My first encounter with DVD rot

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc,alt.video.dvd (More info?)

Yep, DVDs apparently go bad as well. My copy of 'Vertigo' (Universal
Special Edition, Original Release.. '98?) won't play anymore. Its been
tried on about 6 different players all with 'cannot play' error
messages. I'd imagine this is DVD rot eh? Oh well.. With 500 or so
DVDs I guess the ratio is much better than with Laserdiscs.. but
still, I thought I'd left rot behind.

This isn't to flame DVDs or anything, just to report that they do in
fact mysteriously just 'go bad'. The Vertigo disc is flawless as well,
not a scratch. I buffed it just in case, but nothing.

 

[Guest]

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lupin3@planetjurai.com (Jack Laughlin) wrote in
news:f0368371.0404291616.253ead44@posting.google.com:

> Yep, DVDs apparently go bad as well. My copy of 'Vertigo' (Universal
> Special Edition, Original Release.. '98?) won't play anymore. Its been
> tried on about 6 different players all with 'cannot play' error
> messages. I'd imagine this is DVD rot eh? Oh well.. With 500 or so
> DVDs I guess the ratio is much better than with Laserdiscs.. but
> still, I thought I'd left rot behind.
>
> This isn't to flame DVDs or anything, just to report that they do in
> fact mysteriously just 'go bad'. The Vertigo disc is flawless as well,
> not a scratch. I buffed it just in case, but nothing.
>


But 1998 is an early one. It's possible that a DVD from that year doesn't
reflect on the product in general. I have few discs from that year that
are really up to snuff.


The Castle Monster: http/www.processionofthedamned.com/diablo.htm
The Chamber Of Forgotten horrors:
http/www.processionofthedamned.com/wish.htm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc,alt.video.dvd (More info?)

Jack Laughlin wrote:
> Yep, DVDs apparently go bad as well. My copy of 'Vertigo' (Universal
> Special Edition, Original Release.. '98?) won't play anymore. Its been
> tried on about 6 different players all with 'cannot play' error
> messages. I'd imagine this is DVD rot eh? Oh well.. With 500 or so
> DVDs I guess the ratio is much better than with Laserdiscs.. but
> still, I thought I'd left rot behind.
>
> This isn't to flame DVDs or anything, just to report that they do in
> fact mysteriously just 'go bad'. The Vertigo disc is flawless as well,
> not a scratch. I buffed it just in case, but nothing.

There are instances of particular disks just "going bad," but from what
I've read nobody's been able to pin down exactly what the problem is,
whether it's rot, or not. "Rot" should really only happen on
dual-layered discs and yet this problem has happened on single-layer
discs. One of my DS9 discs just went to poop in a particular spot, I
have to chapter skip ahead and rewind. Not being able to play at all is
something different though. How old are these six players?

--
"Don't ask me, I'm just a girl!"
--Hilary Clinton

Grand Inquisitor
http/www.dvdprofiler.com/mycollection.asp?alias=Oost

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc,alt.video.dvd (More info?)

> But 1998 is an early one. It's possible that a DVD from that year doesn't
> reflect on the product in general. I have few discs from that year that
> are really up to snuff.

I was an early adpoter (1997) so I have many discs from that era. This
is the first one I've had a problem with, though.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc,alt.video.dvd (More info?)

> There are instances of particular disks just "going bad," but from what
> I've read nobody's been able to pin down exactly what the problem is,
> whether it's rot, or not. "Rot" should really only happen on
> dual-layered discs and yet this problem has happened on single-layer
> discs. One of my DS9 discs just went to poop in a particular spot, I
> have to chapter skip ahead and rewind. Not being able to play at all is
> something different though. How old are these six players?

The players are various ages and models, plus I know it will play in
my current player (Pioneer Elite DV-C36) so It's not just some weird
compatibility issue, the disc is no longer playable.

I haven't really had any other problems, I have found a few discs to
be scratched in the package when the fell off the spool, but thats the
package not the disc. So this is the first plain 'bad disc' I've had.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc,alt.video.dvd (More info?)

> Yep, DVDs apparently go bad as well. My copy of 'Vertigo' (Universal
> Special Edition, Original Release.. '98?) won't play anymore. Its been
> tried on about 6 different players all with 'cannot play' error
> messages. I'd imagine this is DVD rot eh? Oh well.. With 500 or so
> DVDs I guess the ratio is much better than with Laserdiscs.. but
> still, I thought I'd left rot behind.
>
> This isn't to flame DVDs or anything, just to report that they do in
> fact mysteriously just 'go bad'. The Vertigo disc is flawless as well,
> not a scratch. I buffed it just in case, but nothing.

