are RSDL DVDs always Gold? (1 Viewer)

[Jean-Francois Masse]

I was surprised to see that Hannibal (the feature) is silver even if it's rsdl. Explanations please.

 

[David Lambert]

They've been like that for a while now. I think Charlie's Angels is a good example.
WAMO is the primary user of the "silver" RSDL discs. There is a new process...I don't know the details...where the result is still dual-layer but the color is silver or even silver with a "touch" of gold.
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DAVE/Memphis
Widescreen is Family Fun!

 

[Bryant Frazer]

It's not really a new process, just new materials. It's cheaper for replicators to use a thin layer of silicon or a special silver alloy rather than the more expensive gold (which gives old-school DVD-9s their golden color).
-bf-
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Bryant Frazer
Deep Focus
www.deep-focus.com

 

[William Ward]

Does anyone else feel cheated when their DVD-9 is silver instead of gold???

Actually I hadn't noticed that some RSDL discs were silver. I noticed that the supplement disc of Unbreakable was silver but that was only because it was single layered.
My comments about feeling cheated were just poking fun at myself and others who don't like certain DVD cases and artwork.

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William
Go Bucs!!
MyDVDs

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Does anyone else feel cheated when their DVD-9 is silver instead of gold???

While I wouldn't put it that way, silver RSDLs do make my life tougher. Sometimes I forget if I saw a layer change while I watch a disc, and I'll just look at it to figure out if it's dual-layered or not. Sometimes it's a tough call, and that lovely golden tone helps me!
Time for a new petition - only gold RSDLs!!!

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Colin Jacobson
DVD Movie Guide
www.dvdmg.com

 

[Craig W]

Has anyone had a silver RSDL disc fail over a period of time? I think the first disc to use the new process/materials was Three Kings, but I did not hear much more about it since that title and I thought they may have abandoned it. I seem to recall some here saying that their Three Kings discs failed.
I thought one reason they went this route was for a better yield and less chance of deteriorating over time. I guess only time will tell.

 

[Jakob_S]

Can anyone explain what RSDL means? I know the term is used when refering to discs with more than one layer, but...?

 

[Matthew Chmiel]

RSDL means Reverse Spiral Dual Layer.
From the DVD FAQ:

A dual-layer disc has two layers of data, one of them semi-transparent so that the laser can focus through it and read the second layer. Since both layers are read from the same side, a dual-layer disc can hold almost twice as much as a single-layer disc, typically 4 hours of video (see 3.3 for more details). Many discs use dual layers. Initially only a few replication plants could make dual-layer discs, but most plants now have the capability. The second layer can use either a PTP (parallel track path) layout where both tracks run in parallel (for independent data or special switching effects), or an OTP (opposite track path) layout where the second track runs in an opposite spiral; that is, the pickup head reads out from the center on the first track then in from the outside on the second track. The OTP layout is designed to provide continuous video across both layers. The layer change can occur anywhere in the video; it doesn't have to be at a chapter point. There's no guarantee that the switch between layers will be seamless. The layer change is invisible on some players, but it can cause the video to freeze for a fraction of a second or up to 4 seconds on other players. The "seamlessness" depends as much on the way the disc is prepared as on the design of the player. OTP is also called RSDL (reverse-spiral dual layer). The advantage of two layers is that long movies can use higher data rates for better quality than with a single layer.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

I always look at the stamps on the inner ring to see if there's 1 layer or 2. It'd be hard to tell with "Terminator" though which is 2-sided and one side is dual layer and gold colored, while the other side is silver.