Cloudy or milky appearance on DVD surface. Problem? (1 Viewer)

[Dave Farley]

Lately, I've bought a large number of DVDs that have a cloudy or milky appearance on the disc surface. Most recently, the majority of discs from the Enterprise S1 set along with Season 1 of The Andy Griffith Show and Hogan's Heroes. There are no scratches or scuffs on these particular discs. All the discs are from Paramount and all have the 'Made in Mexico' sticker on them.

Does anyone know if this issue is a problem or a sign of a disc defect that will eventually be a problem?

The discs seem to play properly at the moment but I'm worried that the strange appearance could be a sign of a problem to come.

 

[Vader]

Many of my discs show a "wavy" milk-like pattern, some of which date back to the beginnings of the format. I don't think you have anything to worry about. Just treat them right (i.e. do not use them as coasters, handle them by the edges, etc), and the only thing you have to worry about is what percentage of them have manufacturing defects that could result in stuff like delamination down the road (an eventuality I have yet to encounter).

Oh, and unfortunately, it looks like many studios, not only Paramount, are moving their pressing operations to Mexico....

 

[Dave Farley]

It's good to hear your copies are still working after all this time, Derek. I was worried that this was the sign of some sort of rot or delamination beginning to occur. This milky, cloudy appearance isn't something I've run into until recently for the most part. Now that I think about it, some of the discs in my first Star Trek: TOS S1 set may have had this. However, I didn't have those very long. Due to all the scratches, scuff marks, and skipping, I had to exchange them to build a good set.

I know that Paramount and Universal are manufacturing in Mexico at the moment. I read a post sometime back, on another board, where the poster stated that MGM was there too. Although, I haven't found any 'Made in Mexico' stickers on any MGM products.

 

[Mark Oates]

If it's the same problem as the old MGM/Technicolor disc problem, pick a disc and give it a light wash in warm soapy water. Dry it with a lint free cloth and then give it a light buff (working centre to rim). If the milky/cloudy look disappears, then it's the same problem as the MGM one and the solution is to give them all a bath. If the effect remains, then that's a new problem.

 

[Vader]

Also, often the cloudy appearance is due to uneven drying of the adhesive between layers. This does not necessarily flag a problem, as this does not effect playback (in most cases)....

 

[Dave Farley]

Thanks for the idea, Mark.

Thanks, Derek.

 

[Rolando]

Actually my copy of Rocky had that film and problems did occur. got blocky after about 20 minutes in and then would not play. I am still trying to find a store that will exchange it... :frowning:

 

[Dave Farley]

That doesn't sound good. It sounds like a hit or miss thing in terms of having problems vs. not having them. Just another flaw that shouldn't be there in the first place.

Mine seem to play fine so I'll hang onto them and hopefully the studio will take care of it if they eventually die on me.

 

[sams88]

Hello. I am new to the forum. I store my pressed dvds in albums. I recently noticed that some of the older dvds are developing a haze on the playing surface. The haze seems to be on the plastic shell rather than the reflective layer. Some dvds are more hazy than others. I tried cleaning the discs with both detergent and isopropyl alchohol, but the haze does not come off.
The haze doesn't seem to affect playability at this point. Most of the affected dvds are stored in albums manufactured by a company called Case-It and made in Taiwan. I am wondering if my dvds are reacting to the material used on the inner surface of the plastic sleeves, which is a white soft material of some kind.
Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon. Should I transfer my dvds to albums made by a different manufacturer?

 

[MattHR]

Originally Posted by sams88 /forum/thread/212170/cloudy-or-milky-appearance-on-dvd-surface-problem#post_3652691
I am wondering if my dvds are reacting to the material used on the inner surface of the plastic sleeves, which is a white soft material of some kind. Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon.

