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disk life span and care??

falcon241073

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:confused: What is the best way to clean the blank media after burning to it? I do not want to use anything that might degrade the dye, and therefore the movie on the disk. (get rid of finger prints and smudges)

I have used Imation 16X, Maxell 16X, Fuji film 8x, And about to open my first box of Verbatim 16X:clap: . I burned most of my back ups at 8x and now have the burner set a 6X (figured it would burn smoother at a little slower rate, correct me if I am wrong here). I keep all my burned disk in a Mainstays brand disk case. I use a Sharpie to only write the name of the movie on the disk. How long should these disks last? Should I expect to load one up in a few months or a year from now and it not work? Should they last a few years or even longer?

I am just curious on this and to see what others opinions are on this. Seeing how we have some really smart people on here....:bowdown:

(I know that sometimes a disk may just die with no reason or ryme)
 
The best way to clean media (imho) is to use a soft lint free cotton cloth. Clean the disc from the center out. Do not use circular motions to clean. For heavy smudges use a little bit of water. Do NOT use products like alcohol, Windex, any solvent cleaners and the like. For heavy duty scratches, you can use (at your own risk) a combo of brasso and toothpaste. Generally this is a hit or miss technique - USE ONLY AS A LAST RESORT!

As far as media speeds go, burn discs at the maximum rated. If you have a burner capable of burning at 16X with 16X media you should burn disc at 16X. Plain and simple. I know some folks will disagree with this. However, I have experimented over the years and find this works best for me.

I too use a sharpie to write main titles on my discs. So far not a problem here. You should store discs in a dark and cool area if all possible. I use to use the slimline jewel cases and found that paper sleeves are much more economical and you can store many more in small spaces:) You can buy a 100 pack of paper sleeves made by Memorex for $4.88 at your local Wal-Mart. CompUSA charges about $8.00 for a 50 pack of the same brand. Do the math!

If you stick to the above info., your discs should last damn near forever. One other point - don't buy cheap media!!! I prefer Verbatim for all of my SL & DL needs:bowdown:

Hope this helps:D
MarkRacer
 
Burn at half the rated speed of the media.
Play with the various burn speeds and the media that you are using. Some media/drive combination "Hate" the 6x speeds and you might find that the "Sweet spot" is a 4x, 8x, or even 12x. Normally the "max" speed will provide higher error "ratios"; however, it greatly depends on the Computer, Interface, DVD Drive, and Media combination as to what returns the lowest number of errors.
 
Thanks for all the replies. The case I am using to store the media is a CD/DVD case. It has the soft sleeves for the media. I will drop my speed to 4 or up to 8. I am not a speed demon and can be patient.

Again thanks for the help.

Oh yea, I have not had any problems from the Maxell, Fuji, or Imation disks and I know I will not have any out of the Verbatim. I am using -R even though my player can play either -R or +R. Habit I guess.
 
I am a firm believer in "if it's worth spending time on, then do it right, slowly".

I have always burnt at the slowest speed possible. The slower the burn, the deeper the scribe, the better the quality stay's with the burn.

When ever I find dvd's at 8X max, I'll purchase anywhere from 4 to 10 spindles. With a 8X max DVD+R I can burn at 2.4x and although it might take longer, the results are perfect.

Cleaning, yes a soft lint free cotton cloth and never clean with the burn (circle) . Always from the center outwards. I purchased a pack of lint free cotton cloths at Big Lots for like 6 bucks. On the very stubborn marks, I take a teaspoon of Lemon Fresh Joy dish soap, mix it in bowl with 1.5 cups of warm (not hot or cold but warm) water. Clean from center out, gentle strokes, rinse in warm water twords the colder side, and dry with a can of Canned Air (used for cleaning inside of computer, or keyboard).

Storage, I buy DVD black cases. You can get them on e-Bay for 21 bucks for 100, shipped from several seller's. Best investment. Scan the cover and print (using templete in Word I made), insert inside of clear sleeve cover, and store in the rec room under the bar so when the dog or grandkids mess up the orginials, I have the back ups in a safe place. ( I even do this to the ones we purchase at flea markets and garage sales for a couple bucks each cause you never know)

Cheer's

:)
 
The best way to clean media (imho) is to use a soft lint free cotton cloth. Clean the disc from the center out. Do not use circular motions to clean. For heavy smudges use a little bit of water. Do NOT use products like alcohol, Windex, any solvent cleaners and the like. For heavy duty scratches, you can use (at your own risk) a combo of brasso and toothpaste. Generally this is a hit or miss technique - USE ONLY AS A LAST RESORT!


