jonasredant

I have DVD’s, although they play correctly, they have a large stain on the reading surface.
It looks like a coffee stain. According to sources on the web this is due to DVD-ROT and the
stain means that corrosion has started and the DVD will become unreadable in the future.
But according to the shops were I bought the DVD’s nothing is wrong. About 1/3 of my DVD’s
has such coffee stains, they can't be all defective. What is going on ? Please some help

I someone has knowledge of DVD discs give me your e-mail adress by posting it on forum or contact me on jonas10.redant@belgacom.net

Vincent Broadhead

I read somewhere that some discs get this problem. The worst case I had was Tim Burton's 'Sleepy Hollow' which had the same stain although it was tacky to touch on the underside, a guy advised me to wash the disc with warm water and wipe it with a smooth cloth - I did this and it removed the tacky stain. I'm not advising that you do this, at all as mine was an extreme case. Apparently a lot of the staining is due to inks from the label not setting right. I heard also that there is no such thing as so called DVD rot, and that it is a complete myth - but I'm willing to bite the bullet if I'm wrong.

;)

Steve

sheriff_bart

i think what you are refering to is De-Lamination.
This occurs when the two parts of the disc start to separate due to the bonding process.
A few years ago manufacturers admitted here was a problem with this but just lately seem to deny all knowledge.
here is an interesting article i found on the subject

A bad case of DVD rot eats into movie collections - smh.com.au


all the best:)

sippog

"Things fall apart" as old WB put it. I don't believe there is ever going to be a medium that's a 100 percent reliable.

Because hard drives are now so (relatively) cheap and such massive sizes, I can see a time where your movie collection could be backed up onto one - especially if they come up with a smarter format than mpeg.

In the meantime, here's a couple of rules of thumb that I try to follow when it comes to archived DVD-R stuff:

Make several backups of your most precious material.

Use only the best brands you can afford. Ones that you trust. Nearly all the problems I've had have been with specific brands.

Never, for example, buy DVD-R "cakes" of a 100. It's a false economy. The weight of the discs causes crushing and crumbling at the edges. 50 is the maximum I will buy.

Remember DVDs are not as tough as CDs. Ideally you should store them in DVD cases away from direct sunlight. CD jewel cases and envelopes are not the best way to keep them, though I admit a fair proportion of my less crucial material is stored that way.

Finally: be generous and maintain good relations with other collectors and do lots of trading. Look on it as a resource. If your own copy of something fails or develops problems, then you might be able to borrow back theirs.

Sippog

Oh, I nearly forgot: cross your fingers and pray!

Cheeky Bob

I have a copy of Fantasia (purchased 2000 or thereabouts) that has a perfect illustration of this problem - in that the first half of the film plays perfectly, but the second half is virtually unwatchable: blocky picture, random freeze-frames, etc. I'd hazard a guess that things start to go wrong shortly after the layer change.

Vincent Broadhead

I don't think tanning of discs is nessesarily means rot, I have a load that have gone bronze in colour on the underside and play as good as they did when I bought them, it just seems to be isolated cases, like my 'Sleepy Hollow', although the de-lamination process stopped once I had cleaned the disc. I have a copy of 'Fantasia' tooand it is bronzed/tanned on the underside too, but plays fine, I'd give it a clean with a soft cloth Bob and see if that works.

Try this link:Debunking the Myth of CD/DVD Rot Enterprise Networks & Servers - Find Articles

Steve

Jim

I've got that one! I'll check it out now!! AND I gave my video tape away after I bought the DVD - bugger!

Good morning boys.

Vincent Broadhead

It's only a concern Jimbo, if you bought the film in it's initial first run, I haven't heard of there being a problem with the DVD for the film thereafter.

:)

Steve