Blu-ray rot on many of my Blu-ray discs (2 Viewers)

[JediFonger]

I checked my database. I’ve owned 1139 DVDs, BDs and UHDs since 1997. Of those 19 have gone bad - that I know of. That’s a rate of 1.7%. With a current collection of 1068, it’s likely there are more bad discs of which I am unaware.

I consider a failure rate of even 2% over 25 years as quite respectable. Not sure it fits the definition of EXTREMELY RARE.

my qualifier for "bad disc" is if you cant rip it on a pc bdrom, i have something like 5+ bdrom and if i can't rip it across all of them, i would concede. computer roms have so much more error checking then standalone players.

 

[Rich Vincent]

This is a scary topic as I have around 1600 dvds, blu-rays and UHD, many of which have never been been viewed. (So many movies. So little time!). But what troubles me about this discussion is it seems to me that anytime a disc is bad it is called “rot”. What exactly is the definition of “rot” and what is the science behind it?

Were the discs cited viewed when purchased and found to be defect free or could they have manufacturing defects that were just discovered?

And if they were fine when purchased is everyone sure there weren’t outside damages such as scratches or perhaps damage from improper storage that affected them?

To really determine what the risk is of rot these are the questions that need to be answered.

 

[James Luckard]

I had Broken Embraces (Sony), Manhattan and Annie Hall go on me . They just do not play at all. I'm afraid to purchase another copy. I don't want the same thing to happen unless anyone knows of a different version region free somewhere of these titles. I don't see the Woody Allen's being redone in the near future.

This was a common problem with the first pressings of Manhattan and Annie Hall.

My Annie Hall disc, which I bought the day it came out, stopped playing a couple of years ago.

I bought a new one from Amazon about two years ago, and I could tell it was newer because the dates on the files on the disc were more recent. It played fine.

 

[cda1143]

my qualifier for "bad disc" is if you cant rip it on a pc bdrom, i have something like 5+ bdrom and if i can't rip it across all of them, i would concede. computer roms have so much more error checking then standalone players.

First thing I try with a bad disc is to rip it. Of my 19 which have gone bad, I’m guessing I‘ve been able to rip maybe 3 or 4. Granted I own only three bdroms.

Ant any rate, I would contend that any disc, not physically damaged, which won’t play on a functioning standalone player, is most certainly a bad disc. Viewing on standalone players is the sole purpose for which they are sold and marketed.

 

[Sultanofcinema]

Thanks James, I see if I can locate Manhattan and Annie Hall.

 

[cda1143]

… But what troubles me about this discussion is it seems to me that anytime a disc is bad it is called “rot”. What exactly is the definition of “rot” and what is the science behind it?

Were the discs cited viewed when purchased and found to be defect free or could they have manufacturing defects that were just discovered?

And if they were fine when purchased is everyone sure there weren’t outside damages such as scratches or perhaps damage from improper storage that affected them?

To really determine what the risk is of rot these are the questions that need to be answered.

You are correct that “rot” can be used carelessly.

Speaking for my own reporting, of course I checked for damage (scratches, etc.). I’m quite sure everyone reporting here has done the same. Improper storage (other than physical damage), is a practical impossibility unless one is storing discs in a damp basement or outdoors.

 

[cineMANIAC]

I've had discs "fail" but it was more directly related to physical surface damage like smudges or scratches. In some cases they failed even though they were completely pristine (Paramount 4Ks are particularly glitchy for me) but nothing has not worked due to "rot". Is this something that can be invisible to the naked eye or is it actually visible rot on the discs themselves? Only thing I can think of is the inner part of the discs (the center) having a bit of dark color in spots, like "bruises" but they're near the center and very small. There's no actual data in that area is there?

 

[Robert13]

This topic tends to make me nervous about my collection. So I'll chime in with my findings of both DVDs and BRs in my collection...Disclaimer: ALL of my discs are meticulously handled and stored. They are not scratched or mishandled in any way.

