Depends on how they were made and when. Variability in construction is a problem. Cheap ass CDs/DVDs won't last too long.

Hello.

To put the matter of ‘disc rot to a conclusion.

No, it does not exist, it was a manufacturing fault on PDO pressed discs before 1998.

The discs that have discoloured that i have are all PDO pressings from the Blackburn pressing plant that was shut down when the problem was discovered in 1995.

If you have discs that are turning bronze then they should still play.

If you have discs that appear to have the aluminium foil splintering at the edges of the disc, both the outer and inner edges of the foil area under the lacquer coating, then be prepared to throw them away or, if they are still playable, then, if at all possible, make a copy of the disc because the splintering will get worse over time and they will be unplayable.

Its was a fault in manufacture, the ‘disc wash’ before the lacquer coating was applied was performed with ‘hard water’

The water supply in the Blackburn area is ‘Hard Water’ and did not flush all the pre-lacquer process contaminants away and the product should have been recalled. (How do you put a recall notice upon a estimated 5 million CDs)

I tried returning my Status Quo, Slade and Elton John UK pressed discs that were affected to the PDO London HQ but was told to seek a refund from the retailer, this was back in 1998.

If you have a vast number of PDO pressed discs that do not play, why not try sending them back to PDO, if enough people return their faulty discs to PDO something may get done but as always your purchase contract was with the retailer not PDO.

In the known cases of bad CD manufacture, the CDs started going noticeably bad very early on. Plenty of time to get a replacement. Hard drives are like that too. If they fail, it's going to be within the first 2 or 3 weeks. Otherwise you're good for a long time.

When discussing digital/data rot in the "end of owning music thread," I found a video that explains data longevity and how rot occurs. Apparently, SSDs have shorter lifespans than traditional harddrives--much shorter lifespans.

When discussing digital/data rot in the "end of owning music thread," I found a video that explains data longevity and how rot occurs. Apparently, SSDs have shorter lifespans than traditional harddrives--much shorter lifespans.

Recorded CD-R: 50-200 years
Recorded DVD-R: 30-100 years

CD-R, DVD-R, and DVD+R discs should have a life expectancy of 100 to 200 years or more

no way do they last that long. i had CD-Rs go bad after 5 years or more.