Is there a website that keeps a record of these bad 'uns?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc,alt.video.dvd (More info?)

lupin3@planetjurai.com (Jack Laughlin) wrote in message news:<f0368371.0404291616.253ead44@posting.google.com>...
> Yep, DVDs apparently go bad as well. My copy of 'Vertigo' (Universal
> Special Edition, Original Release.. '98?) won't play anymore. Its been
> tried on about 6 different players all with 'cannot play' error
> messages. I'd imagine this is DVD rot eh? Oh well.. With 500 or so
> DVDs I guess the ratio is much better than with Laserdiscs.. but
> still, I thought I'd left rot behind.
>
> This isn't to flame DVDs or anything, just to report that they do in
> fact mysteriously just 'go bad'. The Vertigo disc is flawless as well,
> not a scratch. I buffed it just in case, but nothing.

I've run across a few rotted DVDs a couple of years ago, Coyote Ugly
and ID4. Both discs played fine when I purchased them. A year later,
the CU disc wouldn't even load up, and the ID4 disc heavily pixellated
and locked up my players. Both discs were tested on 3 players each (1
old & 2 new players). In each case, I determined that it was the disc
that went bad. I verified this by exchanging the rotted discs with
new copies. The new copies played fine in all players in each case.

DVD rot does exist, but it is very rare, much rarer than laser rot
that laserdiscs were prone to. I estimate the chances of getting a
DVD that rots over time to be about 1 in 200 to 1 in 500. It's just
up to each individual to routinely play your older DVDs to see if they
still play fine.

Lee

 

[Gazza]

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc,alt.video.dvd (More info?)

On 30 Apr 2004 05:09:42 -0700, lupin3@planetjurai.com (Jack Laughlin)
wrote:

>> There are instances of particular disks just "going bad," but from what
>> I've read nobody's been able to pin down exactly what the problem is,
>> whether it's rot, or not. "Rot" should really only happen on
>> dual-layered discs and yet this problem has happened on single-layer
>> discs. One of my DS9 discs just went to poop in a particular spot, I
>> have to chapter skip ahead and rewind. Not being able to play at all is
>> something different though. How old are these six players?
>
>The players are various ages and models, plus I know it will play in
>my current player (Pioneer Elite DV-C36) so It's not just some weird
>compatibility issue, the disc is no longer playable.
>
>I haven't really had any other problems, I have found a few discs to
>be scratched in the package when the fell off the spool, but thats the
>package not the disc. So this is the first plain 'bad disc' I've had.

Try it in a PC DVD Rom drive and see what happens if you can. I'm
curious.

g

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc (More info?)

>I was an early adpoter (1997) so I have many discs from that era. This
>is the first one I've had a problem with, though.

I too was an early adopter. I bought one of Toshiba's first models in December
of 1997, and still have several discs from late-97' and early-98' (although a
few of the ones I bought originally have been replaced with newer version). I
have yet to have any rot issues with any of them. Some of them were really
sub-par releases, but they still play.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc,alt.video.dvd (More info?)

wonginator71@lycos.com (limacharliewhiskey) writes:

>DVD rot does exist, but it is very rare, much rarer than laser rot
>that laserdiscs were prone to. I estimate the chances of getting a
>DVD that rots over time to be about 1 in 200 to 1 in 500. It's just
>up to each individual to routinely play your older DVDs to see if they
>still play fine.

Talk about pulling numbers out of thin air. You have absolutely
_no_ basis for these statistics at all.

Far more likely that your failed disk was due to environmental issues
as opposed to so-called rot. (Excessive heat being
the most common culprit - either during playback or storage).

scott

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc,alt.video.dvd (More info?)

On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 22:24:12 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal)
wrote:

>wonginator71@lycos.com (limacharliewhiskey) writes:
>
>>DVD rot does exist, but it is very rare, much rarer than laser rot
>>that laserdiscs were prone to. I estimate the chances of getting a
>>DVD that rots over time to be about 1 in 200 to 1 in 500. It's just
>>up to each individual to routinely play your older DVDs to see if they
>>still play fine.
>
>Talk about pulling numbers out of thin air. You have absolutely
>_no_ basis for these statistics at all.

