Blu-rays have begun to suffer from disc rot, more than 600 titles reported

[Superemail]

In a new Swedish news article it seems Blu-rays are starting to rot, including Criterion!!

Google Translation of parts or article

Blu-rays have begun to suffer from disc rot, more than 600 titles reported

[Show spoiler]Disc rot, every collector's nightmare when it comes to physical media and unfortunately something that is becoming more common as our old treasures age. That certain formats and regions are more vulnerable than others has been known for some time and collectors of Laserdisc, Sega Saturn and Dreamcast, among others, are by now well acquainted with the "dos and don'ts" when it comes to purchasing new items for their collection.

[Show spoiler]

...

Now, however, it turns out that more than 600 different Blu-rays are also in danger, and are reported to be suffering from problems or being outright unplayable. Precisely because of disc rot. With several notable titles in the mix, as well as "expensive" releases from the Criterion Collection. Among the affected titles are: 127 Hours, Cloverfield, Elysium, Gone Girl, Hellboy, Jurassic Park 3, King Kong (Peter Jackson version), the Scream trilogy and The Witch.

When it comes to Criterion, there are 27 individual films listed among those with issues, which is remarkable considering they are considered one of the industry's leading publishers. Some of these titles include: 8½, The Seventh Seal, M, and Paris, Texas.

Source: GameReactor

Complete list of known affected Blu-rays

[Steedeel]

Just checked some discs off the list no sign of rot but going to play them back.

[Streamingsux]

I thought this was already a known occurrence. Or is there a new wrinkle to the whole thing? Early Warner, Lionsgate and Criterion is what I heard were the worst offenders..

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Streamingsux

I thought this was already a known occurrence. Or is there a new wrinkle to the whole thing? Early Warner, Lionsgate and Criterion is what I heard were the worst offenders..

The Witch is on the list, which is newer of course.

[Streamingsux]

Somehow I missed that there was a list the first time I looked at it..

[HDTV1080P]

This is rare when it comes to stamped pressed optical discs. I checked a Laserdisc from around 1982 and no rot, do not own a 1978 Laserdisc. I checked a audio CD from the late 80’s or early 90’s and no rot. I checked a DVD from the year 2000 no rot (did not check some 1997 discs, but most likely fine). A year 2006 2K Blu-ray I checked was perfectly fine. Many year 2016 4K Blu-ray discs are perfectly fine.

I normally post when I come across a bad optical disc in my collection that rotted away. Storing in high heat and high humidity ages the optical discs faster and instead of getting up to 1,500 years one may only get 500 to 1,000 years. Or sometimes less then a 100 years if the disc was stamped incorrectly and stored incorrectly. Recordable discs need M-Disc to offer up to 1,000 years. Non-M-Disc recordables are a maximum of 100-year lifespan.

[314carpenter]

This isn't new news. And mostly, this isn't even about actual disc rot. In the OP's link there is a new article, but that Swedish article is solely based on a French thread that has been in existance since 2016.
This is just more scare mongering that is happening now are result of spillover from the recently gone viral DVD rot news that went largely unnoticed for years.

A must read for anyone who is not easily fooled.

https://bluraydefectueux.com/methodo...s-dindexation/

[Vilya]

I put up netting to catch the sky. It's always falling around here.

[Superemail]

To be fair I was aware that this will happen evetually to any media as I work with reliability and "wear-out" is a term applicable to anything electrical/mechanical (etc.) either static or non-static.

What was new to me was the spread of labels that was affected, not just WB or Universal etc and even Criterion is included.

That is why I posted this article. Obviously people shall always take "news" with a grain of salt, but in this case I think news is better than total unawareness.

[Vilya]

Warner Bros. has stated that they will replace rotted discs that are still in print. Write to them at: whv@wbd.com

Criterion has been excellent at replacing their rotted discs, too. Write to them at: mulvaney@criterion.com

In my experience, Disney has never been helpful in this regard. They have always told me "no", albeit very politely followed with them wishing me a "magical day."

I have not had much luck with Lionsgate, either. They have always told me "no" also.

You can try writing to Paramount at: phe_customerservice@paramount.com

Universal has a customer support page at: https://www.uphe.com/en/contact-support

Sony's email address for disc related matters is: consumer@SPHECustomerSupport.sony.com

The last time that I checked all of that contact info was still valid. Good luck replacing any rotted discs in your collections.

[B-Rose22]

Thank you for sharing those emails. I've had trouble finding some in the past when I've needed to reach out to them regarding issues.

[Streamingsux]

I've got several thousand blu-rays. And I've only ever had one not work. A 4K of Alien like a week ago. I doubt it's disc rot though. I've been collecting since only 2010/11 though. But it's still good to have this information. Just in case..

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by B-Rose22

Thank you for sharing those emails. I've had trouble finding some in the past when I've needed to reach out to them regarding issues.

You're welcome; I hope it helps.

Just keep in mind that some companies reply faster than do others. Warner Bros. has probably been deluged with requests since publishing their willingness to replace rotted discs.

[singhcr]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Warner Bros. has stated that they will replace rotted discs that are still in print. Write to them at: whv@wbd.com

Criterion has been excellent at replacing their rotted discs, too. Write to them at: mulvaney@criterion.com

In my experience, Disney has never been helpful in this regard. They have always told me "no", albeit very politely followed with them wishing me a "magical day."

I have not had much luck with Lionsgate, either. They have always told me "no" also.

You can try writing to Paramount at: phe_customerservice@paramount.com

Universal has a customer support page at: https://www.uphe.com/en/contact-support

Sony's email address for disc related matters is: consumer@SPHECustomerSupport.sony.com

The last time that I checked all of that contact info was still valid. Good luck replacing any rotted discs in your collections.

Thank you for all of this information