Dvd Decay?

[dragon53]

I have TOMORROW NEVER DIES on dvd. I watched it a number of times without any problem on my Sony Blu-ray player and Sony dvd player, but about two years ago it began to freeze on one scene. I tried to play it on my pc and it froze on the same scene.
I've since bought the Blu-ray JAMES BOND 50th ANNIVERSARY set, but I've tested the old dvd a few times and the problem got worse over time. Now, it will display the opening MGM introduction (showing scenes from ROCKY, FARGO, etc.), but then it stops and won't access the movie at all (i.e., no menu, no Sony introduction, nothing)---in other words, the freeze problem has grown to the entire movie instead of just one scene.
Is there something like Dvd Decay where a problem gets worse over time or are the problems with TOMORROW NEVER DIES just a coincidence?

I'm asking because I was watching my dvd of THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS on my Blu-ray player which never had problems in the past, but now it freezes on one scene. I played it on my pc and it freezes for about half a second then plays normally, so I'm thinking THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS freeze problem might worsen over time like TOMORROW NEVER DIES.

[Batman1980]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_rot

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Yes, this happened to me with the SW: ANH disc from the 2004 DVD set; the disk froze during the scene when Obi-wan is talking to Luke on the Falcon right after they leave Mos Eisley, and there were no scratches on the Disk. I guess this is just one of those things that happens over time.

Incidentally, I remember reading about DVD rot as early as 2003, right after I got my first player. So, it's been happening for a while re: DVD's, not just recently....

[dragon53]

GUYS:

Thanks for the information.
Both TOMORROW NEVER DIES and BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS/THEM! were fine when they were new.
I'm watching THEM!, the flip side of BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, to see if it has the Rot, too.
Either way, it looks like I'll have to get a new copy.

[Blu Titan]

DVD rot is extremely rare. I started collecting DVD since they were first introduced in the market. Still own over 2,000, since I have given away a few hundred due to being upgraded to Blu-ray and I lost about 200 to family members from the wife's side who never returned them( I do not loan my Blus...so this will never happen again).

Anyways, I have never seen a case of DVD rot.

[88mph]

I have only ever seen one case of DVD rot and that was The Terminator UK R2 version. Funny thing is that the disc actually still plays fine but it developed a cloudy and sticky surface originally and could washed off with soap. Possibly not really rot.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

DVD rot is extremely rare. I started collecting DVD since they were first introduced in the market. Still own over 2,000, since I have given away a few hundred due to being upgraded to Blu-ray and I lost about 200 to family members from the wife's side who never returned them( I do not loan my Blus...so this will never happen again).

Anyways, I have never seen a case of DVD rot.

Yep, I stopped allowing people to borrow my Bluray's. I had several DVDs that were never returned and I drew the line after that.

[Vandal Savage]

Yeah, "DVD rot" is a thing, but so far it doesn't seem like a widespread problem at this time.

Most cases are likely due to a small manufacturing defect where the disc isn't properly sealed and air creeps in and oxidizes the aluminum substrate that holds the data.

Some discs, particularly DVD-14 and DVD-18 discs, two sided DVDs with one or two double layers, seem more susceptible to rot than DVD-5, DVD-9, or DVD-10 discs, but it can strike any DVD.

Also note that some entire runs of certain DVD titles have this problem. A decade or so ago, a number of Anchor Bay discs were afflicted with DVD rot due to using sub-par materials in the manufacturing process and certain titles were almost guaranteed to become unplayable. I remember Kentucky Fried Movie and Heathers being mentioned as problematic discs.

I still have DVDs that I bought fifteen years ago that still play fine and I've only encountered one DVD that actually became unplayable: The MGM SE of The Howling, which was a DVD-14. I've also had a couple of adult DVDs go bad, but some of the adult companies use unauthorized replicators to cut costs so it shouldn't be surprising that manufacturing defects would creep in.

On the plus side, it appears that if a DVD is going to 'rot,' then it will probably start exhibiting symptoms within a couple of years. That's been my experience, anyway.

The jury is still out on how long we can expect DVDs (and blu-rays for that matter) to last. It's entirely possible that a 'typical' disc might only have a twenty or thirty year lifespan; they could also last for a century and outlive us.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Overall, the DVD format lasts a lot longer than VHS tapes did. Sure, if a DVD has rot or is scratched it won't play; however, if you take care of your disks they shouldn't get too scratched, and DVD rot is rare. So, if you keep your DVD in good shape it can conceivably last for years, and if it does the PQ will be as good years after you get this as it was the day it was purchased.

Conversely, VHS tapes had a lot more moving parts, so there were a lot more chances the tape would get messed up, tear, etc. Also, IIRC a VHS tape's PQ would deteriorate each time it was played....

[Crimson King]

Originally Posted by Vandal Savage

Yeah, "DVD rot" is a thing, but so far it doesn't seem like a widespread problem at this time.

Most cases are likely due to a small manufacturing defect where the disc isn't properly sealed and air creeps in and oxidizes the aluminum substrate that holds the data.

Some discs, particularly DVD-14 and DVD-18 discs, two sided DVDs with one or two double layers, seem more susceptible to rot than DVD-5, DVD-9, or DVD-10 discs, but it can strike any DVD.

Also note that some entire runs of certain DVD titles have this problem. A decade or so ago, a number of Anchor Bay discs were afflicted with DVD rot due to using sub-par materials in the manufacturing process and certain titles were almost guaranteed to become unplayable. I remember Kentucky Fried Movie and Heathers being mentioned as problematic discs.

