[travelinsong]

I'll just say that more than half of my shows are on DVDr or CDR...
They will last longer on good media than on a HD... when you need to change it you simply burn a new disc of all the old info..

Saving on Hard Drives is risky business and NOT recommended - EVER..
Temporary space is all they are..
shutting them down and only using when needed doesn't seem safe as an electronic device.. ALL electronics FAIL at some point..... period.