ScuzzBlog: Diaries September 2021
Entry 1st September 2021: Post 1: DVD rot - disc failure.
DVD rot - disc failure.
DVD rot or disc rot... The structure of a DVD varies to that of a
CD and uses a plastic disc over the reflecting layer. The main
cause of disc rot is the corrosion of the aluminium and because
the DVD has greater resistance it is unusual for this to happen.
I have literally hundreds, if not well over a thousand DVDs and
when I first encountered this disc I went through all of them. A
massive challenge given that most are in store and gathering dust.
Having inspected each and every one I did not find further discs
suffering the same corrosion. I concluded that this was a
manufacturing fault and with such a low occurrence it really isn't
a worry.
The silver reflective layer of recordable DVDs are more susceptible
to damage I am led to understand. Discs can also be damaged by the
label or the marker that is used. That is why I use only DVD type
marker pens.
The disc in question was a Verbatim disc and dates from 2016. It
was recorded on just the once as you would expect from a -R and
in truth has probably never been played. I do back up a lot of data
using DVDs but hardly need to access it. All discs are numbered
and catalogued so I know what is on each disc.
You may think the disc has suffered physical damage or had fluid
dropped on it. This is highly unlikely as there are no contaminants
in the proximity of the disc collection and the area where I record
is well clear of where I sit, relax and drink my tea.
Given that CDs are of a different construction it may be worth
spending some time and checking those also. Trouble is I have like
three times as many CDs so that'll have to wait for another day.
Not sure if it's the right thing to do but I do have a lot of CDs
in tubs, though most are stacked in special CD bookcases I have.
Given that I very very rarely need to call up a CD I don't think
it is a today problem. However, if you thought your CD collection
was going to last forever and ever, it may be worth making some
duplicate copies of your best stuff.
Just a tip and that is always use DVD-R as they list files as
single files, whereas +R lumps everything together in one three
to four large streams of data. Editing in Avidemux is real tricky
with a single large file.
DVD rot - disc failure.
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