Re: DVD Rot

Posted by Barney on February 10, 2003

In Reply to: Re: DVD Rot posted by bob on February 10, 2003

: : When your DVD doesn't work after repeated use. I am not sure how soon this occurs. Anyone?

: It's an odd forum to ask the question, but ... since DVD's are digital, not magnetic, they don't "wear out" in the sense that magnetic tape does. And since the laser does not damage the 1's and 0's, it's not erosion by means of contact. They do, however, become unplayable as they get dirty, or scratched, or the plastic base gets warped by heat, or whatever. Give the physical disk good care, and they should be good for 1000 years.

1000 years - get away; that's as believable as the claims of plastic window frame sellers that their product outlives old-fashioned wood. The oak window frames in my house are about 240 years old whereas my neighbour replaced his wooden window frames 25 years ago with 'no maintenance' plastic and now all of the south facing windows frames are crazed, discoloured and crumbling to the touch. Something to do with the UV and, the manufacturer says, they've exceeded their 20 year guaranteed life so he's fulfilled his obligation. I suspect nobody quite knows how long a CD will survive but, if the history of other formats of recording is anything to go by, we may shortly find it impossible to play them as the technology is superseded.