DVD burning

[angrypandaink]

Hey, this is a touchy subject so for legal reasons this post will regard copying " home movies" or material that is not copyrighted.

All of the DVDs I burned a few years ago ( on both my Mac and my PC with different software and blank media) seemed to have deteriorated in quality or will simply not work anymore.

I read somewhere that they are made to start breaking down after a few years so people do not pirate DVDs. Does anyone know anything about this?

[TheSabOteuR]

that is new to me. where you hear that?

[angrypandaink]

I don't remember where, I think it was in popular mechanics or scientific digest, one on those magazines that smart folk read ( I read both of them). I will look online to see if I can find the article.

[Thunderloaf]

I read a technical article several years ago about how CDs and DVDs can deteriorate from the inside out. Our chief engineer at the radio station where I was working explained the process. They're basically thin discs pressed together, and the inner layer can break down over time.

Honestly, I don't know that it's as much a digital rights management issue as it is a production/quality issue. Cheaper quality discs do have more issues. The DRM issues usually come in the form of code embedded in the music or video files themselves.

My advice is to back up your personal files - photos, financial records, etc, on duplicate discs and store the discs in a cool, dry space.

There are probably other guys here on the forum that will know much more about it, but hope that helps out some.

[angrypandaink]

I have burned CDs that are over 10 years old and play with no problem but more than half of my bootleg and burned DVDs will not work or skip violently when played! Is the burning process different? I take great care of my media and do not scratch any of it!

[Knighthart]

I don't know if I buy this. Digital media doesnt break down as far as I know. I have things I've burned over five years ago and I can still watch them. I'm not a certified expert but I have several friends in the IT industry and I think they would speak the same. Digital media is designed to last forever. That's why its better than video tape which would break down. I remember someone in the 80s said that a video tape loses some of its magnetic encoding each time its played. Which I think was true thats why tapes wore out. And the life span of a video tape is only 5-10 years yet I have taps from the 80s and I can still play them today. Many of which I've encoded to digital mpeg or dvd video. (family movies and rare stuff) Digital media (DVDs) do not wear out. You can copy them and copy the copy and you will see no signs of it being a copy.

My personal diagnosis is that the DVDs and the DVD players you're using are not compatible with the firmware or how you burned them. Some DVD encoding will tell you that it may or may not play on certain players. Nero will burn a DVD that is pretty much universal. It depends if you allow the disc not be finalized after burned i.e. able to burn more on it later. Best is to always finalize the disc.

Otherwise, you should be able to watch a DVD for decades to come.

[Knighthart]

Originally Posted by angrypandaink

I have burned CDs that are over 10 years old and play with no problem but more than half of my bootleg and burned DVDs will not work or skip violently when played! Is the burning process different? I take great care of my media and do not scratch any of it!

This is caused by firmware.

I have some DVDs that will not play in cheap Cyberhome players but will in a nice Sony or PS2/3.

Its ties back to the media and the player...not the disc itself.

[angrypandaink]

Originally Posted by Knighthart

I don't know if I buy this. Digital media doesnt break down as far as I know. I have things I've burned over five years ago and I can still watch them. I'm not a certified expert but I have several friends in the IT industry and I think they would speak the same. Digital media is designed to last forever. That's why its better than video tape which would break down. I remember someone in the 80s said that a video tape loses some of its magnetic encoding each time its played. Which I think was true thats why tapes wore out. And the life span of a video tape is only 5-10 years yet I have taps from the 80s and I can still play them today. Many of which I've encoded to digital mpeg or dvd video. (family movies and rare stuff) Digital media (DVDs) do not wear out. You can copy them and copy the copy and you will see no signs of it being a copy.

My personal diagnosis is that the DVDs and the DVD players you're using are not compatible with the firmware or how you burned them. Some DVD encoding will tell you that it may or may not play on certain players. Nero will burn a DVD that is pretty much universal. It depends if you allow the disc not be finalized after burned i.e. able to burn more on it later. Best is to always finalize the disc.

Otherwise, you should be able to watch a DVD for decades to come.

I agree with you , I think it is a combination of things. I have 4 new computers and have used 5 or 6 different software programs to burn DVDs, I also have had friends burn disks for me. I also have 4 DVD player plus the computers and Xbox360 and playstation 2 so I have yet to experiment with compatability between different copied media and players.

I will say this, my friend once told me that cheap blank DVD-Rs damage easier than store bought media. For example, store bought movies that get dropped or have small scratches are OK, but I have copied media that I left on a table or something and now they do not play without skipping violently!

[angrypandaink]

Maybe some of my DVD were not finalized? Is there any way to tell besides trying to add more data on to them?

[twatson4_95]

Burned DVDs are not archival. Only commerecial DVDs are. Writable DVDs have a much thinner protective layer on the bottom of the disk, this is required to allow the disc to be written on, and commercial DVDs are non-rewritable.