We all know flipper DVDs are prone to problems. That being said, the one major DVD set (running across all but the very last 2 sets which were switched to single-sided discs by Warner) that stopped playing properly is the tv show, DALLAS. They worked fine when I bought them. I was able to watch each and every episode from each season set. But a few years ago, I went to watch one and many episodes would not play or they would freeze repeatedly. These also pop up on eBay constantly and people who may not be aware of the problem will get stuck. It's a crazy situation. The same has also happened to the flipper discs produced by Fox for REMINGTON STEELE, however, not as severe as DALLAS yet. I was able to back those up completely. I had to replace all of the DALLAS seasons. Warner seems to have problematic dvds in the TV series category from a specific timeframe of 2005 - 2007 as far as I can tell. A copy of the single-disc collection of CHICO AND THE MAN episodes would only play episodes from one layer of the disc. Anything that was on the switched layer would freeze and pixelate. Luckily, I was able to replace it with a working copy and also backed that up as it appears to be quite the rare dvd with no sign in site of the series making it to dvd anytime soon.

In terms of movies on DVD, the Fox releases of "Cinema Classics Collection" which were issued in nice slipsleeves and remastered nicely in the days before BRs all seem to be plagued by eventual-defective discs. I can confirm that all 3 of the Doris Day movies (Caprice, Do Not Disturb and Move Over Darling) were rendered unplayable a few years ago. I had actually watched each several times up until they stopped playing one night at the layer-change, freezing. I was able to replace those with imported BR editions. For some reason, disc rot/defective discs seem to plague Doris Day movies on dvd. A multi-film DVD set was also affected with all discs freezing or not playing at all (these include Lucky Me, Romance On The High Seas, I'll See You In My Dreams). Luckily, they were all available in newly-pressed editions that I could replace them with.

As far as blurays go, I have only had 1 that sorta had a defect... Anchor Bay's release of JUMPIN' JACK FLASH freezing midway through the movie and jumps ahead a few frames. I ended up replacing it with the region-free French release which plays flawlessly. But it makes me nervous for any other Anchor Bay or budget-released BRs I may have. I have several from Mill Creek and I'm wondering if those will stand up to the test of time.

Anyhow, those are my specific experiences with "disc rot", "defective over time" or problematic discs in my collection. Hope it helps someone who may have the same in their collection. I would replace them, if possible, right away while you still can.

 

[Alan Tully]

This is a scary topic as I have around 1600 dvds, blu-rays and UHD, many of which have never been been viewed. (So many movies. So little time!). But what troubles me about this discussion is it seems to me that anytime a disc is bad it is called “rot”. What exactly is the definition of “rot” and what is the science behind it?

Well it isn't rot, but that's as good a word for it as any. I did address this early in the thread, from what I learnt from a YouTube video, is that it's all in the manufacture; an impossibly tiny bit of something gets pressed in with the plastic & after some years starts to interact with what's around it, which may (or may not) interfere with playback. It all pot luck really (just like our health). Short answer: nothing lasts forever.

I did wonder a couple of months ago when I viewed my Twilight Time Blu-ray of The Egyptian (I can't get a new one of those), but it played with no problems.

 

[JoshZ]

It's definitely true that many people misuse the term "rot" to cover any disc playback problem.

True rot was a big issue in the Laserdisc era, and referred to discs that were improperly manufactured to allow contaminants into the glue that holds the layers together. Over time, the glue would break down and let air and other impurities inside the disc pits and lands, resulting in playback artifacts and eventually complete disc failure. The physical size and weight of Laserdiscs exacerbated this.

On analog Laserdisc, this typically started with colored speckles in the picture that may have been distracting, but the disc would still be playable for a while. Because rot starts at the edges of the disc, it would appear at the beginning and end of disc sides first, then move inwards. As it got worse, the whole image would develop a snowstorm of colored speckles before total failure.

On digital formats from DVD forward, you won't see artifacts like that on screen. Instead, the data will become corrupted and the disc will either freeze playback or never play at all.

 

[Sultanofcinema]

It's definitely true that many people misuse the term "rot" to cover any disc playback problem.

True rot was a big issue in the Laserdisc era, and referred to discs that were improperly manufactured to allow contaminants into the glue that holds the layers together. Over time, the glue would break down and let air and other impurities inside the disc pits and lands, resulting in playback artifacts and eventually complete disc failure. The physical size and weight of Laserdiscs exacerbated this.

On analog Laserdisc, this typically started with colored speckles in the picture that may have been distracting, but the disc would still be playable for a while. Because rot starts at the edges of the disc, it would appear at the beginning and end of disc sides first, then move inwards. As it got worse, the whole image would develop a snowstorm of colored speckles before total failure.

On digital formats from DVD forward, you won't see artifacts like that on screen. Instead, the data will become corrupted and the disc will either freeze playback or never play at all.

