"David X" wrote:

Overall, I get the impression that HDDs are a far better and cheaper way of
backing up data for the home user.

Overall I get the impression all your observations are biased towards
reaching your impression.

Assuming you already have a DVD writer the per GB cost of DVD media is
about 1/5th that of hard drives.

That said, media cost is one of many considerations and only becomes
significant when you have a real lot of data. Both media have significant
pros and cons, there is no clear winner. Personally I use both.