Problem with the Ben-Hur (1959) bluray disc

[Hobbit1979]

I'm not sure where to post this, but anyway I just had a very weird problem with Ben-Hur 2011 release Uk disc region B.

I played the movie in my new LG 4k player for the first time. It froze at chapter 21, struggled a lot and resumed play at chapter 23 as if the disc had some damage. I have the movie in my collection for some time. That was the 4th time I watched it. The previous 3 in my old bluray player (still working) went great with the exception of one time when the movie froze at chapter 21 for only one second but resumed play right away (no skip) without any other problems.

So I thought there was a issue with my new 4k player. The back of the disc is flawless, zero damage of any kind. I cleaned it just in case, very carefully. Same result.
Then I tried to play the disc at my old bluray player. As I said I played the movie there 3 times in the past with no major problems. But not this time. The same thing happened, even the old player for some reason, this time around can't play chapters 21 and 22. Resumed play at chapted 23 after a lot of struggle, exactly as it happened at my 4k player. I tried it 2-3 time again after 5 minuted on both players. Exactly the same results.

I don't get it. How that happened? The disc has no damage, nothing, it's perfectly clear. The 3 previous time played ok (with that minor, one second, exception). Why does the disc has that problem all of the sudden? It's been 3 years since the last time I played the movie. The disc remained at the self safe and sound. What could have happened???

Never had a similar problem is the past with any of my discs, and I rewatch my movies often.

[Geode]

Originally Posted by Hobbit1979

I'm not sure where to post this, but anyway I just had a very weird problem with Ben-Hur 2011 release Uk disc region B.

I played the movie in my new LG 4k player for the first time. It froze at chapter 21, struggled a lot and resumed play at chapter 23 as if the disc had some damage. I have the movie in my collection for some time. That was the 4th time I watched it. The previous 3 in my old bluray player (still working) went great with the exception of one time when the movie froze at chapter 21 for only one second but resumed play right away (no skip) without any other problems.

So I thought there was a issue with my new 4k player. The back of the disc is flawless, zero damage of any kind. I cleaned it just in case, very carefully. Same result.
Then I tried to play the disc at my old bluray player. As I said I played the movie there 3 times in the past with no major problems. But not this time. The same thing happened, even the old player for some reason, this time around can't play chapters 21 and 22. Resumed play at chapted 23 after a lot of struggle, exactly as it happened at my 4k player. I tried it 2-3 time again after 5 minuted on both players. Exactly the same results.

I don't get it. How that happened? The disc has no damage, nothing, it's perfectly clear. The 3 previous time played ok (with that minor, one second, exception). Why does the disc has that problem all of the sudden? It's been 3 years since the last time I played the movie. The disc remained at the self safe and sound. What could have happened???

Never had a similar problem is the past with any of my discs, and I rewatch my movies often.

The life of an optical disc is finite. I have a couple of Blu-ray discs that played fine when I first obtained them over a decade ago, but now do skips and freezes, usually near the end of the movie. My guess is that your disc has incipient "laser rot"... I have the same Region B release. I guess I should check it again.

[Hobbit1979]

I thought that laser rot had to do with how many times you played a disc. I have discs in my collection older than Ben-Hur (from 2006 even) and dvds much older that played more times. I have the Die Hard 2007 region B release. I played that movie more times that i can think of. Last time this December. No problems at all. I have many discs from a decade ago with no issues.


Should I avoid buying discs older than a decade?

[kishiro]

Originally Posted by Hobbit1979

Should I avoid buying discs older than a decade?

No, buy what you like CD, DVDs and Blu-Rays can all suffer from the old dreaded 'laserdisc-rot' or 'disc-rot'. It's caused by the materials in the reflective layer corroding. Some times you can see color-change on the surface, and sometimes the discs looks absolutely perfect, but will not play. Luckily it's relatively rare, but not completely uncommon for a disc to 'go bad'. According to some of the manufacturers a quality pressed Blu-Ray should last longer than your life (150 years or more). Burnt discs (BD-R) are said to be more fragile than pressed ones. However I have had BD-Rs that worked fine for decasdes, and pressed ones that stopped working after six months. Usually it's a production issue where the materials used are of inferior quality and you get certian batches of production going bad. Criterion had a bunch of disc go bad some years ago from a certain time-period and factory.

Honestly it's not as big of a problem as it was with the laserdiscs. Of the 11000 + Blu-Rays discs and DVDs I own I can only remember maybe one or two go bad. I have some of the earliest pressed CDs from 1982 and they all play perfectly to this day, I also have a bunch of CD+Rs and DVD+Rs I burnt in the nineties which are working fine. (however some cheap CD+Rs went belly up).

In conclusion, don't let the age interfer with your purchase decisions. If a disc goes bad, ask for a replacment or buy it again. Criterion will replace discs that succumb to disc-rot. (at least the ones they have aknowledged may have problems with certain production dates).

[Geode]

Originally Posted by Hobbit1979

I thought that laser rot had to do with how many times you played a disc. I have discs in my collection older than Ben-Hur (from 2006 even) and dvds much older that played more times. I have the Die Hard 2007 region B release. I played that movie more times that i can think of. Last time this December. No problems at all. I have many discs from a decade ago with no issues.


Should I avoid buying discs older than a decade?

The problem, when it occurs, has nothing to do with how many times you play it. It is more related to care in manufacture and then storage conditions. This was more a problem with laser discs, but I have dozens of DVDs that have gone bad. Double-sided "flippers" are notorious for going belly up. DVDs from WB are the most likely to go in my experience, and that of others. I have also lost a few CDs.

I still buy discs older than a decade and don't worry much about Blu-rays. The percentage of mine that have gone bad is very low.

There has been discussion in a thread in another section, some involving a study about this.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=334144

[Hammerlover]

Weren't these things supposed to last forever? he asked sardonically.

[Hobbit1979]

Originally Posted by Geode

There has been discussion in a thread in another section, some involving a study about this.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=334144

Yes I found this thead later on and posted there also, just in case. I read it a little bit as well. It was useful.

As I mentioned at the other thread I do have some damp issues at my house, especially at winter, but nothing to extreme, and I m very carefull to protect my discs.

I'm collecting cd, dvd and lately bluray for 25 years. Although my collection isn't that big I revisit a lot of my movies and music quite often. I never had a disc go bad, ever! (with the exception of some dvds and cds early on that were damaged by my carelessness).

The fact that a bluray was my first disc ever to go bad (I started collecting blurays the last 10 years) was something weird for me. I didn't expect it at all. I hope that was just a random thing and doesn't mean blurays has limited life span compared to dvds and cds.