longetivity of dvd's and cd's

memory · 02-09-2007, 01:26 AM

How long should a music cd last? I have several albums I bought in stores years ago. Well I never listen to them anymore so I was going to sell them. The problem is I was checking all of them to make sure they work and out of 12 cd's, only 1 of them works. They have hardly been used and not to many scratches on them. Did they do that because they set for so long? Is there anything I can do to make them work again or are they garbage?

Now for the DVD question, if I transfer a VHS movie to a DVD, how long will that DVD last? What will last longer VHS or DVD? What about a store bought DVD movie, how long will it last?

heyman421 · 02-09-2007, 01:28 AM

~10 years

store bought discs last indefinitely

Jet · 02-09-2007, 01:29 AM

Have you tried a different CD player, or cleaned the discs?

DVDs last much longer than VHS tapes do.

The_Beast · 02-09-2007, 01:34 AM

I think they last longer than 10 years, maybe more like 1,000,000 if you took really good care of them

heyman421 · 02-09-2007, 01:54 AM

i meant writeable media

pressed discs last as long as you keep good care of them, but the writeable material in blank media disintegrates in ~10 years

memory · 02-09-2007, 01:56 AM

Are you talking about blank media?

heyman421 · 02-09-2007, 02:04 AM

ya, wikipedia says they should TECHNICALLY be able to last a long time, but there's too many variables that can speed aging, especially writing on the disc with markers, which can reduce life to just a year or two

last i heard the common 'estimate' for cd-r/dvd-r lifespan was ~10 years, more if you don't write on it, and keep it indoors, in cool temperatures, and of course less if you don't take care of it, and let it get too hot/wet/etc.

the ink oxydizes, and disintegrates is why they become unreadable

store-bought discs are actually pressed pieces of metal inside, which wont break down over time (although early discs, including laserdiscs suffered from something called laser rot, which was basically oxidation on the pressed data layer)

hazzardm · 02-09-2007, 11:01 PM

I read somewhere that actually using the media every few years (versus storage) will increase the life of the recording. Too technical for me to understand why.

02-09-2007, 01:26 AM	#1 (permalink)
memory Platinum Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Southern Indiana Posts: 505	longetivity of dvd's and cd's How long should a music cd last? I have several albums I bought in stores years ago. Well I never listen to them anymore so I was going to sell them. The problem is I was checking all of them to make sure they work and out of 12 cd's, only 1 of them works. They have hardly been used and not to many scratches on them. Did they do that because they set for so long? Is there anything I can do to make them work again or are they garbage? Now for the DVD question, if I transfer a VHS movie to a DVD, how long will that DVD last? What will last longer VHS or DVD? What about a store bought DVD movie, how long will it last?

02-09-2007, 01:29 AM	#3 (permalink)
Jet VIP Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 5,500	Have you tried a different CD player, or cleaned the discs? DVDs last much longer than VHS tapes do. __________________ http://www.joshualongeneckerphotography.com

02-09-2007, 01:34 AM	#4 (permalink)
The_Beast Diamond Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Wisconsin Age: 18 Posts: 3,300	I think they last longer than 10 years, maybe more like 1,000,000 if you took really good care of them __________________ Rendering Machine - Gigabyte DS3L P35 - - C2D E6550 - - Corsair XMS2 2Gb - Seagate 'Cuda 320Gb - Sapphire 2600 XT 256mb - - Antec Earthwatt 430 watt - - Antec New Solution Series Case - - Hp w1907 monitor -

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02-09-2007, 01:28 AM	#2 (permalink)
heyman421 banned Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 2,349	~10 years store bought discs last indefinitely

02-09-2007, 01:54 AM	#5 (permalink)
heyman421 banned Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 2,349	i meant writeable media pressed discs last as long as you keep good care of them, but the writeable material in blank media disintegrates in ~10 years

02-09-2007, 01:56 AM	#6 (permalink)
memory Platinum Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Southern Indiana Posts: 505	Are you talking about blank media?

02-09-2007, 02:04 AM	#7 (permalink)
heyman421 banned Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 2,349	ya, wikipedia says they should TECHNICALLY be able to last a long time, but there's too many variables that can speed aging, especially writing on the disc with markers, which can reduce life to just a year or two last i heard the common 'estimate' for cd-r/dvd-r lifespan was ~10 years, more if you don't write on it, and keep it indoors, in cool temperatures, and of course less if you don't take care of it, and let it get too hot/wet/etc. the ink oxydizes, and disintegrates is why they become unreadable store-bought discs are actually pressed pieces of metal inside, which wont break down over time (although early discs, including laserdiscs suffered from something called laser rot, which was basically oxidation on the pressed data layer)

02-09-2007, 11:01 PM	#8 (permalink)
hazzardm New Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 6	I read somewhere that actually using the media every few years (versus storage) will increase the life of the recording. Too technical for me to understand why.