Hey, let's not forget about the gold old RCA selectavision where you were able to play a film one time!

 

[mskaye]

Hey, let's not forget about the gold old RCA selectavision where you were able to play a film one time!

If that ! When they worked well - a miracle - the pic was a little nicer than VHS but it was a doomed format from the beginning. I sold them in Brooklyn when they were first released.

 

[Sultanofcinema]

If that ! When they worked well - a miracle - the pic was a little nice than VHS but it was a doomed format from the beginning. I sold them in Brooklyn when they were first released.

I remember a guy at Radio Shack trying to demonstrate Smokey and The Bandit to a couple and he was ramming that disc in and out to get it to play. They finally walked away and both they and the salesman were embarrassed. I collected the Bonds that came out and several Universal titles, as well as Fellini's Casanova! I have several of their catalogues also.

 

[BillChip]

Ok, so maybe the problem isn't the rot we all saw on Laser Disks after 10 years. The problems I see are data related - black video, digital noise in the video or the video dissolves into a white static for an extended time.

 

[Will Krupp]

Ok, so maybe the problem isn't the rot we all saw on Laser Disks after 10 years. The problems I see are data related - black video, digital noise in the video or the video dissolves into a white static for an extended time.

The more you post about it, the more it sounds like a connectivity issue of some kind in the chain. I'll say it again, it is statistically next to impossible for the first seven out of eight discs that you tried to have ALL gone bad under normal circumstances. It's dumbfounding.

 

[Thomas T]

As far as blu rays go, I've only had three go bad on me after playing fine for years. Ever After, The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. All three Fox titles ..... hmmm.

 

[Will Krupp]

As far as blu rays go, I've only had three go bad on me after playing fine for years. Ever After, The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. All three Fox titles ..... hmmm.

oh shit! I guess it's time for me to revisit my Towering Inferno!!

 

[The Drifter]

It's unfortunate that I'm posting on this thread. This past week, I've just discovered what very well may be my first case of Blu Disk rot - on my excellent X-files TV series set (Region 1, 2015 release). I got the series on Blu back in late 2015 and the disks worked fine then. However, I recently started re-watching the series - and while S01, Disk 01 works fine - the other 5 S01 disks don't work at all.

This continues into S02 to a great extent. I.e., though S02, Disk 01 works fine, Disk 02 doesn't work at all...though, Disk 03 works fine. I'm afraid to try the subsequent disks, but will at some point.

Note:

1) There aren't any obvious fingerprints/scratches/imperfections/discolorations on the defective disks themselves. I.e., they appear to be OK.

2) I'm almost 100% sure these X-files Blu's not playing is not an issue with my Blu player itself, since all of my other Blu disks play perfectly....including some (but very few) of the X-files Disks from the same set.

Very strange & irritating, especially since this is one of my favorite sets.

Has anyone else had this issue with Region 1 X-files Blu's? I haven't read anything about this online, and think someone would have posted something somewhere - if this were a systemic issue across the board. So, I suspect this is just an anomaly re: my particular X-files disks.

 

[jayembee]

Has anyone else had this issue with Region 1 X-files Blu's?

I haven't (with the caveat that I haven't seen every season yet).

 

[willyTass]

It's unfortunate that I'm posting on this thread. This past week, I've just discovered what very well may be my first case of Blu Disk rot - on my excellent X-files TV series set (Region 1, 2015 release). I got the series on Blu back in late 2015 and the disks worked fine then. However, I recently started re-watching the series - and while S01, Disk 01 works fine - the other 5 S01 disks don't work at all.

This continues into S02 to a great extent. I.e., though S02, Disk 01 works fine, Disk 02 doesn't work at all...though, Disk 03 works fine. I'm afraid to try the subsequent disks, but will at some point.

Note:

1) There aren't any obvious fingerprints/scratches/imperfections/discolorations on the defective disks themselves. I.e., they appear to be OK.

2) I'm almost 100% sure these X-files Blu's not playing is not an issue with my Blu player itself, since all of my other Blu disks play perfectly....including some (but very few) of the X-files Disks from the same set.

Very strange & irritating, especially since this is one of my favorite sets.

Has anyone else had this issue with Region 1 X-files Blu's? I haven't read anything about this online, and think someone would have posted something somewhere - if this were a systemic issue across the board. So, I suspect this is just an anomaly re: my particular X-files disks.

Using a magnifying glass, look at the rim of the hub , is the IFPI code start with a 2F ?