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Small M.2 SSD (solid-state drives) are increasingly replacing HDD (hard disk drives) in new PCs for file storage.

SSD is proven to be better for video editing, but what about video storage? Is a PC with 2 SSDs (1 for editing, 1 for storage) better than a PC with 1 HDD (for storage) and 1 SSD (for editing)?

In terms of your valuable video files being safe from data loss, corruption or fragmentation. For the purpose of safe storage.

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  • fragmentation is rather irrelevant when talking about storage. In fact fragmentation is less of an issue with the filesystems used these days
    – Dr Mayhem ♦
    Commented Apr 5, 2023 at 19:14
  • are you saying because the filesystems these days are SSD instead of HDD?
    – user610620
    Commented Apr 5, 2023 at 22:17
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    SSD and HDD are not filesystems
    – Dr Mayhem ♦
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 9:14

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I agree with Tetsujin's answer - I would not use SSD for long term storage. I've already had scenarios where I've gone to read data of stored SSDs, and found them not readable. I'm yet to encounter this on any external HDD I have parked away (but would not be surprised if I have some dead ones in my archive at this point).

If the footage is particularly valuable, I would keep at least 2 copies in different mediums, and check them at regular intervals. All my important material sits on network storage (NAS), which has disk redundancy within the unit. My primary NAS is backed up to a secondary NAS, and then I have a set of backup disks that I plug in at various intervals, which also keep a backup of the same data. I also keep some data backed up to the cloud (Dropbox, Backblaze), but those services come with a cost - it's a more limited backup.

I also have tons of raw footage that I don't ever expect to need again, which just sits around on external drives - again, HDD, not SSD. I would not trust SSD with anything important, how many other backups you keep depends on how important the material is to you, and how long you want to keep it safe.

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  • Actually have some footage on DVD-RWs that haven't played in 5 years. Are DVD-RWs safe for long-term storage?
    – user610620
    Commented May 10, 2023 at 18:31
  • Unfortunately NOT. Writeable media depends on the quality of the media, I've had CDs burned 30 years ago that still read, I've had others fail within 12 months (different brands). These days I trust the NAS more than anything, because of the disk redundancy within the unit, and because I cycle the disks before failure regardless - HDDs generally last 5 years safely, and I don't keep any older than that. My most valuable data also sits in the cloud, but remember companies make mistakes or go bust, so don't make that your only copy either.
    – Peter Barton
    Commented May 10, 2023 at 23:47
  • Is data recovery possible for DVD-RWs like corrupted USB flash drives?
    – user610620
    Commented May 11, 2023 at 21:37
  • Once damaged/degraded, any data on the damaged portion of the disc is gone. There are methods to recover the still readable portions of the disc, see superuser.com/questions/508679/… for options, but that's the best you would be able to do.
    – Peter Barton
    Commented May 12, 2023 at 4:34
  • by damaged/degraded, I do not mean physical damage. A DVD-RW with absolutely no physical damage, never played for 5 years, sealed in disc container, super mint condition. Still it can result in data loss?
    – user610620
    Commented May 13, 2023 at 4:17
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There's a lot of technical data on this, if you research…

In broad strokes, once you've disconnected it & put it on a shelf for long-term storage an HD will last a lot longer than an SSD.

Here's one very simple citation from a reputable data recovery company [no tech details, you'd have to look up the research if you need more]
Data Recovery Specialists - The lifespan of HDDs vs SSDs

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