Tarnower

Being a newcomer to this forum, I have been reading a lot of threads about the perils of DVD Rot. I had no idea that a lot of people say that the milky white swirling effect on the discs can be a part of the problem regarding disc rot. I have 288 DVDs in my collection, and have noticed this on many discs that I would inspect after just purchasing. So, I decided to take my Sunday morning and go through each and every disc I have.

Afterwards, I can only describe my reaction as "shock." Out of my 288 DVDs, 73 of them have the milky white swirling on them; some to a much greater degree than others.

A couple weekends ago I went on an animated film buying binge. I purchased the "Toy Story" Toybox, "Shrek," "Ice Age" and "Spirited Away." All of these discs have large amounts of milky white swirling on them. I have viewed "Ice Age" and "Shrek" and there are no problems with them. Should I still return them?

Also, a couple of discs that I recently viewed ("This is Spinal Tap" and "The Producers") have so much "milky white swirling" (guess that's today's magic phrase) that it has almost taken over the entire disc surface. However, both discs played with absolutely no problems whatsoever. Plus, I played them on a low-grade machine, Playstation 2 (regular player was not available).

From what I am reading in this forum, almost everyone that has trouble with discs freezing up and having high pixel counts also seems to notice the "Milky White Swirling" (there we go again!) all over their discs.

Has anyone out there had problems of DVD Rot without seeing the "Milky White Swirling" (sorry, couldn't resist)?

Also, out of the 73 discs in my collection that I found the "You-Know-What" on, about 20 were purchased in the last month (including all three "Evil Dead" movies from DDD; should I send them back - I haven't viewed them yet). Should I take all these discs back to the origin of purchase? I haven't been able to view all of them, nor will I have the time in the next couple of weeks. I just feel real strange taking an armload of discs back to Best Buy and Borders and pointing out the "You-Know-What" all over the disc as being the reason I am returning them.

Am I just being too paranoid or should I be genuinely worried.

If this turns out to be a worst-case scenario, I think that will be it for me buying all these DVDs. I work to hard for my money to be pissing it away on defective discs. I can see a few, but 73 out of 288 with possible contamination? That is almost 25% of my entire collection. I may just stop buying discs and use NetFlix to rent whatever I want. I'll just spend the money I would normally spend of discs to buy higher grade home theater equipment.

I'm sure there are lots of you with thoughts on this. Please give me a lot of feedback.

eMo GoTh PuNk

Wait. Before we answer your question: were you high on any psychadelic drugs before posting this thread or viewing your discs?

lesterlong

Did you test them to see if they actually rotted during play or did you just assume that milky white = dvd rot?

DonnachaOne

Moving to mature.

Tarnower

I don't understand your question. How do I test them to find out if they rotted during play? Do you mean watch them over again?

Actually, I am assuming milky white = dvd rot. That's the impression I am getting from most of the posts in this forum.

Obviously, I am very green in these matters. Is there a link someone could guide me to that explains the frequent appearance of milky white swirling on DVD discs. I read a post by RoboDad in another thread that the milky white swirling is a common physical presence on many discs and is not necessarily signifying DVD rot. I hope not.

gutwrencher

I have to agree. I'm paranoid about losing my collection as well....but I also have dvds with the "milk", from 4 years ago, that still play fine. I dont think that this is an indication of delamination. but then I'm no expert. you would think that by now, an industry spokesman who knew his *****, would have come to any forum and explained everything. or at least, a forum leader would request a chat or something from the industry.

RichDB10

If i was to worry about discs with 'milky white swirling' and associated it with 'DVD Rot' i would say 99% of my collection would be rendered useless.

Basically, don't worry about it....it doesn't mean that 'Rot' has set in unless you've just bought a Jean Claude Van Damme movie

TomOpus

Ha! I was thinking the same thing but ya beat me to it.


Back on topic... I wouldn't worry yet. I think some players are more "sensitive" than others to "defects". Some players handle scratches better than others. You might want to play a few of your worst discs just to ensure they are playable. If they play fine then you're golden.... at least for now

Tarnower

I'm starting to feel a lot better, people. Thanks for identifying that you have the same concerns and issues. I think I'll just hold tight and play the waiting game. Like I stated before, I played the "This is Spinal Tap" DVD on just a PS2 and it had more milky white swirls than any disc I own --- and it played just fine.

Murphy's Law definitely applies in this situation, in that every disc I am planning on unloading due to a new reissue coming up ("Cabaret," "Halloween," "Casablanca," "Fargo," "Alien"), is absolutely perfect. No milky white swirling on any discs that I plan on getting rid of anyway!!! What are the odds?

One more thing, if DVD rot is an ongoing issue, then the studios would do well to reconsider and not make special 2-disc DVDs (or even single ones for that matter) out of print. If a title suddenly goes out of print ("Toy Story" films, 2-disc "Fight Club," etc.), and the copy you have goes bad due to rot a couple years later, then you are essentially ******. Given that a technical problem such as rot persists, the studios should keep all their releases available at all times for those that need to rebuy due to no fault of their own.

In signing off, I have to say it one more time ---MILKY WHITE SWIRLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tor_greg

I have CDs with white swirling too, and they play fine.

SpinnerX

Exactly. I don't see that there's any connection at all between the swirling and playback problems.

Snowmaker

Its just in the plastic.

iove

There's another thread with a link to a quasi-scientific determination of "rot." The problem there was not with regards to milky swirls but oxidation of the data layer. He viewed the disk under a microscope and he saw black specks. I have a lot of disks with milky swirls and seem to play fine. I think it has to do with the bonding epoxy rather actual rot.

I've never had a disk rotted out on before but have had problems with manufacturing defects. Some players are better than others when dealing with these type of problems..

Josh-da-man

The discoloration on the discs is a cosmetic issue only. It's something related to manufacture and does not effect play, nor indicate that the disc will rot.

Some people who have "rotted" discs will examine the disc and see the discoloration and assume that its a sign of rot, but in all likelihood, the discolaration was there to begin with, and only noticed when the disc began malfunctioning. I've also read of reports of "rot" where there was no visual indication of any kind of "damage" or "discoloration" on the disc itself.

Rohan

Hi All,

There is a phenomenon in optical disc production whereby inadequate cooling of the moulded polycarbonate substrate can lead to 'smearing' of the pit structure when the substrate is removed from the mould. Microscopic smearing of the pits can manifest itself as a stain on the disc surface which can be seen under reflected light. In the optical disc industry this staining is referred to as 'smearing', 'clouding', 'sticking' or 'ghosting' and can happen with CDs as well as DVDs. Visible disc staining, although unsightly, *rarely* affects playback of the content.

Ref:
"Applications of Atomic Force Microscopy in Optical Disc Technology" by William G. Lutz and Gregory F. Meyers, The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI and Edward Kolinski, EK Consulting, Lake Ariel, PA.

Hope this answers your question.

Kind regards,

Rohan.

Tarnower

This was basically the kind of information I was hoping to get from this thread. It answers the questions I have very well. A great post reply. Thank You Josh-da-man.

Tarnower

Wow! Thanks for the technical explanation. Another great post reply. Seems like the whole controversy over "Milky White Swirls" has suddenly become a lot less "cloudy."

NobleRabbit

Does anyone have a picture of a DVD with this "DVD Rot"?

I don't think any of my DVDs have it, but I'd like to know what it looks like just incase some develops.

Maybe someone could take a webcam, or digital camera pic of it?

btribble

As far as I know it's not visible on the disc itself. A rotted disc will simply not play in a DVD player after a while. This happened with my (and many other) copies of Kentucky Fried Movie, which was replaced for free by Anchor Bay by the way...