Since regular DVD's and Blu Ray DVD's are not an archival medium anyone know how long they will last until they become unplayable? I think I read someplace they figured they would last around ten years and then go bad and become unplayable.
Thank's!

it's actually 5.6 years if they are not hermetically sealed. it they are, then 6.2.

really? i thought they were supposed to last alot longer then that...

well, the DVD scientists over at The University of Phoenix do have a +/- ratio of 5 months, so...

I have some of the dvds that were first released that still play fine today. What's the point of collecting if they're only going to last 5-6 years?

No one really knows how long, they have done tests in a lab to simulate life conditions but we won't know for sure until we realize disks are breaking.

A proper, physically pressed disk you buy a movie on is roughly estimated to last 50-300 years (long range, I know).

A DVD you burn onto will last 25-100 years. Of course these are estimates, I have burnt DVDs that I have had since 2004 and some are becoming hard to read.

Source: http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#3.12

A lot of Anchor Bay early releases apparently suffered from the Y2K syndrome. I have yet to see an FM DVD made before 2000 that can be played today. Ditto for some Universal early releases and for the first pressing of A Night To Remember Criterion Collection.

The less you bend them, the longer they'll last; i.e. don't try to yank them off the spindle. Torque makes the layers separate, then they can begin to degrade.


That said, I put mine through a heavy duty shredder after I've watched everything. Life's too short to watch the same movie more than once.

This is very correct and I've experienced it first-hand myself. On ID4 with a double Alpha case I bent the disc too much while removing it from the hub, and the spot where the layers started to seperate was easily visible (it was from the middle and out). It completely ruined the disc of course.

Anyhow, I actually checked a bunch of my pre-1999 discs a little while ago, while rearranging my collection. I even did a disc error/quality scan in a PC, on some of them, out of curiosity. They were all fine, and that's discs that are older than 10 years.

My original copy of Blade Runner plays just fine.

However in that time I have gone through several players, perhaps that should be the question.

My first DVD was Spiderman in 2002. I stills plays fine!

Of course a lot of cases hold the discs in a death grip, and it's impossible to remove them without bending the disc...

I've heard at least 30 different estimates on this. So who knows? But as collectors none of us should have too much to worry about. Just take good care of your DVDs. And always store them in a proper case.

They will probably last longer than we will ever need them to.

I've heard manufacturers claiming 100 years+ for pressed discs and 50+ years for burned. Who knows?

They always have their lifetime guarantee (whose lifetime?) which they applied to VHS as well. I'm sure if you called them on a VHS guarantee they would replace it with a fresh, new DVD-R. Lost content is not applicable, of course.

Much of it depends on how you handle them. Pressed discs are pretty resiliant to light scratches and such but the burned DVDs are very vulnerable to mishandling, fingerprints, scratches etc.

Another factor is the brand you choose for burned discs. The cheap brands are not worth the extra $.15 per disc you think you saved over the dependable ones. Stick with Taiyo Yuden, Vertbatim or even TDK, Sony, Phillips. No Memorex, Sky, Princo etc.

I know some CDs from twenty years ago are developing "CD Rot" which is the emulsion coming off the disc. This is probably from leaving them in your car year-round, no cases and generally treating them poorly.

It's amazing how badly many people treat their discs. I always store them at home, out of direct sunlight, put them back in their case when I'm finished and never touch the readable side of the disc.

At least if they still fail, you can say it wasn't due to your own neglect.

In the years I have been collecting DVDs I ahve seen many many estimates on this. As well as theories about spindle strength, storage temp, glue used in the manufacturing process. I have never had a failure of any disc that wasnt atrributable to an actual scratch or other physical damage to the disc. This includes my copy of the first pressing of Criterions A Night to Remember.

Heat and humidity are supposed to "decay" discs faster. This shouldn't be a problem as long as you have A/C. if you don't have A/C I'd worry. Direct sunlight is the other one you are warned to avoid.

That would be an awful day when you would one day, wake up in the morning, test the majority of your DVDs and they all gradually just start to break down, pixilate, skip, etc...

Blu-rays are not DVDs. Thank you.

And the answer to your question is 42.

I don't believe anything I read on the internets.

I know, right? Probably just throwing them all in Tyvek sleeves would be the best thing to do.

Check out this publication - and then save it for future reference, it's very informative.

http://www.itl.nist.gov/iad/894.05/d...dlingGuide.pdf

When you get the PDF file open in Adobe Acrobat then do a search for 'life expectancy', you'll be amazed at the numbers thrown around!

Wow!!. I've never seen official numbers like that. Wonder how accurate they are. It is the government after all. Makes me feel a little better though that the discs themselves should last for a while.

I have hundreds of VHS tapes older than most of you guys and they play just fine.

Thank you for that, interesting read.

You're entirely welcome - I found this tidbit when another member posted the link several years ago in response to this same question, so we should all thank that unknown member! I've kept a copy on my computer and given the PDF file to several people over the years. One time the office was burning a bunch of sensitive data to DVD and wondered how long they could expect it to last and this publication answered their questions for them! So, it may come in as a handy reference in your office someday too!