Disc rot

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Editor's Note!

It has come to the attention of the wiki from an expert researcher that Disc Rot is an inaccurate term for what is covered in this article. Unfortunately, due to ongoing research still occurring, a proper generalized term is not yet available, and updates to this article is recommended to be delayed until the researcher's paper releases. Contact JamesTDG via the CAT discord for details.

Disc rot is an event which happens when the materials that compose a compact disc (CD) or equivalent optical storage medium degrade. Often, disc rot occurs whenever companies are neglectful with how their discs are manufactured. Disc rot's existence has been aware of by manufacturers as early as 1988 and continues to prevail to this day.

Disc rot is not directly intentional from manufacturers, and is considered a case of neglect from manufacturers by most communities. Despite this, there are some formats, such as DVD-D, which are intentionally manufactured for the purpose of degradation, which exhibit traits that can be related to disc rot.

How it occurs

Disc rot occurs in various formats, and has various causes depending on how it was manufactured and stored. This is not an exhaustive list of causes as new methods for the cause of disc rot continue to be found.

Storage/transit-specific

Oxidation

Often seen on aluminum-based discs, if they are exposed to the atmosphere for a prolonged period of time, the disc can begin to rot. This can additionally happen despite the media being factory-sealed. Lacquer or plastic layers are often used to block oxidation, but other factors some of which are listed here can damage this protective layer.

Humidity

Water is known to carry ions that can eat away at both protective layers and aluminum, and humid environments can foster disc rot, especially if the location a disc was manufactured at is humid, which can negate any consumer's attempts to slow down or halt any form of rot. Humid environments are also hotbeds for mold, which protective layers and even the reflective layer can act as a substrate for spores to grow into colonies.

Heat

Heat has the capability to distort protective plastic layers, or melt layers of lacquer on discs. Any damage to the protective layer risks exposure to the elements.

Light

More specifically ultraviolet (UV) light can both impart heat and also degrade the reflective layer on a disc.

Manufacturer-specific

Chemicals

Discs are made up of various chemicals meant to protect it, however, some chemicals can be affected by their environment and degrade the disc. An example of this was when discs manufactured by Phillip's were distributed in paper sleeves which had trace elements of sulfur, which reacted with the protective layer on the disc and caused bronzing to occur.

Appearance

The appearance of disc rot comes in different formats, such as:

Pinholes

Small holes on the disc that can sacrifice the integrity of the data on the disc, these can be made more visible if you shine a strong light on your disc.

Bronzing

Via Wikipedia:

Affected discs show an uneven brownish discoloring that usually starts at the edge of the disc and slowly works its way toward the center. The top or label layer is affected before the bottom layer. The disc becomes progressively darker over time; tracks at the end of the disc (near the outer edge) show an increasing number of disc-read errors before becoming unplayable.

Distorted audio

Warped or other forms of distortion can be used as a method to track disc rot, however this can only be tracked within discs intended for playing audio, such as audiobooks or music discs.

Why it is a problem

Preservation: Optical media is currently the most common medium that media is physically distributed on. When the media it is for goes out of print and additionally is no-longer digitally distributed, these discs are the only way for the public to access this media. Physical discs are also how most digital media is accessed by public libraries, which many consumers continue to rely upon.

Accessibility: Many consumers purchase physical media with the intent that they can have prolonged access to the content that they paid for. If the disc they buy happens to have been poorly-manufactured, consumers may have a limited and ambiguous time before they cannot consume the media they purchased anymore.

Assurance: Due to how inconsistent disc rot functions, a consumer may unwittingly purchase media, either initially or more commonly 2nd-hand, and risk the media they purchased being unable to be run.

Major incidents

Nintendo Wii U

Consumers have reported that the discs that they purchased for their Wii U consoles are experiencing rot, and in some scenarios, degrading on a large scale in individual collections. Often, the degradation is described as pinholes scattered across the disc. [Example picture to be added]

Warner DVDs

It has been reported that DVDs manufactured from 2006-08 have been rotting away, especially ones stored in their own cases. Unlike most distributors, Warner has been offering replacements for these degraded discs for consumers. Toshiba HD DVDs made by Warner were also reported as having disc rot.

Sega consoles

To be written, primary source: [1]

Further Reading

DVD-D