The longetivity is similar to CDs if I remember correctly. Like a hundred years or something like that. I have had my CD writers since the first generation and they are still running good. The DVD writer is only a few months old and my first one. I have burned about 2 dozen DVDs I guess, some for me and some for work. They all run without trouble on my PCs, notebooks, and other people's PCs etc. I just like the consolidation of so many CDs onto one DVD.