Disc discoloration? (1 Viewer)

[Sam Favate]

I recently noticed that many of my older discs (3-4 years and up) have a slightly gold tone to them instead of being silver and clear. I tested some and they seem fine, but I'm worried that the long term effects could damage them (the dreaded "disc rot"). Many of these are from expensive box sets, so I'm naturally very concerned. The shelf they are on is near a window that gets some sun, but I've taken pains to make sure the shelf and the boxes are shaded. I kind of like having the boxes displayed but certainly don't want to risk ruining a collection. Anyone have any similar experiences? Are the discs in danger because they've developed a slight color to them? Any info is appreciated.

 

[MarkHastings]

Ooooo! Your thread title should have been "Disc"oloration

Were the 'gold' discs gold before and have now turned gold? The reason I ask is, aren't dual layer DVD's gold? Is it gold all over, or is it 'spotty' (or cloudy) on the disc?

 

[ChristopherDAC]

Certainly the Phillips UK LaserDiscs and CDs which went bad turned a bronze colour, but that was the exception rather than the rule. Do you have some kind of computer equipment which would allow you to test for Bit Error Rate? If so you can find out if they're close to the margin where error-correction becomes ineffective.

 

[Sam Favate]

They're mostly TV season sets, X-Files, Star Trek TNG, DS9. The X-Files discs are a deeper gold than the others.

I don't think I have a way to check bit error rate, but then again maybe I do. What kind of program would I be looking for? Could it be a display option on the DVD player?

 

[Ray_R]

Christopher wouldn't know because his area of expertise is in laserdiscs and not DVD's. I'm quite sure there's a downloadable bit-rate viewer somewhere online. My display button shows the bitrate after pressing it three times and shows whether it's a dual layer disc by showing a L0 and an L1. I have a Hitachi DV-P325U...

 

[Kevin M]

The "cloudy" thing is usually on dual layer discs, I have to admit that I have no idea whether it is just an aspect of the two layers being glued together or is some sign of aging....seems to me that it isn't there at first but shows up later in the DVD's life.

 

[ChristopherDAC]

For Bit Error Rate, as opposed to simple a/v Bitrate, I think you're going to be looking at an application which will run on a computer with a DVD-ROM drive. Professional DVD players may have this function, but I've never heard of a consumer one which does. You can probably Google around a little and find a DVD disc-check utility which will do the job. If you have NERO or something similar, I think it already includes one.

 

[Eric Huffstutler]

There were both Gold and Silver discs. The bitrate layering has something to do with it from years ago. I remember that with Disney's "Dinosaur", one of the discs in either siler or gold would not work on all players so they repressed the disc in the different color.

Now, if you see a milky or cloudy spotting then you may have reason to worry. Some play fine but other people say this is an indication of "rot" due to poor bonding materials during manufacturing.