Hope this helps:D
MarkRacer

Do you mean isopropyl alcohol?
If so, what's the reason why you should NOT use it? I've been using it on all my original DVDs!:doh:
Thanks
 
Do you mean isopropyl alcohol?
If so, what's the reason why you should NOT use it? I've been using it on all my original DVDs!:doh:
Thanks

There are those that argue that these types of products will eat/etch the plastic surface of the CD/DVD and then erode the dye/inks that contain all the little zeros and ones that make the recordings work. Amonia is another caustic substace to avoid at all costs - unless it is a "last ditch one" for removing some of the stuff that kids seem to apply to the DVDs (Carmel comes immediately to mind).....

I have from time to time used all of the listed "no no" products and have been able to recover a faulty disk - most of the time and destroyed those that I couldn't recover - wonder why? When I do recover the disk - I make an immediate backup copy or maybe two so that I don't have to repurchase the DVD.

Edit: Forgot to mention - Using any other type of Alchol would constitute "Alchol Abuse" - IMHO...
 
:confused: What is the best way to clean the blank media after burning to it? I do not want to use anything that might degrade the dye, and therefore the movie on the disk. (get rid of finger prints and smudges)

I use a Sharpie to only write the name of the movie on the disk.

I used to use a Sharpie on all of my disks,but what I read lately is not to use this method,it eventually degrades the disk because of the chemicals it contains. The best marker to use is a water base one.
 
There are those that argue that these types of products will eat/etch the plastic surface of the CD/DVD and then erode the dye/inks that contain all the little zeros and ones that make the recordings work. Amonia is another caustic substace to avoid at all costs - unless it is a "last ditch one" for removing some of the stuff that kids seem to apply to the DVDs (Carmel comes immediately to mind).....

I have from time to time used all of the listed "no no" products and have been able to recover a faulty disk - most of the time and destroyed those that I couldn't recover - wonder why? When I do recover the disk - I make an immediate backup copy or maybe two so that I don't have to repurchase the DVD.

Edit: Forgot to mention - Using any other type of Alchol would constitute "Alchol Abuse" - IMHO...

I looked at all the DVD cleaner kits out in retail stores and all of them had isopropyl alcohol in their spray bottles. So, most, if not all, of the DVD cleaners on the market are actually just isopropyl alcohol. You would think it would be ok to use, then.

Anybody have a definitive answers or anything to add to this mystery that alcohol will damage the dye on DVDs?:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:
 
DVD scratch remover kits come with a spray bottle and the mixture is 99.5% filtered water and 0.5% Isopropanol.
 
I looked at all the DVD cleaner kits out in retail stores and all of them had isopropyl alcohol in their spray bottles. So, most, if not all, of the DVD cleaners on the market are actually just isopropyl alcohol. You would think it would be ok to use, then.

Anybody have a definitive answers or anything to add to this mystery that alcohol will damage the dye on DVDs?:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:
If the "scratch" etches into the dye - then yes - otherwise no.

Now be sure that you do not run off the "stuff" on the top (no-recordable) side of the media because that too will causethe DVD to become useless.

I personally have used and will forever discard the idea of the "DVD Clearner Kits". They almost always do more harm than good - IMHO..
 
Does anyone know how long a written DVD+/-R will last? No one has touched on that yet. If not, how old is your oldest backup???

In my case, the oldest backup movie I have was approximately written 1 year and 3 months ago.
Using:
Roxio's Popcorn
Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-104 (1x)
Sony 16x DVD-R MIJ
 
Does anyone know how long a written DVD+/-R will last? No one has touched on that yet. If not, how old is your oldest backup???

In my case, the oldest backup movie I have was approximately written 1 year and 3 months ago.
Using:
Roxio's Popcorn
Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-104 (1x)
Sony 16x DVD-R MIJ
It all depends on what discs you buy. I have Yuden000-T01-000 from 2002 that still work great, but I expect them to work for at least 20 years with the proper care.:agree:
 
because isopropyl alcohol (90% or higher) evaporates so quickly it should cause no damage to the disk... u can buy isopropyl alcohol at various outlets. but i recomend walgreens. because they offer the highest %... even the %50 stuff will work... it just requires more rubbing and therefor more friction and an ever greater chance of damage.
 
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