I still have DVDs that I bought fifteen years ago that still play fine and I've only encountered one DVD that actually became unplayable: The MGM SE of The Howling, which was a DVD-14. I've also had a couple of adult DVDs go bad, but some of the adult companies use unauthorized replicators to cut costs so it shouldn't be surprising that manufacturing defects would creep in.

On the plus side, it appears that if a DVD is going to 'rot,' then it will probably start exhibiting symptoms within a couple of years. That's been my experience, anyway.

The jury is still out on how long we can expect DVDs (and blu-rays for that matter) to last. It's entirely possible that a 'typical' disc might only have a twenty or thirty year lifespan; they could also last for a century and outlive us.

FM was another Anchor Bay dvd of which the whole batch rotted, to date, no company has reissued a widescreen version (its a Universal title so I have no idea who has the reissue rights these days)

[Lacenaire]

My old Criterion DVD of A Night to Remember fails to load at all in my Blu-ray player and it is in mint condition. I don't have any other player to test it on right now. Not sure if that is disc rot. All my other really old Criterion DVDs load and play fine. The playing surface of the disc does look a bit off-color but the color is completely uniform across the entire disc. I think when disc rot happens any accompanying color change is not uniform.

[Atreyu]

I have been collecting dvds since the early days and have not come across any rot as of yet. I do remember it happening with several laserdiscs. I do have some MVA Discovision lasers, (the earliest laserdiscs), which still play just fine.

[Member-136960]

Originally Posted by dragon53

I have TOMORROW NEVER DIES on dvd. I watched it a number of times without any problem on my Sony Blu-ray player and Sony dvd player, but about two years ago it began to freeze on one scene. I tried to play it on my pc and it froze on the same scene.
I've since bought the Blu-ray JAMES BOND 50th ANNIVERSARY set, but I've tested the old dvd a few times and the problem got worse over time. Now, it will display the opening MGM introduction (showing scenes from ROCKY, FARGO, etc.), but then it stops and won't access the movie at all (i.e., no menu, no Sony introduction, nothing)---in other words, the freeze problem has grown to the entire movie instead of just one scene.
Is there something like Dvd Decay where a problem gets worse over time or are the problems with TOMORROW NEVER DIES just a coincidence?

Finally someone else with problems with Tomorrow Never Dies! I thought I was the only one & oddly enough you described it perfectly with what is wrong. Only Tomorrow Never Dies isn't my only 007 dvd with this issue. Years ago I bought the four boxed volumes, all played perfectly back then. Recently tried watching Tomorrow Never Dies on dvd & this problem occured, have it on blu-ray now though. Tv shows, concerts (that aren't available on blu) I Tried various titles from each volume with same result. Also have this problem with season 3 of the Dukes of Hazzard, just one disc so far (discs are double sided, had numerous issues with tv shows released by Universal as well, mostly the A-team & The Rockford Files) All these discs are like new, no scratches, no discoloring of the disc, nothing. I also want to point out a similar problem with Magnum Force out of the Dirty Harry Collection (on blu-ray). I did have an issue with the picture freezing on it as Harry is on the scene of the first hit by the motorcycle cops. Returned it for another copy, watched & played fine this time.
I have also had issues with adult dvds, (most of the adult dvds I buy are between 2002-2009) however most would actually play on a different player with no issues, only 2 I recall wouldn;t play properly on a different player out of about 25 that wouldn't play on my main player. Don't know if that's a good thing or not, could it be just a matter of time that they won't work on other players?

[hamchuck1]

I have copied all my bought DVD's into an external HD. These are ones that I think will never see a Blu release or they might go out of print. That way at least I have a backup copy of it. Something to think about.

[cricepng]

Originally Posted by hamchuck1

I have copied all my bought DVD's into an external HD. These are ones that I think will never see a Blu release or they might go out of print. That way at least I have a backup copy of it. Something to think about.

It might be something to think about but not to write about on the forums. Discussion of ripping is forbidden here due to legal issues.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by cricepng

It might be something to think about but not to write about on the forums. Discussion of ripping is forbidden here due to legal issues.

Here in the UK we're allowed to make back-ups of all our media and it's all legit (I think it starts in June or July). As to the OP it seems like the back-ups were a wise move!

Speaking of Bonds my Ultimate Edition of The Spy Who Loved Me is kaput.

[cricepng]

Originally Posted by chip75

Here in the UK we're allowed to make back-ups of all our media and it's all legit (I think it starts in June or July). As to the OP it seems like the back-ups were a wise move!

Speaking of Bonds my Ultimate Edition of The Spy Who Loved Me is kaput.

Not saying there aren't places where it is legal (there aren't laws against it here in PNG either), just because of the USA laws, the owners of blu-ray.com have made it a forbidden topic of discussion.

[Chiefy]

Not DVD decay per se, but my copy of From Dusk Til Dawn had a "pinhole" imperfection that caused the disc to glitch at that part. The imperfection was there from the beginning. I first noticed it when it glitched out on the first play.

Worse than that, when I bought Deep Rising (yes I know. It's a guilty pleasure) online in late '99, the new sealed pack was empty. Luckily it was a reputable online vendor, and they promptly sent a replacement.

[Absolutsublime1]

I have been collecting Dvds since 1999 and have over 2,000 Dvds and I have never experienced Dvd rot. It must be about as rare as winning the lottery, but sucky. The plus side is Dvds are super cheap now. In 1999 they were $30-$40 a pop.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Absolutsublime1

I have been collecting Dvds since 1999 and have over 2,000 Dvds and I have never experienced Dvd rot. It must be about as rare as winning the lottery, but sucky. The plus side is Dvds are super cheap now. In 1999 they were $30-$40 a pop.

Guess I should play the lotto more often then since I've had at least 4 DVDs succumb to DVD rot. It's rare but not that rare