CDs, DVDs not so immortal...

(AP) -- Dan Koster was unpacking some of his more than 2,000 CDs after a move when he noticed something strange. Some of the discs, which he always took good care of, wouldn't play properly.
Koster, a Web and graphic designer for Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina, took one that was skipping pretty badly and held it up to the light.
"I was kind of shocked to see a constellation of pinpricks, little points where the light was coming through the aluminum layer," he says.
His collection was suffering from "CD rot," a gradual deterioration of the data-carrying layer. It's not known for sure how common the blight is, but it's just one of a number of reasons that optical discs, including DVDs, may be a lot less long-lived than first thought.
"We were all told that CDs were well-nigh indestructible when they were introduced in the mid '80s," Koster says. "Companies used that in part to justify the higher price of CDs as well."
He went through his collection and found that 15 percent to 20 percent of the discs, most of which were produced in the '80s, were "rotted" to some extent.

Mark Irons holds out a damaged music CD.

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Gust scary� no wander some of my cd�s don�t want to work enymore�

Perhaps now he'll quit purchasing CDs, and use his savings towards a haircut and contacts?

"Dude.. my cd collection is like totally rotted man... im bummin..."

Heh heh heh.. hippies....

Judging by the man's face I don't think it's credible. He probably used permanent marker to make it appear. I think this man is on drugs. He probably put a marker on it.

DVD's and CD's are not designed to live for as long as you might think.

The glue which holds the two layers of DVD together is made of an organic substrate. This breaks down over time. It has already been shown that the DVDs from the first few years of production are already showing signs of delamination.

Likewise, the ink in CD-R disks is made of a similar product to the glue in DVDs, this also breaks down over time.

Yet another problem occurs with the silver layer of CDs, which becomes brittle and flakes away first microscopically, then in large flakes over time, making the disk useless.

So, basically, they suck as a long-term storage medium. The only solution is to keep multiple backups and to replace the medium they are on every couple of years.

It is a major problem for the long-term storage of data.
These problems have been known for some years.

[Edited on 6-5-2004 by Zzub]

[Edited on 6-5-2004 by Zzub]

Originally posted by Ess Why Kay
Perhaps now he'll quit purchasing CDs, and use his savings towards a haircut and contacts?

and maybe you should try to add something useful to the thread, other than post rude remarks on someones appearance. people should get penalties on posts like these, just like with one liners.

Records still work! All these years and we can't have a good dvd for more than 5 years. Unbelieveable!

It also makes one wonder about the fabrication process of blu-ray discs too! Good ole Entropy at work. With CD rot (lol almost like bit rot on chips) perhaps it will get some companies to start making data recovery tools for Cd's, Dvd's and Br's.

CDs usually last between 10 and 100 years. If you care for them well, they will last longer: Care and Handling Guide for the Preservation of CDs and DVDs (1.25mb PDF).

I think it's funny you chose to attack me. Have you seen any of my other posts? I don't go around posting rude remarks you chump. Why don't you bother the guy who posted saying he's just a hippie, or the other guy saying he probably lied? Nobody is serious man, take a chill pill.

Edit to take out the quote.

[Edited on 6-5-2004 by Ess Why Kay]

i left a cd on the back shelf of my car and it went like that after a few months and it was a newish cd (about a year old). i thought it could be somthing to do with the heat and direct sunlight. could these things increase the rate of deterioration???

A related story from 2001:

Scientists in Spain have identified a new form of fungus that eats compact discs.
A geologist at the Museum of Natural History in Madrid discovered the fungus, which belongs to the common Geotrichum family, on CDs brought back from the central American state of Belize.

Marc Valls, National Centre for Biotechnology, Spain
The fungus had attacked the outer edge of the disc, consuming plastic and even aluminium. It rendered the CD unplayable.

news.bbc.co.uk...

I've seen damaged CDs before so it's not bunk.