DVD Rot

[Rob Compton]

Originally Posted by ChristineCB I fear the tape-gobbling capability of both the VCR, the cassette's rollers and the tape itself. Whatever quality differences between DVDs and tapes becomes minor at that point. I have more fear of losing valued tapes than I have of disc problems. I was joking about our 3,000-odd titles. At 4.3Gb per title, I'd need 12,900 Gb (12.9 terrabytes) to store our files on hard-disks. That's a pretty hefty array, and, frankly, disk-arrays have their own problems! So, I'd want to duplicate a disc-array onto another set. That's two sets of 12.9-tb disc arrays. Then, just when I realized the magnitude of this, Hitachi announces it has the technology to build single-platter 5-tb drives. Three of those - er, six of those - should let me do that. And about six years to copy all those DVDs.

That's interesting, Christine - I think my problem is about the same size as yours

What we need is some kind of "fast copy" similar to the high speed dubbing facility you may recall for copying cassette tapes. However, I guess that's only possible when you've already captured the data digitally...?

rgds
Rob

[MarkG]

Fortunately in about five years a ten terabyte hard disk will cost about 100 quid, so backing up hundreds of 'rotting' DVDs won't be a problem. Even today I'm planning to upgrade my PC to over two terabytes of disk space soon.

I haven't seen any examples of DVD rot, but a few of my CDs from the 80s have been rotting around the edges. Luckily the data starts at the centre, so the rot hasn't reached it yet.

Meanwhile, I can't play many of the VHS tapes I recorded in the 80s at all... my modern VCR just can't handle the poor tracking of the old one it was recorded on.

[tvden]

Originally Posted by MarkG Fortunately in about five years a ten terabyte hard disk will cost about 100 quid, so backing up hundreds of 'rotting' DVDs won't be a problem. Even today I'm planning to upgrade my PC to over two terabytes of disk space soon. I haven't seen any examples of DVD rot, but a few of my CDs from the 80s have been rotting around the edges. Luckily the data starts at the centre, so the rot hasn't reached it yet. Meanwhile, I can't play many of the VHS tapes I recorded in the 80s at all... my modern VCR just can't handle the poor tracking of the old one it was recorded on.

I Had this problem with not being able to play my old tapes, so I bought a few older machines from bootsales including a couple of toploaders which I can then use to transfer to disc but I am hanging on to all my vhs tapes in case of disc rot

[inquisitorial]

It's true, DVD rot does exist......

I have a two disc copy limited edition of Terminator 1 released in 2001 which has been played once and kept in its box and sleeve ever since. I opened it for my kids to watch the other day and the discs have become sticky and unplayable.

[Amethyst_Isle]

The first issue of Silence of the Lambs suffered with this dvd rot too.

[maturin]

I got two copies of Moonstruck (big Cher fan, me) for my birthday four years ago. Gave one to a friend recently still wrapped in plastic and when he opened it the DVD had delaminated. It's not an uncommon problem here in Thailand with locally produced discs. I've had dreadfully abused discs which played fine, but the Rot is out there! Be warned, the End is nigh.

[batman]

Originally Posted by maturin The Rot is out there!

I've never had The Rot!

[ron7885]

a lot depends on how you store your dvd's. Make sure they are in their original containers,keep them away from sudden changes in temperatures,example-heating units and air conditioning units. keep them away from areas where their is a lot of humidity. I keep my collection away from the windows where their is no direct light or humidity. Also,keep them in upright position. If you have a dvd recorder,only buy major brand dvd recording disks. Stay away from the so-called white box cheap brands. You get what you pay for. The other night,I played two dvd's that were about 7 years old.and I saw no deteriation. Also,over the last few years,picture quality has improved.

[Aaryk Noctivagus]

Originally Posted by inquisitorial It's true, DVD rot does exist...... I have a two disc copy limited edition of Terminator 1 released in 2001 which has been played once and kept in its box and sleeve ever since. I opened it for my kids to watch the other day and the discs have become sticky and unplayable.

I do not know what causes this but it is not DVD rot. This happened to my copy of 'The Terminator' also... I washed it with a very soft cloth with hand soap and warm water and have had no problem with it since.

If you do not fancy such a risk... you can get DVD cleaning kits. All your DVD needs is to have the sticky stuff washed off its surface... after you do that it will play great (so long as you take care not to scratch it in the process). The sticky stuff did not return - at least not yet.

All the sticky stuff does is to blur/diffuse the laser light... just clean it off

[stevie boy]

Originally Posted by Aaryk Noctivagus I do not know what causes this but it is not DVD rot. This happened to my copy of 'The Terminator' also... I washed it with a very soft cloth with hand soap and warm water and have had no problem with it since. If you do not fancy such a risk... you can get DVD cleaning kits. All your DVD needs is to have the sticky stuff washed off its surface... after you do that it will play great (so long as you take care not to scratch it in the process). The sticky stuff did not return - at least not yet. All the sticky stuff does is to blur/diffuse the laser light... just clean it off

Hi Aaryk, not seen you on here lately, I hope all is well.

[David Brent]

Originally Posted by batman I've never had The Rot!

I've had the gallops.

Dave.

[ollie]

If you get data loss on any discs, all maybe not be lost, ISOBUSTER (data recovery system) can be found as a free download and recover so called lost data,so if you've got a disc that goes Tit's don't bin it try this prog.

all the best cheers Ollie.

[Amethyst_Isle]

Originally Posted by ollie If you get data loss on any discs, all maybe not be lost, ISOBUSTER (data recovery system) can be found as a free download and recover so called lost data,so if you've got a disc that goes Tit's don't bin it try this prog. all the best cheers Ollie.

What if you have a disc that you have recorded off tv but has not been finalized (due to a dodgy disc maybe ) can this programme be recovered ?

[Fellwanderer]

Originally Posted by Amethyst_Isle What if you have a disc that you have recorded off tv but has not been finalized (due to a dodgy disc maybe ) can this programme be recovered ?

As it happens, just yesterday I was checking some old dvds and found a couple that hadn't been finalised. The replacement dvd recorder was happy to finalise them.

[MrT]

If a disc fails to read it is not necessarily a rogue disc - both dvd recorders and players can become unreliable after a fair amount of use, and my experience is that they can also become very erratic - one day they will read a particular disc and then reject it maybe even later the same day. A dvd lens cleaner can help if a disc is read but starts freezing or skipping chapters, but if it fails to boot up it is more likely a fault with the laser unit. I have built up a huge dvd collection since 2003 of both commercial pressed discs as well as home burnt +r and -r discs and I have not noticed any real problems with disc failure. The advice to store discs in optimum conditions is of course sound (we would do the same for our precious VHS tapes wouldn't we?) but if you suddenly think you are experiencing dvd rot it could be more likely that you are suffering from dvd PLAYER/RECORDER rot. These units do not seem to have longevity in their genes.

Mike (MrT)