Unusually short lifespan for a recordable DVD

[Patrick]

Sometime ago, I had edited together some wild dolphin footage I took, created a Data DVD of it and sent the disc to an active organisation that collects data on dolphins for conservation. I used a Verbatim DVD as I was recommended to use that brand by an online forum. To my surprise, it was pointed out to me that the DVD only lasted about 5 or 6 weeks. Apparently, the disc will not play anymore. I have heard that recordable DVDs are playable for about 5 years so I was more than a bit surprised by what happened in my case. They're surprised too.

I did hear elsewhere that Data DVDs are more susceptible to corruption. Is this true? I must admit that I know very little about this technology but I am puzzled as to why a Data DVD would be more vulnerable to corruption compared to a regularly encoded DVD (ie one that can be played in a DVD player.) What I am really getting at is – is it a fact that it is a Data DVD that likely caused the unusually short lifespan or would there be other factors involved? Of course it could be anyone's guess as to why this happened. Though I would like to hear some theories.

[BK]

Depends on how the dvd was stored or whether it was exposed to direct sunlight for a prolong period that could have affected the disc. Most likely the drive not being able to read it rather than the disc itself since some makes are picky on certain brands of media. I have some data dvds from a few years ago and they are still alright.

Bill

[Angus]

In terms of what is recorded on the disc, it is 1's and 0's in the form of pits burned into the disc material....be it data, audio or video...in fact it is ALL data.

However, a damaged section of a disc with a movie recorded onto it might merely be a slightly annoying skip of a few seconds whereas on a 'data disc' it could render some files unreadable.

Also factor in that some brands of disc just don't get on with some drives.

Having said all this, 5-6 weeks is unreasonably short and I would suggest that the dolphin organisation visually checks that the disc has not been physically damaged (abrasion, scratches, left in the sun) and tries it on a variety of DVD drives. If they used it for 5 weeks with success there is a chance that their own drive has damaged the disc, possibly via some foreign object in the tray scratching the surface? Certainly any recordable DVD which genuinely has a lifespan of 5 weeks is not fit for purpose.

I've been burning DVDs since mid 2004 so it's 7 years now. I have discs from those early days which retain their data, the very worst would be a DVD-video disc which skips at two points on an 80 minute documentary.

That said, the lifespan of recordable DVD media certainly is finite and I find myself now backing up some of my earlier recordings just in case.

[slashmaster]

It sounds like it must be a scratch or fingerprint on the disc. 5-6 weeks is too short a timespan even if you leave it on the dash of your car in the hot sun everyday. Get them to try different disc drives. I have a disc with a pdf file that my drive won't read anymore but other drives will.

[joelpierre]

It is just possible that this particular DVD is defective.

All DVDs are not checked by the manufacturer (the checks are done on samples).

Burning must be done at 4x speed (no more, no less) with subsequent verification of written data by the software.

[super8man]

"Color" of the disk is a huge deal. There were lots of experiments with brands offering black and blue surfaces (the side that gets written on) along with the usual bland silver/yellow. Then even some of those more typical colors were so faint when their were written on by some drives that they cannot be read. I had some come back from Costco way back when that were like that. I barely got them copied to some other media as I recall. but that was the old days. Oh, there was also a green that was popular for a spell. Nowadays we just all use tiny hard drives or jump/flash drives...and once it's all on facebook, does it matter? Just kidding.

So, when it comes to stuff like that, trust then verify. Burn a disk, make a backup on some other media like a hard drive.

Cheers,
Mike

[Angus]

I find that sunlight can ruin the data on a DVD-R in a matter of a few days. You'll notice the read/write surface change in colour.

Or as satated above it could just be that you were unlucky and got a defective disc.

I have a few brands that I know are compatible with all my equipment. My Panasonic DVD recorder is getting a bit pernickety about what dyes it likes/dislikes these days. It is 6 years old and the laser is likely on its last elbows.

[Uppsala BildTeknik]

There is also the chance that it is a DVD+R disc and their DVD-drive can only read DVD-R discs. Or the other way around. As others have suggested, they should try to read it on a few different computers.

[slashmaster]

There is also the chance that it is a DVD+R disc and their DVD-drive can only read DVD-R discs. Or the other way around. As others have suggested, they should try to read it on a few different computers.

Interesting. Next time I go out and buy dvd r's do you think I'll have less of a chance of this problem with + or -?

[Uppsala BildTeknik]

Alright, a history lesson!

From the beginning when recordable DVDs was all new and cool a few companies made the DVD-R discs and DVD-R burners. This was their design, their patented stuff and they wanted this to become industry standard.

Then a few other companies made the DVD+R discs and DVD+R burners, patented it, wrapped it up and wanted the DVD+R to become industry standard.

All this time consumers got pretty annoyed at all this (I know I was!), and the companies competed about "winning the battle"... Until some other company got fed up with it and made DVD readers/burners that could read and write on both DVD+R and DVD-R discs.

Nobody won the battle, both DVD+R and DVD-R survived. Nowadays all new computers that I know of have units that can read/write both DVD+R and DVD-R discs. But if you have a old computer there is a chance that it can only read/write either DVD+R or DVD-R discs.

The compability is slightly better for DVD-R discs on standalone DVD-players. but for computers, it is just a question about if they have a DVD+R or a DVD-R unit. Or a unit that that can handle both DVD+R and DVD-R standards.

If you want to be certain your disc can be read by everyone, get a double-DVD case and make a DVD-R and a DVD+R disc and slap them both in the case. :mrgreen:

[Angus]

I've never come across any computer burner that cannot read and write both +R and -R discs. That said I wasn't in at the very beginning and started burning in May 2004.

I've also not come across a DVD-ROM or combi drive that cannot read both +R and -R discs.

That said, don't rule it out, the very earliest drives probably were only able to deal with one or the other.

As for standalone DVD players and recorders, they are a little more picky especially the recorders.

And then there's DVD-RAM but that's another kettle of fish.

[Uppsala BildTeknik]

I´ve been making DVDs since 2002 I believe. Back then it was a question of having either + or -, I remember a Sony was my first multi-format DVD-burner. Oh, it was a luxury to be able to burn both formats with one drive! 8)

[Patrick]

All good points but I don't think that it could have been compatibility issues with the drive since supposedly, the disc was playing in that drive perfectly fine....until about 6 weeks passed by. Sounds like it was a computer drive of some kind. They also mentioned that they had done some 'buffering' around the time that they started to have problems with the DVD. When they finished buffering, they could no longer access the video footage from the disc. Hmmm....a strange coincidence?

[Uppsala BildTeknik]

Was it a R-disc or a RW-disc?
Have they tried to access the disc on a few other computers?

[Patrick]

Was it a R-disc or a RW-disc?

I honestly can't remember. I can't even recall if it was a + or - type. I'm currently based on an island and unfortunately recordable DVD options are extremely limited over here. Not much choice. Yea, I'll ask them if they can play the disc on other drives before sending another one out to them.