Time Tunnel V2 Is Yours "Smearville" (1 Viewer)

[Dave Scarpa]

One thing I notice happening on more and more DVD's of Late is that terrible Looking Blotchiness that appears on the disk. Geez if I din't know better I'd think Laser rot. The Disks Play OK they just look like they are detiorating. My Time Tunnel set exhibit this smearing but they play OK, Anyone else? Are they just using cheaper materials ? Whats the Story?

 

[Mark_TS]

When DVD was on the horizon, QC on laserdiscs went way down-presumably to drive people to DVD; The same may be happening here-to get people to move to HD-EVEN THOUGH THERE IS NO FINAL AGREED UPON FORMAT, DAMMIT

also, making discs in Mexico (esp 18's) probably doesnt help-and with higher fuel prices cutting into distribution, something has to give;

(alternate thread title: "TIME TUNNEL V.2 DVD=Smears looking at you, kid")!

 

[Harry-N]

Dave and Mark,

A bit off-topic, but do both of you know that you have "signature pictures" that don't show? For Dave, I get a red "X". For Mark, I get an image tag:

Sometimes these pictures will show on the poster's machine, but the rest of us aren't seeing it. IIRC, it was around the time of the new forum software where this occured. Perhaps you guys need to update you signature files? Just a friendly note here - no criticism meant.

So far, I haven't encountered and "smearing" on my discs, and they've played through fine. The only flaws I find on V2 is the color tint pulsing on "Visitors From Beyond The Stars" and the scratched film lines on "Raiders From Outer Space". Both were documented in the main TIME TUNNEL thread.

Harry

 

[Richard_Gregory]

I take it you're referring to the actual surface of the disc, not the actual content.

If so, there are two common problems on discs:

The "Coffee Stain Effect". This appears are irregular patches of lighter/darker gold colour. It is caused by uneven application of the lacquer used to protect the metal data-layer. This is most common in discs manufactured some years ago.

Some discs may also show patches of slightly "cloudy" area (like mist on a cold window, but not so marked). This is usually caused by imperfect cleaning or polishing of the clear polycarbonate plastic that forms the tough outer layer of the disc.

Neither should be of any concern and should not affect playback.

However, if your disc turns a uniform dark bronze colour, develops patches of brown or black, or the clear bit is so cloudy you can't see the metal layer, then it's time to worry. But you'll have noticed by then that the disc won't play, either!

As has been pointed out, the big problem at the moment are shoddily made DVD-18 discs that look fine to the eye but don't play properly.

 

[Sam Favate]

I have several older discs that have a gold color to them, and I can't remember if they were ever silver as new discs are. Is this the "coffee stain" or the beginnings of the dark bronze? They seem to play fine, but I am worried because they are all from expensive TV season sets (Star Trek TNG, X-Files, etc.).

 

[Randy*S]

My sets play great, I love both sets by the way!
But I gave up being a "collector" and just started to enjoy them, no set is 100% perfect anyway.
But we do have the right to expect the best materials!

Also, on a side note, I agree with what James Darren said in his interview on the set about the state of entertaintment now. It is scary what's out there.

 

[Mark_TS]

Odd thing, Harry-I just put mine up a day or two ago-I can see your TT just fine. its a rather unique Asian(?) poster/cover for Kingdom of Heaven

I remember one of the early selling points of DVD, during LDs demise was "And they wont get laser-rot!"

 

[Harry-N]

Mark, I see your avatar, it's whatever's in your signature that I don't see. Down below your post, all that's there is:

{img}ai7.psd{/img}

(with square brackets instead of curvy ones).

For Dave Scarpa, I get the red [X] in the box, indicating a broken link.

No big deal, but it's possible that you guys are seeing your signatures just fine, but no-one else is. That's because the image might be housed and cached on your local box, so you can see it, but the rest of us can't. Just trying to help out, that's all.

I have a large LaserDisc collection and now a pretty substantial DVD collection, not to mention loads of CDs. So the house is loaded with shiny discs. I've YET to encounter a single case of laser rot (though, to be honest, it's not like I check the LaserDiscs very often these days).

Harry

 

[Jeff Willis]

Just a note on the old Laserdisc format: I did catch one case in my remaining LD's that had what appeared to be a case of "LaserRot". I can't be certain that's what happened, but I've always stored the LD's in a "cool, dry place & vertical,", etc, so I'm guessing that this is what happened. I remember years ago during the LD peak that there were other reports of LD "Rot" but they were not frequent happenings. The DVD issue is of a concern to me as well since I have, as most of us here probably have, a sizeable TV/DVD collection set by now. I haven't yet revisited any of my Universal DVD-18's yet since viewed once. so maybe I have some "over-ripe" and don't know it yet.

Does anyone here have a track record of Universal's exchange record for defective discs in a set or sets that were purchased outside of any normal return-time window? It would be interesting to hear about the other other major studios' records, as well. With the few that I've had to exchange (all Uni DVD-18's), Amazon exchanged the whole TV/DVD set and not just the defective disc, even when the set were exchanged well outside the 30-day return window.

 

[Richard_Gregory]

Okay.

Single layer discs, on the data side, are usually bright silver in colour.

Dual layer discs are usually a pale gold colour.

However, older discs of either type can be of a darker golden colour, which is caused by the lacquer used to protect the data layer. Best guess is that this is either different, or thinner, in newer discs.

The "Coffee Stain Effect" is caused by this lacquer being uneven, so you get blotched areas that look a bit darker than the rest. I have loads of discs like this.

Neither light gold discs or the "Coffee Stain Effect" are anything to worry about.

The only discs I know of that went a dark bronze colour were some issued by Anchor Bay (notably, The Witches and Frankenstein Created WOman). They turned a uniform, dark bronze colour and were unusuable (after about 18 months). When I say dark bronze I mean just that, they were a chocolate brown colour!

Relax, your discs are fine.

ALso, afaik one of the reasons for "Laser Rot" was that the plastics used to make them were permeable to moisture which caused the metal layer to oxidise. Also, the discs were so heavy that they tended to deform under their own weight, causing damage.

The polycarbonate used in DVD's in ten times less permeable, and weight isn't a problem (though DVD's should be stored vertically).

SO any "DVD Rot" is most likely going to be caused by manufacture defects (like those Anchor Bay discs, the cause was found to be a wrong lacquer used).

Despite what you read on the net, "DVD Rot" is extremely rare. DVD faults are nearly always manufacture or authoring screwups.

 

[Sam Favate]

Richard,
Many thanks for the explanation. You have set my mind at ease. I appreciate the insight.