From: Bomp-Digest-Sender To: bomp-digest@bolis.com Subject: Bomp V96 #54 Reply-To: Bomp@bolis.com Precedence: bulk Bomp Wednesday, 7 August 1996 Volume 96 : Number 054 In this issue: Re: CD Rot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Tony Dale Date: Wed, 7 Aug 1996 18:52:17 +0930 Subject: Re: CD Rot At 09:34 AM 6/08/96 -0600, Bob Pisciotta wrote: > > I've heard about this before, but haven't paid much attention. For some >reason this notice really caught my attention. Does anyone have any >further information to share about this? Is this a real problem? Does it >affect particular labels, or is it a more widespread problem? Is it >related to the way the CDs are stored or manufactured? Can it be prevented >or minimized? Can you continue to play CDs with "rot?" Is this an >excellent excuse to stick with vinyl or is this all a pointless scare? I >have a fairly large collection of discs and would like some reassurance. At the risk of turning this list into rec.audio.highend: There is an effect called 'laser rot' that has been known to affect much-played video discs and CDs as they get to the 10 year plus kind of age. I believe that many exposures to the laser reader will cause *some* discs to break down, kinda like a non-UV resistant plastic exposed to a lot of direct sunlight. It was first observed on some older laser video discs (I think some of those date back to the mid-70s). As I understand it, if fissures occur in the polycarbonate (?) layer, the aluminium deposition layer will corrode to aluminium oxide as it is exposed to the atmosphere. Once this starts to happen, you got yourself an expensive beer coaster. I think that this phenomenon is exacerbated by poor manufacturing processes, but it is very difficult to get data on the subject. The music industry has a lot at stake, and started out marketing CDs as 'perfect sound forever'. They don't do that anymore, you will note, as CDs are neither perfect sounding or infinite in life. I'm not sure that you ought to worry about this unduly, or change your buying habits to vinyl because of it though. I suggest to you that, just like vinyl, CDs should be stored and handled carefully, and that will maximise their life. I have only had one CD go due to what I think was this phenomenon, and I just took it back to the store I bought it at and demanded an exchange. Or get onto the record company. That is your right as a consumer. Remember the 'perfect sound forever' promise. Anybody that has any more/better information than the above, I would love to hear it, I've never been able to piece the whole issue together on this one. o---------------------------------o----------------------------o |Anthony Dale |'That Was Now, This Is Then'| |http://www.adam.com.au/~aadale | - Faine Jade | o---------------------------------o----------------------------o ------------------------------ End of Bomp V96 #54 ******************* You have been reading Bomp-digest. For subscription requests, send a message to majordomo@bolis.com containing "subscribe Bomp-digest" or "unsubscribe Bomp-digest"