Can magnets screw up or erase DVDs? (1 Viewer)

Earlier while watching Shrek, I was cleaning the area I was sitting at. Not thinking, I put a magnet on the case, which had the second disc in it. I quckly realized what I did, and took it off. I put the disc in my player, and it started out ok. I'll have to check it thouroughly later. I hope I didn't do anything to screw it up.

DVDs are optical, mot magnetic, media. You have nothing to worry about. Now, if you try that with a videotape, you're up a creek.

Uh, no..... DVD's are laser/light based, a magnet will not affect them.

Ok, thanks. I just wanted to make sure. Better to be safe than sorry.

Just don't drop a big one on your DVD

indeed don't drop one

DVD's are like music CD's and manufactured much the same way. The data is "pressed" into a metallic layer, not magnetically recorded like tapes or floppy discs so there is no way to erase the information. No more so than erasing a vinyl 45rpm record (you do remember them don't you)

_____________________________________________

...so there is no way to erase information..

_____________________________________________

On a related note:

My DVD players manual (RC5231z) says do NOT put

CD-R, or DVD-R discs into the player. It will

erase the information.

If you hit your DVD with a magnet, then you could have a problem

Ways to destroy a DVD with a magnet:

Drop 500 pound magnet onto DVD.

Pour sand onto DVD surface and rub magnet across it - "erasing" the disc.

Tie string around magnet. Attach to hole in DVD to use as weight in a jar of hydrochloric acid.

Melt magnet and shape into bullet. Fire from large caliber rifle at DVD.

Actually if you melted a magnet and formed it into a bullet, most likely the magnetism would cease due to the domains realigning due to the great heat. However it would still blow holes in a DVD.
Actually if you got a really big magnet (think physics particle accelerators) and ran a DVD past it, the eddy currents may deform the metal layer within the DVD. One of my crazier physics profs working at SLAC once put his head through a large magnet there and said he "saw" strange colors.... :alien: