Disc Rot?

[PriestWhiteLotus]

I have one to add to the list. It's an import from Taiwan. It was brand new sealed. It's a official Deltamac release from 2003. I have a few other Deltamac's and they have no issue but this one is completely covered in cloudy splotches. And it won't play at all. My computer says no disc in the drive.

[darthpez01]

My copy of Treasure Planet has a similar milky pattern, it plays through fine. I've had other DVDs, some 'Dragonball GT' specifically, that looked perfect but skipped and froze at certain points. These were manufactured in the earlier 2000s, in the earlier days of DVD.

[meremortal]

I've noticed several odd discs so far just in a box of one hundred so far. I don't recall seeing the defects before. The discs were only in storage for like four months, some of it being in paid public storage and other times in a garage. Not ideal, but I've been very limited in storage options after a move and there's no expansive storage options within the home other than a small closet. Just a couple examples below.

[Show spoiler]https://postimg.cc/gallery/JHbrbwp

[oddbox83]

Sorting through some old discs the other day I found an example of a pressed DVD rotting.

It was The Omen (2006) from the 2006 Fox DVD box set. Near but not touching the outer edge, about an inch worth of disc had gone cloudy black inside.

Lucky: 1. it was only The Omen 2006 and, 2. I have the Shout deluxe box so it went in the bin without a 2nd thought.

[bhampton]

I need to backup all my lionsgate stuff.

For me, they are the only ones who figured out the self destructive discs

[meremortal]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I need to backup all my lionsgate stuff.

For me, they are the only ones who figured out the self destructive discs

One of the dvds from my photos was a Lionsgate pressing of Boy Meets World S5. Knew they had issues with blus but didn't realize dvds were affected as well.

[Salamurai]

My Watchmen Ultimate DVD looked like it had rot and had problems playing, even after cleaning. Once I calmed down about it and cleaned it with something else it was fine. Unfortunately I don't recall what I used. (Meanwhile, I still oughta get this version on Blu-Ray.)

[BeastCreatureTrapper]

I started selling and moving my collection recently. With just a little over a thousand titles, and many of them in storage for the past decade, it's been eye-opening to break the vault and inspect them for possible resell.

The first thing I've noticed is that, almost invariably, liner notes and chapter cards seem to get dust-damaged easily. Cheap paper stock is part of the blame, I'm sure. Thankfully, with care and attention, these can be saved with a thorough Windex wipe-down/drying session...along with a day's book-flattening to recapture their original smoothness.

The disc rot...or the appearance of disc rot, as noted in this thread, is the bigger issue, of course. Out of the first two hundred titles I've cleaned and prepped, there were 10 with obvious discoloration, 5 more with very minute surface anomalies, and only two of the previously mentioned were so bad as to not even be recoverable through DVD Shrink.

While there's a sentiment in this thread that many of these are strictly cosmetic issues, I just can't, in good conscience, bring myself to put them in the marketplace. I understand that they are probably fine and serviceable, but it's still a barrier which I can't get past. And believe me, I wish I could, as I've had three OOP titles already which would have fetched a pretty penny, save for the fact that they are showing cosmetic rot.

What I've taken from all this? The more time that passes, the less mercy you'll get. Inspect and back up your collection sooner than later.

[PileOfFudge]

I had my collection in non-climate controlled storage for about eight months several years back. I live in Florida where the heat and humidity is brutal during the summer. All the discs still look and play perfectly fine.

[ps3bd_owner]

Originally Posted by PileOfFudge

I had my collection in non-climate controlled storage for about eight months several years back. I live in Florida where the heat and humidity is brutal during the summer. All the discs still look and play perfectly fine.

Suppose it depends on the disc quality/brand the distributor uses. I had one go completely blank with a few black dots, but to be honest the disc always looked super cheaply made.

Distributors like WB should use discs to last 20-30 years or more although I've seen here that users' discs have rot. I don't get how WB as big as they are happens to their products.

[Nori]

Quite a few people here are confusing flawed or badly pressed discs with disc rot. You can have that spongey or cloudy look, or even odd wavy patterns (such as the first image in the thread) on discs, sometimes out of the box, and that's not indicative of any kind of weakness (just manufacturing defects). Disc rot is when the written parts of the disc start to deteriorate or even disintegrate. You can see through the disc as if it had been eaten up by something, little pin holes, eventually growing into larger holes and empty spaces. The result of this is that the disc is usually rendered unusable. I think another variation of disc rot is dark colored or black splotches that appear in one or more areas of the disc, although I'm not even fully sure that this renders the disc unusable.

