DVD-r/DVD+r degradation

[JimRaynor]

My dad is currently transferring the college videos from vhs to dvd. So, the college buys like hundreds and hundreds of cheap blank dvds for like 88 cents a piece bulk. So... isn't there an issue where the cheaper ones will basically kinda rot and will have like errors and stuff after like 2 years or so? Does the media out today still have this problem? Can anyone recommend a good dvd media? Thanks.

 

[Duvie]

I hadn't heard of any rotting in 2 years, but I do recommend they stay protected in cases and not left out on a table or somewhere where direct sunlight can beam on them....

I think most of the cheapo stuff taken care of will last 5-10 years still...The biggest advantage is archiving here, with chance in 5 years we will have a newer blue laser technology available and we can put a heck of a lot on one disk...

I have used cheap cd-rs that from 1996 still work fine.....On the other hand I have had stuff on floppy disk go bad after 2 years...

 

[PaperclipGod]

Why would it "rot"? CD's and DVD's make physical pits on the surface of the disk to store information. Floppies go bad because all it is is a magnetic strip inside; there's nothing that physically happens to it to store information.

 

[draggoon01]

why do cd's go bad?

also i've only heard about burned cd's going bad. has anyone ever had a pressed audio/retail cd go bad?

 

[Duvie]

I have heard of a coulpe thingd with Cds and I can imagine they can apply to DVD disk as well....The lamination process of the plastic coating and the actual storage surface can separate with cheap cd's. I have also seen first hand cds left downside up exposed to sun over a period of time can actually bleach the color of the undersurface. This could have effects. Physically I know no exact scientific reasons. Marketing BS may play a lot into this but I do know they claim the archivable 50 year stuff is usualy gold colored underside...The light greens and light blues tend to be the cheaper sub 50 cent disk....