That's exactly what's causing the problem. It's called "out-gassing". The chemical material used in the acrylic coating of the DVD is reacting to the chemical material used in the DVD cases and/or sleeves of the storage albums. Years ago, when I was in retail, we had major problems with our rental DVDs becoming "cloudy" when placed in the then-new Alpha-brand "Secure Cases". Some of the cases had a slightly "wet", or "greasy" feel to them when they were new. Turns out it was literally a faint chemical residue that was interacting with the chemical make-up of the DVDs' coating, causing them to become "cloudy". After a while, several of them were unplayable. If it was caught early enough, washing and/or buffing would help. Otherwise, they became useless. We had quite a time getting Alpha to replace the cases AND the discs, but they eventually admitted there WAS a problem with the materials used in some of the cases.
I've had similar incidents with CDs stored in vinyl-paged albums. It's important to look for "acid-free" or PVC-free products, just as photo album manufacturers similarly advertise their products. The surfaces of photos can be damaged the same way as DVDs.
It's quite ironic that these products, designed to protect the DVDs, may actually ruin them.
P.S. I also had a similar problem with laserdiscs, although it wasn't the surface of the discs that was affected. Some of my LD covers were ruined after being placed in "protective" poly sleeves. The sleeves' chemicals literally dissolved the ink right on the covers, leaving a sticky mess. It took a while for it to occur, but by the time I noticed the problem, it was too late for many of my LDs.

 

[bmasters9]

I have some of "Voyager," and some of the discs have that milky appearance on them. I think that they were made in Mexico.

 

[sams88]

MattHR,
Thanks for your post. Any recommendations as to cleaning or buffing techniques? When I transfer the discs to new albums, do I need to clean them first to remove any chemical residue? Thanks.

 

[Tim Tucker]

Originally Posted by MattHR /img/forum/go_quote.gif
P.S. I also had a similar problem with laserdiscs, although it wasn't the surface of the discs that was affected. Some of my LD covers were ruined after being placed in "protective" poly sleeves. The sleeves' chemicals literally dissolved the ink right on the covers, leaving a sticky mess. It took a while for it to occur, but by the time I noticed the problem, it was too late for many of my LDs.

Do you happen to remember what type of plastic the bags were made of?

 

[Traveller7]

I have this problem with some disks now. What causes it? Does it get progressively worse?

http://imageshack.us/a/img607/2220/img1189kc.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img845/821/img1188jz.jpg

 

[skylark68]

This is an old thread, but I'm resurrecting it because I did a dumb thing and I think I'm going to regret it. I live in a fairly high humidity area (SE Texas) and I stored some DVD's in their cases in a sealed plastic container in my outside storage shed. They were DVD's that I didn't watch very often or were replaced by blurays. I pulled them out recently (after a few years being in the shed) and noticed that a few of the discs developed a milky, cloudy, haze on the reflective side of the disc. I tried to play a few of them and most worked up to a point but then just froze. I tried the discs in 3 different players and had the same results. Is there anyway to clean this haze off? I've tried soapy water but it didn't work.

 

[BobO'Link]

This is an old thread, but I'm resurrecting it because I did a dumb thing and I think I'm going to regret it. I live in a fairly high humidity area (SE Texas) and I stored some DVD's in their cases in a sealed plastic container in my outside storage shed. They were DVD's that I didn't watch very often or were replaced by blurays. I pulled them out recently (after a few years being in the shed) and noticed that a few of the discs developed a milky, cloudy, haze on the reflective side of the disc. I tried to play a few of them and most worked up to a point but then just froze. I tried the discs in 3 different players and had the same results. Is there anyway to clean this haze off? I've tried soapy water but it didn't work.

I've had good success with De-Solv-It (similar to Goo-Gone) to get "gunk" off the playing surface, some with a haze similar to what you're describing. I always follow its application with a cleaning using 70%, or higher, isopropyl alcohol to remove any residue.

 

[skylark68]

I've had good success with De-Solv-It (similar to Goo-B-Gone) to get "gunk" off the playing surface, some with a haze similar to what you're describing. I always follow its application with a cleaning using 70%, or higher, isopropyl alcohol to remove any residue.

Thanks for the advice. It's definitely something to try. None of the discs are rare OOP examples but if I decide to donate them I'd like them to be functional instead of just having to throw them away.

 

[tlc38tlc38]

I discovered this film on a couple of my sets:

Designing Women: season 2
Small Wonder: season 1
Silver Spoons: season 1
Mr. Belvedere: seasons 1/2 & 3
What's Happening Now!!: season 1
Blossom: seasons 1/2
The Patty Duke Show: season 1

I thought about rebuying these sets but there's no guarantee with those discs, either.

Notice that most of these sets are from Shout! Factory.