Data Loss???

OhMyGosh wrote on 5/21/2007, 9:47 PM

I came across several DVD-R movies I had made in 4-03. I thought I would watch them to relive some old memories. Man was I surprised! I tried all three on the same TV that I had used to preview them origanlly, and I got the dreaded 'incorrect disc' message. I put them in my laptop and got two of them to play, and the third one played half way through before it locked up. I don't know if the picture quality is different from TV to PC, but they didn't look good at all on my PC. They are kept in a safe at 68 degrees with no light or humidity. There was talk years ago that data could just up and disappear from CD's and DVD's. Is this possible, or could there be some other explanation? Thanks. Cin

Comments

ScottW wrote on 5/22/2007, 5:35 AM

Yes, DVD's have a shelf life - largely dependent on the quality of the media. Cheap media usually means cheap ink, which is more likely to degrade more rapidly (all media will degrade over time). Another thing that can happen is they can rust - the silver reflective layer can oxidize, which will cause playback problems - this is why a lot of folks recommend archival quality DVD's for the really important stuff, since they have a gold reflective layer.

As far as not looking good on your PC, hard to say without some more specifics on how they didn't look good. There are differences between the 2 display devices; also some software players are not all that great, especially if they have to scale the image up beyond the native format.

OhMyGosh wrote on 5/22/2007, 9:40 PM

Thanks for the info Scott. I had no idea :( I tried to find some archival DVD's at my local Office Depot store, but the guy said he has never heard of them. I know they exist, and I will keep looking. I have about 20 that really mean a lot to me, and I would be sick if I ever lost them. As for viewing, I have never watched a DVD on my computer before, so they looked blurry and out of focus as compared to the TV (when they worked, of course!). Thanks again. Cin

ScottW wrote on 5/23/2007, 6:06 AM

Unlikely to find these in stores - too darn expensive and most of the sales people wouldn't have any idea what they were for.

http://www.mam-a.com/