MrEco wrote:The only time I hear anyone talk about disc rot like it's a big serious problem is when someone is trying to make a case for digital distribution being superior.
I can't really remember who wrote it (Might've been Forbes or Polygon?), but I once read an article that opened with a paragraph claiming that disc rot was an inevitability that will happen to every CD, DVD, or Blu-ray printed game. Followed by a list of bullet points praising digital distribution.
Concur, it is so rare to happen unless one does not take simple care of the discs.
CRTGAMER wrote:Disc Rot is not problem on game discs unless you do not store them in a climate controlled environment
The tag "Disc Rot" is actually carried over from the days of Laser Discs which was a real issue. Laser discs are two sides bonded together; the manufacturing process had issues of coolant moisture trapped in the glue causing the corrosion. DVDs that are double sided do not have the same issue due to improved bonding process. I know this first hand out of my 400 plus Laser collection, I have exchanged multiple titles (video deteriorated) to Tower Records back in the day.
Not Disc Rot, but have care with the label on game and DVD movie discs which is just a layer of lacquer covering the data underneath. The label side is actually the more fragile side and can get scratched alluding to assumed disc rot.
I believe for DVDs that the data layer is in the middle of the disc. Scratching the label won't have deleterious effects like with a CD. I thought contrary to that for years.
Sarge wrote:It's real, but it's not widespread. I've got a few Dreamcast games that show signs of disc rot, including (sniffle) my copy of Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Although it still seems to play just fine, so it might not be in spots that affect things. I read that Dreamcast games seemed to have more problems than other systems' discs in that regard.
Are there visual indications of disc rot or is it just read errors? Honestly, I feel like the biggest problem that the Dreamcast community will face isn't the GD-ROM, but rather the lasers in the actual Dreamcast. The discs will most likely outlive most lasers.
The easiest way to look for it is hold the disc up to the light and look for pinhole spots where light comes through the disc. Sometimes, it's just slipping through light portions of the label, but a few of my discs are clear rot. Depending on where the data is, it might not be a big deal. For my MvC2 disc, it might not matter, as I think the data on there is pretty small comparatively.
I have few that have been to hell and back and don't miss a beat. Others have some insignificant scratching and look like they should play without a problem but they don't read.
"Farewell, good hunter.
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in the waking world."