Also worth noting that some discs can be pressed imperfectly in such that the upper layer artwork also lets in some light through small dots, without it actually being disc rot either. I've seen this on one of the James Bond blu ray sets, where out of the box lots of the discs had this. Also seen it on some Wii U games in the day. Again was not actual disc rot.

[BeastCreatureTrapper]

I was lazy myself in just using "disc rot" as an all-encompassing term, relating to both cosmetic imperfections and actual data deterioration.

So, we should differentiate between the two with separate terms.

Maybe "disc rot" and "disc snot"....or even "disc blot"?

[oddbox83]

I think it's simple. If it's a deterioration in the data holding layer over time, it's "rot" and everyone understands that term whether it's scientifically accurate or not.

[Nori]

Yes, the only disc rot is the kind that actually implies deterioration of the data held on the disc, the rest are generally manufacturing imperfections.

If you buy a new blu ray and you can see pin dots through the disc under the light, and it works just fine, in all likelihood it's a manufacturing defect and not actual disc rot.

All those cloudy effects on the discs usually mean absolutely nothing, and are nothing to worry about. If you buy a used disc and it has a swirls pattern, that indicates the disc was resurfaced however. Nothing too alarming, but many collectors don't like resurfaced discs so this may affect the value of the disc.

[smithb]

Originally Posted by Nori

Yes, the only disc rot is the kind that actually implies deterioration of the data held on the disc, the rest are generally manufacturing imperfections.

All those cloudy effects on the discs usually mean absolutely nothing, and are nothing to worry about. If you buy a used disc and it has a swirls pattern, that indicates the disc was refurbished however. Nothing too alarming, but many collectors don't like refurbished discs so this may affect the value of the disc.

Agree, in that I have received many DVDs with a swirly like presentation that is not rot and not an imperfection. It even still has the shiny layer of protection. It just is a side effect of manufacturing.

However, where I've seen rot is cases where there might be a slight, and early on invisible film like substance on a disc, that over time can create a cloudy like image that can make a disc unreadable. Whether this substance comes from out gassing of the cover or is a leftover residue from manufacturing, it eventually clouds the clear outer layer and is easily distinguishable from the swirly look. If caught early enough it can be cleaned off or buffed off, but at some point it becomes too late.

What is interesting is how the film manifests. If one uses light steam, one can see this film before it is normally visible. I've seen this film appears as a few circular dots, like something that may touch and move a disc through the manufacturing system. I've seen it as fingerprints. I've seen it take the design of the eco-cases with the spokes, or just as random blotches.

I typically do a quick check on any DVD I receive by just doing a fog test with my breath. To date, I have not received any blu-rays this way.

[smithb]

Another type of rot I have not witnessed but seen pictures of, is where the outer edge of a disc was possibly not sealed properly and it begins to brown from the outer edges in. It initially manifests as locking up a DVD half way through viewing, at the layer change that exists at the edge of a disc.

[Nori]

Yes browning or darkening in sections of the disc is another oddity, if it's affecting the play back on the disc then one probably can consider this a form of disc rot.

Just wanted to add that the correct term for refurbished discs is resurfaced, so I corrected that in my previous message.

[Katatonia]

Originally Posted by Cevolution

This kind of disc rot can happen with Blu-ray's too:

Attachment 243579

Handling discs with hot hands that are perspiring, and cloudy moisture forms on the underside of the disc around where your finger tips are touching the sides of the disc, can cause this.

This Blu-ray of mine has rotted and looks just like that pic near the outer rim of the disc. It now won't even load at all on any of my players.

I really only played it once about 5 years ago when I purchased it, and had no issues then. I always handle my discs with clean hands and store them in ideal conditions, so I doubt it was me who caused it.

[ps3bd_owner]

Originally Posted by Katatonia

This Blu-ray of mine has rotted and looks just like that pic near the outer rim of the disc. It now won't even load at all on any of my players.

I really only played it once about 5 years ago when I purchased it, and had no issues then. I always handle my discs with clean hands and store them in ideal conditions, so I doubt it was me who caused it.

A Blu-ray?!

I've backed up terabytes of DVDs and a few BDs for convenience (took a lot of time and patience), but I never thought a BD would actually got because it's still somewhat new technology.

[Katatonia]

Originally Posted by ps3bd_owner

A Blu-ray?!

I've backed up terabytes of DVDs and a few BDs for convenience (took a lot of time and patience), but I never thought a BD would actually got because it's still somewhat new technology.

The only other "Blu-ray" I've experienced rot with was Full Moon's Puppet Master replacement disc, which was nothing but a glorified silver BD-R, and virtually all of those failed for people within 6 months and were unplayable.

But yeah, this was a pressed Blu-ray and definitely rotted in less than 5 years. At least I do have the UHD of it already.