Is Physical Media Forever? | Let's Discuss Disc Rot 

Don’t panic. I have a lot of discs, hundreds of music CDs that I’ve had a really long time (like 30 years) as well as many many blu rays and DVD’s. I store them correctly and the ONLY ones that do not still play like new are CD-R’s, not factory made recordings. My gut tells me a properly cared for disc should last longer than celluloid film. I have reels of 16mm film, properly stored in my collection, that are more than half a century old and still project just fine. It’s true that nothing is forever but a physical media collection by and large should last a REALLY long time, with possibly a few individual exceptions that had defects in their manufacture.

I've had audio cassettes from 1981 that I was told would disintegrate within 10 yrs, and they are still playing with great audio

They dont handle cold well either tbf. I know ive found a disk in the loft or shed and the comdensation has got between the plastic and started to turn them. Simple finger prints can affect them also if theres anythin left behind that may degrade the plastic over time. 👍 😊

I have collected CDs since mid 80s , now have over 3500 CD albums and 800 DVDs - 40yers later CDs are still all perfect... I am not worried

I've never heard of disc rot before until recently. This seems to be a popular topic now. I've never encountered it. I have CDs that are over 30 years old. I have DVD's that I purchased in the early 2000s. No rot.

And reason no 3 is planned obsolescence

Don't know if I'd call the read layer metal rot "erosion", perhaps "rust" as it is usually the aluminum that oxidises or reacts with other elements. Could be just that you are using United Kingdom english. Great concise presentation. But the few time I've encountered what could only be described as "disc rot" there were no signs visible to the naked eye.

Damn, I didn’t know this was a thing (although in the back of my mind, I knew they wouldn’t last forever)…. What a quick, well put together video. While I’m already pretty protective of my 4k’s now, I’ll keep an even closer eye on them.

I've bought 25 year old DVD's second hand that sometimes looked like someone had carried them through a war zone, but they still played and had no signs of rot. I've had home burned CD's that still played after years in the glove compartment of my car, experiencing temperatures from -15 to + 40 (or more) Celcuis with loads of different humidity, and home recorded DVD's I recorded close to 20 years ago that still played last year when I did a clear out of old useless TV shows. Then there is that one set of Star Wars original trilogy discs on DVD I bought for the Theatrical Editions, that came with the "special" editions as well. Never played the special editions, never even took them out of the case, stored them same as all my other discs, then I decided to bring them on a trip 6-7 years after purchase, since I though no big loss if I lost them, and by the time I got to playing them all of them showed signs of rot and were unplayable in parts. Obviously take care of your collection, but unless you store it somewhere where it regularly experiences extreme climates, I think it's mostly up to the manufacturing. Keep your discs out of direct sunlight, keep them in the case when not in play and don't put your fingers on the read area and then it's mostly up to praying that manufacturing was good.

Vinyl records do not discrot

My oldest VHS tape is Trooping the Colours 1984 , recorded from the TV in 1985. Still plays the same as it ever did.

Just rip them all to a hard drive so you still have them in 50 years

I've lost several PSone games to rot.

i would be more concerned with your body rotting if you had all the covid jabs, rather than a CD..

Well that just proves, you're never to old to learn, I didn't know this was a thing! I do look after my collectibles and haven't come upon this yet! Is it the same with Cd's as I've been buying them since they begun? Mind you most of discs are downloaded on the computer now! Another user friendly video Luke, thank you!

For home made DVDs I only use Verbaitum which has stable materials and last longer. Regarding store bought movie dvds and blu ray, I don't know what they use. Storing them properly and advoiding scratching is important.

I've only had this happen a few times. Tina Turner: The Collected Recordings 60s to 90s audio CD had all 3 discs rot within a couple of years of purchase. Definitely some poor production there. I've noticed a few of my old PS2 games have started to have that frosted surface like they're in the early stages of disc rot, and it happens to be the games I used to play ALL the time. So I was wondering if it was just the constant use or exposure to whatever more than the others.

I only have ever _really_ experienced disc rotting on blank CDs that were left in moist damp humid storage bins. Masterfully pressed ones seem more resilient, the closest I have come across personally are delaminated Dreamcast games that boot back to the main menu. There’s some with the pinholes also, but they’re rather insignificant that the games play regardless

Disc label tears is as bad as disc rot. It is horrible to think the torn disc label gets shredded into micro bits when spinning inside disc drive.

I have never encountered disc rot in my 15 years of collecting. I check everything before I buy the item. If it’s rough, just pass on the item. The media should be kept in a dry, room temperature setting. Everything expires at some point. But I wouldn’t fuss over this issue one bit. You will likely be dead before the media is. Ain’t that about a beeeeotch? lol

I have only bought 1 CD in the past 10 years (Sturgill Simpsons Sound & Fury...3 copies actually) but I was buying 2-3 a week from 1990 to 2010 or so. In my collection I have two that got some rot/oxidisation. That appeared pretty soon after purchase not like 30 years later. I have three others that have pinholeing as a defect of the manufacturing process. Thats it.

It is just bad luck with a manufacturing error, it's all just about looking after your DVDS, CDs, books or whatever. First CD I ever bought back in 1988 is still going strong. Even some CDs I buy in op shops that don't look all that great, still play. Which is odd, as you can get a perfect looking disc which has a fault.

Very informative Luke