{"id":95,"date":"2024-02-18T10:14:25","date_gmt":"2024-02-18T10:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.replicationcentre.co.uk\/blog\/?p=95"},"modified":"2012-04-02T12:21:46","modified_gmt":"2012-04-02T12:21:46","slug":"cddvd-degradation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.replicationcentre.co.uk\/blog\/cddvd-degradation-95.html","title":{"rendered":"CD\/DVD Degradation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"istock_000005139238xsmall\"Unfortunately CD’s and DVD’s are not built to last. Degradation in optical media refers to this decline in the physical quality of CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays over time.\u00a0 There are two main factors that this eventuality can be attributed to; material and environment.<\/p>\n

Material factors:<\/em><\/p>\n

-Disc Format.\u00a0 A CD-ROM has a different composition than a CD-RW, therefore they deteriorate at different rates.<\/p>\n

-The manufacturer. There are variations in the dyes, plastics and alloys used, which in turn cause divergences in quality between brands.<\/p>\n

-The equipment used to read or write the disc itself.<\/p>\n

Environmental factor:<\/em><\/p>\n

-Exposure to high temperature<\/strong>. Increase in heat speeds the degradation process by breaking down the recording layers of discs that utilise organic dye compounds.<\/p>\n

– Extreme humidity<\/strong>. Moisture can seep into the cracks and scratches of a disc which could foster the growth of bacteria and\/or mould; this can affect how effective the laser’s ability is to read the disc.<\/p>\n

– Regular contact with UV<\/strong>. Direct sunlight accelerates the rate of aging of a disc. It renders the disc ineffective by altering the appearance of the recording layers.<\/p>\n

–Dust, dirt and air pollution<\/strong>. Any foreign particles that accumulate on the disc surface and in cracks or scratches can damage the disc and cloud reading and recording.<\/p>\n

Inappropriate handling or storage also contributes to an increased deterioration process of CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays.<\/p>\n

As discs have a limited shelf life, no matter how well they are treated by the user, degradation can only be controlled to a certain extent. The core recording layers of a disc will naturally break down before the outer plastic takes away layers. The outer deterioration of the polycarbonate incurs damage mainly from rough handling, and is therefore not considered when<\/a> measuring the disc’s overall shelf life.<\/p>\n

Consequently, the lifespan of CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays contain a range of testing measurements and can be conservatively estimated, with some compact discs tending to outlast DVD formats:<\/p>\n