Is this DVD rot. (1 Viewer)

[Derek Duncan]

I pulled out my Scream dvds today,I watched one and two, they played just fine, but when I put in three,the last ten minutes started to skip, then get all blocky, and then the final chapter wouldn't play. I have never had this happen before, and all my dvds are in mint condition, the disc isn't scratched at all, but is very milky looking, I have other discs that look milky like this, but not as much, the others I watch often, but this one I have watched only once, the movie is crap, but should I worry about the others, I checked the others, and had no problems.
Derek

 

[Stephen Smith]

Derek, some of the dvds I own I bought the first year dvd came out, and they look and sound just as good now as the day I bought them. I can honestly say that I have never experienced anything like that.
Hope you work it out.
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[Andrea W]

I remember seeing a DVD-rot list thread in here somewhere. Try a search.
Found it:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/Forum15/HTML/028248.html
[Edited last by Andrea W on August 12, 2001 at 01:57 AM]

 

[Scott H]

The milky swirl appearance is most definitely not DVD rot. It is very common, and I have yet to learn of a single person experiencing playback issues with said discs. Many, many of my DVDs have that appearance, including Criterion's, the entire new Kubrick Collection and almost every Anchor Bay disc I have seen...
You might try searching the forum for information and links on DVD/laser rot. There are images of it's physical appearance around as well. It is essentially the delamination of the disc, the failing of the lacquer bonding the substrates.
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[Ivan Berisic]

What kind of a DVD player do you have?
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[AaronMK]

I had similar experiences for many discs when I had the Panasonic A120 player. I have a Sony now and have never had this problem again.
Are you by any chance using that player?

 

[Dan Hitchman]

The early Panasonic players had a laser optics problem. They would fail fairly early. Perhaps that's what you were experiencing, Aaron.
Dan
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[Derek Duncan]

I woke up this morning, tried the disc again, and it worked perfectly. I have a Sony player, and las night took out the disc, and tried many other discs that worked just fine, and when I put this one back in, it still messed up, but this morning,nothing. I have had discs do this a little in the past, but not as bad as this one, My Fair Lady and A Star is Born(1954) did the same thing near the layer change the first few times I watched them, but they work fine now, I guess this one was the same way. As for the milky look, most of my discs look this way too, and never had a problem, I simply couldn't find anything else wrong, oh well!
Derek

 

[MikeSerrano]

I woke up this morning, tried the disc again, and it worked perfectly

I remember reading somewhere that the early Panasonics were heat-sensitive and would flake out after a marathon sessions under poor ventilation (some discs were flakier than others).
This is just a shot in the dark, but does your Sony have adequate ventilation?
-Mike

 

[Antonio_M]

I had a panasonic, and it used to get really hot. So what happened? The discs used to skip alot.
Also, if you're worried about laser rot, pick up Cdplayright(.com) and your troubles are over.

 

[Roger Mathus]

There is the possibility that there was contamination or dust on the disc. If a problem like you describe occurs, I recommend light cleaning even if the disc looks clean. I have experienced the problem you mention on several occasions, and cleaning always cleared it up.

 

[Doug Pyle]

What Roger said. Cleaning may eliminate your problem.
DVD"rot" [sic] doesn't come and go like you described. Also, visual cues for DVD-"rot" are invisible under ordinary light. So, the milky look isn't it. To see the visual cue you need a focused, undiffuse light source. Click here for sample image and description.
Frankly, there are not many DVDs that have this problem. Certain batches or individual disks seem to go bad. For those unlucky enough to get a problem disk, and confirm it is DVD-"rot," it's frustrating. If this problem actually strikes, I suggest using the link above (print out the article) to help pursuade the dealer or studio that you have this problem and request with some perseverence that your defective DVD should be replaced.
BTW "DVD-rot" is a poor but popular term borrowed from laser disk, for what is probably a manufacturing defect that gradually deteriorates the DVD's lamination.
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• May you be happy and well!

 

[David Susilo]

I don't know whether this is DVD rot, but many of my discs poses a bit of white pixelization here and there and the result is repeatable on several DVD players (Panasonic, Pioneer, Sony).
This only happens on the earlier titles such as
Driving (over) Miss Daisy
Under Siege
Scream
Legends of the Fall

 

[Anthony Hom]

This is just an honest question, I am not being sarcastic, but I am curious.
How long do you think your DVDs will last? I would like to not hear any responses with the words "I hope". I would like your honest opinion. 10 years? 20 years? 100 years? Are there some out there that think their DVDs will never ever decay, that they will last another millenium?
My collection is starting to get up there in size, about 200. I am hestitant to buy every movie out there, especially if I never saw it before. Some people have no problem with buying almost everything out there and more power to them.
Of course I am assuming they are kept in a very good place away from heat and moisture.

 

[bob kaplan]

i just tried to watch my Image release of HORROR EXPRESS from the EuroShock Collection. It no longer plays. It does make it through about the first 20 minutes then it begins to "block" and freeze.

Looking a the under surface of the disc, it is noted that the layer underneath the plastic has the appearance of small (.5 centimeters or less) moon creaters!! never saw this before...! and hoped that i never do again....i just hope that i can get a replacement...this is a great little movie.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

The so-called DVDRot is really just a result of improper manufacturing. The disc isn't sealed properly air slowly oxidizes the data layer. It's not the widespread phenomena that laser rot was and occurs in a relatively small percentage of discs

One thing everyone has to remember is that your average person here buys 3x more DVDs than J6P, so it happens EXPONENTIALLY more often.

 

[Jacob_isham]

anthony, to answer your question, DVD is a disposable format, expected to last between 10 and 20 years, this is assuming the DVD was manufactured perfectly according to the spec, if it was not then it could last significantly less time. The studios expect that after 10 years, the format will be defunct anyway, and most people wont care to much. The studios also want to keep on selling back catalogue titles, it's not in there interest for DVD to be a permenent storage solution (or at least say the 70+ years expected of top quality CDR).

 

[jonathan_little]

Pioneer DVD-R discs claim a 100 year lifetime. (pdf) I have no reason to believe that pressed DVDs would not have a lifetime similar to or better than that, assuming they were manufactured correctly.
8-Tracks and CEDs are what I'd call disposable formats. I have some CDs from the late 80s that play just as fine as the day that I got them, and I expect the same performance from my DVD collection in 10-15 years.

 

[Jacob_isham]

well you can expect all you like johnathon but it wont make it happen, fact is after 10 years if your DVD title stops working through no fault of your own, your not gonna get a replacement. You should note that the 10-20 year lifespan is for dual layer discs (which most titles are these days), not single layer. The main problem is that the glue that bonds the 2 layers together deteriotes over time. This can happen quickly in some cases where the dvd wasnt manufactered correctly (1 year). However people wrongly assume that discs manufactured correctly are gonna last a good 50-100 years, fact is the glue still deteriotes but at a slower rate, and when it does affect disc playback it will be to late to get a replacement. Tests have been done accross a broad range of discs using machines which purposly speeds up the ageing process that would be expected if the disc was left in archival storage. Just cause that disc you bought 4 or 5 years ago still works, you can't assume that it will still work in another 5 years. The good news is that the practise of making dual layer discs, by bonding 2 plastic discs together is expected to stop in a few years as new processes are tested that will make it possible to press a dual layer disc into one solid plastic disc.