Hi i have been making DVD backups for years now and have never had a single problem until just recently. I have watched all my backups just fine on every player i try them in...but recently they litterally seem to be going "bad." What i mean is they suddenly start getting skips in random spots...then the next time i watch it the skips get worse and occur more often. Now recently many of them play to about 2/3 of the way through with the skips, then sudddenly get so bad they stop reading all together. Now i have watched these movies start to finish with no problems MANY times...so why would they suddenly start doing this now? Here are some details that might help you make assements: 1. I am burning using a iMac computer with the "superdrive." I use "DVDBackup" to rip the DVD, then DVD2One to shrink it. Last i burn with "Roxio Toast Titanium." All of the programs are up to date, newest versions. 2. I have several media types i have used and experience the same bad playback on all types so far. I have used the follwing brands: Sony, Memorex, Verbatim, Maxell. 3. Before i knew much about burning i used to put those sticker labels on my movies (i no longer do this)...but seem to be having this same problem on both the DVD's with and without the labels. 4. Running the movies through a DiscDr. DVD fixer seems to make them have slightly better playback in the beginning, but does not help the end where the discs seem to just be unreadable. I think that is all you need to know. Also i have noticed that the few movies i have burned on my PC with DVDShrink and DVDDecypter seem to not be having any troubles at all. I even tried reburning some that are just starting to give me troubles, but DVDShrink seems to always stop analyzing at aroun 80-90% saying it finds a "data cycle redundecy read error" or something like that. Please help me...if i am going to re-burn my entire movie library i wish to make Discs that will not go bad this next time!
first, I know nothing about MACS, but assume drivers and firmware are the same when it comes to install or updates. Depending on the burner you are currently utilizing and it's age, you may need to update the firmware. I know when windows depolys patches, hotfixes and or service packs they sometimes f with drivers and firmware. However, again I don't know anything about MACS, so the OS info may be null and void. Now for the remaining issues. Software being utilized is not an issue. Software doesn't go bad. Memorex, maxell, and sony are no-nos. Most DVD's are foil as opposed to a gas under the plastic. I don't know particularly which are which, but I do know the aforementioned tend to be very cheesy and break down over time. You could try cleaning your discs with isopropyl alcohol rubbing from the inside layer straight out, not in circles, clockwise or counter clockwise like you would tend to think. the rings go straight out from middle to outer layer. Why? I have no idea, I just know this is fact. Disk doctor is a myth and won't fix anything. CRC's are bad sectors within the disc itself and is normal after much use and or wear and tear. There is no real cure for this. You'd have to get professional grade media which of course is dual layer and very expensive and hard to come by. If you try to re copy the ones with CRC's either you will not be able to copy as the sector break will be identified and will stop the process, or it may be very little, will process but the new copy will retain the exact same problem. I myself have gone through this with my DVD's. I used ritek and verbatim [known, very well liked brands] but I still have the same results with them as well. I just buy the store brand and don't even care anymore. I have a plextor burner and everything comes out perfect in the beginning and is copyable over and over. Eventually they all will wind up screwed somehow or another if they are watched over and over. You could also try using a laser cleaning utility inside your players, but if it happens on all of your players, that means its the disc not your player. Hope this helps. Yes it's bad news, but it's true. If you need more info. Do a search in the forums for "ScubaPete". He knows all kinds of tricks to help fight the good fight. But overall it's a losing battle.
The Dyes used on DVD disks is Organic so it will eventually Degrade but some Disks much Faster than others.... I have a Huge Stack of DVD"s I burned about 2.5 years ago on really Cheap Media that Don"t play at all anymore ,They worked Fine for the First Year or so But they all eventually went Bad But Luckilly I was able to Salvage most of them By ripping and Burning them to Better disks before they got too bad..... I find that the Disk Last a Lot longer if you Keep them in a Dark Cool Place as Opposed to Leaveing them out were the Sun and the elements can get at them..... Cheers
Well that sucks, lol. Luckily i just got a new computer that came factory made with a dual layer burning drive...guess i will just slowly scrap my old flicks and burn new ones on dual layer only. Thanks for the reply.