No, that about agrees with what others have discussed about their
failure rate. I have over 500 DVD's and four rotters. The most
recent is "A Walk on the Moon" which has actually changed colour.
Others are a 1998 pressing of "Erotique" and two Warner Bros flippers
from 1998. Also my copy of "Heathers" went bad a few months after
purchase, that was replaced by Anchor Bay, and the very recent "1,2,3"
is sticky. That was replaced under store warranty.

Rot does exist among DVDs, on all types form single layer to DVD18.
Some are known failures, others seem to be completely random. And
environment or storage methods has nothing to do with it. There are
several web sites devoted to the issue. The list is a bit outdated
maybe.


http/www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/31/1043804519345.html
http/www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/1655.cfm
http/www.mindspring.com/~yerington/
http/www.axisnova.com/articles/dvd_rot.shtml
http/www.neowin.net/comments.php?category=main&id=9174
http/forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/t/63430/ds.html
http/www.neowin.net/comments.php?id=8960&category=main
http/www.ntfs.org/comments.php?id=3050&catid=4
http/www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=1506


>

Steve ..

>
>Far more likely that your failed disk was due to environmental issues
>as opposed to so-called rot. (Excessive heat being
>the most common culprit - either during playback or storage).
>
>scott

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc,alt.video.dvd (More info?)

On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 22:41:15 GMT, "Steve(JazzHunter)"
<jazzhuntera@tcollectordot.org> wrote:

>No, that about agrees with what others have discussed about their
>failure rate. I have over 500 DVD's and four rotters. The most
>recent is "A Walk on the Moon" which has actually changed colour.
>Others are a 1998 pressing of "Erotique" and two Warner Bros flippers
>from 1998. Also my copy of "Heathers" went bad a few months after
>purchase, that was replaced by Anchor Bay, and the very recent "1,2,3"
>is sticky. That was replaced under store warranty.

I have nearly 400 DVDs and no rots yet but some of them haven't been
viewed in a few years so I may have a rotted DVD and just haven't
found out yet.

>Rot does exist among DVDs, on all types form single layer to DVD18.
>Some are known failures, others seem to be completely random. And
>environment or storage methods has nothing to do with it. There are
>several web sites devoted to the issue. The list is a bit outdated
>maybe.

It almost always happens to dual layered DVD though. It seems the
glue that holds the layer weren't properly sealed and allowed air to
enter, which in turn oxidates the metal content of the DVD.
--
To reply, replace digi.mon with tds.net

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc,alt.video.dvd (More info?)

Not sure it should be called "rot" as while seemingly a degenerative problem
presumably the defect is presumably very different in nature to the rot we
experiece with LD's.

FWIW My copy of VERTIGO went bad too; this is the version with the
orange/red cover we're talking about...the only other title I recall owning
that had a similar problem was Criterion's A NIGHT TO REMEMBER.

Miles

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc,alt.video.dvd (More info?)

On Sat, 1 May 2004 14:38:38 +0800, "Miles Wood"
<diabolik@netvigator.com> wrote:

>Not sure it should be called "rot" as while seemingly a degenerative problem
>presumably the defect is presumably very different in nature to the rot we
>experiece with LD's.

But then laserdiscs had several types of failure, from separation
through chemical breakdown of the metal surface through moisture
absorption and other unknown factors, and they were all lumped under
"rot," so I think the term is a valid umbrella term for CD, DVD, and
laserdisc failure.
>
>FWIW My copy of VERTIGO went bad too; this is the version with the
>orange/red cover we're talking about...the only other title I recall owning
>that had a similar problem was Criterion's A NIGHT TO REMEMBER.

Yes, both these titles have specifically been mentioned in discussions
of DVD rot.

.. Steve .
>
>Miles
>

 

[Guest]

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"Steve(JazzHunter)" <jazzhuntera@tcollectordot.org> wrote in message news:<lel590pgmm61e8h8m89vrh4bh34p6qb2hu@4ax.com>...

> Rot does exist among DVDs, on all types form single layer to DVD18.
> Some are known failures, others seem to be completely random.

This was supposedly most common among the early Warner Bros.
dual-layered discs. "Contact" is one of those titles frequently cited
as being a particular problem.

-Eric

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc (More info?)

>This was supposedly most common among the early Warner Bros.
>dual-layered discs

None of the early WB discs I've got have gone into rot. However, this may be
luck. I wonder if where and how the discs are stored makes a difference? Mine
are stored in a cool, dry and dark cabnit in a room that never gets above about
75 and they are never left in the player after viewing.