbonate surface and the CD-R will become unreadable.

MAM-A estimates their Gold label CD-R's have a life-span of 300 years and the silver CD-R's of about 50 years. Other discs that they have tested look like they'll fail in 2 years or less.
Due to differences in organic dyes between CDs and DVD's, Gold label DVD's have a lab-rated life-span of 100 years, if handled properly. MAM-A silver label CDs and DVD's can start to degrade after 20-30 years.

MAM-A also recommends to improve data integrity and compatibility, burn your disks more slowly. Burn CDs at 16x speed and DVD's at 2x speed.

The Real Culprit
If you have purchased quality media from a quality manufacturer, you are still not assured of 50-100 years of data life!

You are the greatest danger to the data longevity of your personal, family and business information that is stored on CD and DVD. Direct exposure to sunlight and intense heat can do dramatic damage. Rapid changes in temperature and humidity can stress the materials. Gravity can bend and stress the discs. Fingerprints and smudges can do more damage than scratches.
But by following a few Do's and Don'ts you can ensure your precious family and friend pictures, movies, family records and business files have the maximum data life.

Do
* Handle discs by the outer edge or the center hole
* Use a non solvent-based felt-tip permanent marker to mark the label side of the disc
* Keep dirt or other foreign matter from the disc
* Store discs upright (book style) in original jewel cases that are specified for CDs and DVDs
* Return discs to their jewel cases immediately after use
* Leave discs in their spindle or jewel case to minimize the effects of environmental changes
* Remove the shrink wrap only when you are ready to record data on the disc
* Store in a cool, dry, dark environment in which the air is clean -- relative humidity should be in the range 20% - 50% (RH) and temperature should be in the range 4°C - 20°C
* Remove dirt, foreign material, fingerprints, smudges, and liquids by wiping with a clean cotton fabric in a straight line from the center of the disc toward the outer edge
* Use deionized (best), distilled or soft tap water to clean your discs. For tough problems use diluted dish detergent or rubbing alcohol. Rinse and dry thoroughly with a lint-free cloth or photo lens tissue
* Check the disc surface before recording

Do not
* Touch the surface of the disc
* Bend the disc
* Store discs horizontally for a long time (years)
* Open a recordable optical disc package if you are not ready to record
* Expose discs to extreme heat or high humidity
* Expose discs to extreme rapid temperature or humidity changes
* Expose recordable discs to prolonged sunlight or other sources of UV light
* Write or mark in the data area of the disc (area where the laser "reads")
* Clean in a circular direction around the disc.
* Reliable Medium There is a lot of cheap CDR and DVDR media that has marginal quality. For some applications like games, quality isn't critical. For irreplaceable, vital data like family photos, special events, vacations and family/friends memories quality does matter. If you are backing up mission critical data on your home or business computer, quality matters. Then it is important to select a brand of media that will keep your data safe, secure and available for years to come.

Quality and low prices just don't seem to mix!

The next step to long-term data reliability is to handle and store the media with the respect your data deserves.

RESOURCES:
http://www.audioholics.com/education/audio-formats-technology/cd-and-dvd-longevity-how-long-will-they-last

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/107607/Storage_expert_warns_of_short_life_span_for_burned_CDs
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD-R#Expected_lifespan
http://www.larryjordan.biz/articles/lj_dvd_life.html
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_lifespan_of_a_DVD