Ask geophysicists or people dealing with geophysical data. Storing on tape is pretty much industry standard, and drives are upgraded now and then for better speed and data density.
Source: We sold off a bunch of TS1150 a couple of years ago after upgrading.
Ebay
I didn't not used to work at Human-I-T
Can't vouch for being tested. Usually tested to power on If not otherwise listed for as/is etc.
Who are we?
We are digital librarians. Among us are represented the various reasons to keep data -- legal requirements, competitive requirements, uncertainty of permanence of cloud services, distaste for transmitting your data externally (e.g. government or corporate espionage), cultural and familial archivists, internet collapse preppers, and people who do it themselves so they're sure it's done right. Everyone has their reasons for curating the data they have decided to keep (either forever or For A Damn Long Time). Along the way we have sought out like-minded individuals to exchange strategies, war stories, and cautionary tales of failures.
We are one. We are legion. And we're trying really hard not to forget.
-- 5-4-3-2-1-bang from this thread