DVDs may not last five years before they rot

[Spinaroonie]

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/31/1043804519345.html

Turns out that some DVDs have been constantly degrading over time. Some flake, others just wear down at a rapid rate. This sucks. It might be illegal to make backup copies under the DMCA, and it's hard too.

 

[Draco]

It might be illegal to make backup copies under the DMCA, and it's hard too.

Point 1: Under the fair use terms of copyright, making one "archival" copy of LEGALLY owned DVD's is OK. Just like audio and software CD's.

Point 2: What's hard about it? I use VDC Galaxy and my CD-RW to turn a DVD into a VCD copy. Then the DVD gets locked away and only the VCD gets played. A lot easier replacing a worn out CD-R than buying a new DVD disk.

Takes about 6 hours total encoding in 4 steps:
Ripping the DVD to the hdd
Converting the DVD (vob files) to AVI (DivX & Surround WAV)
Encoding back to MPEG-2 standard
Burn to VCD format with Nero

Each CD holds just over one hour of the movie (1:09:00)
so each DVD costs me two CD-R's. And th good thing is you can edit out studio logos, titles, credits etc.

Note: Encode times vary with Machine specs.
All mine are done on an AMD Athlon XP2000+, 512 DDR Ram, 48 x 16 x 48 CD-RW and a 7200rpm HDD.

 

[Draco]

Interesting article Spin, and I have noticed a degrade in picture quality of a few of my older DVD's.

And, frankly, I couldn't give a hoot about the legalities of the copying. I own the disk, I'll make a copy, just like my CD and Software collection.

But, you already knew that.....

 

[Agent99]

Thanks for the link, Spinaroonie.

Besides 'remarkable high definition quality and picture integrity' wasn't reliability one of the main selling points of this new technology? Much better than videotapes and subject to less degradation over time?

What suckers we are. OK, so I am still bitter about the phase-out of Beta when VHS became cheaper to produce. Then I got more upset when they told me that DVDs were the wave of the future and I would need to restock my collection again.

I mean, didn't I do the exact same thing with my music? Records, 8 tracks, cassettes, CDs, MP3s.

I wanna pay them with money that loses its value and worth over time as well. You know how DIVX expires after 2 days? That's what my check should do.

 

[bad kitty]

Re: Re: DVDs may not last five years before they rot

Point 1: Under the fair use terms of copyright, making one "archival" copy of LEGALLY owned DVD's is OK. Just like audio and software CD's.

Point 2: What's hard about it? I use VDC Galaxy and my CD-RW to turn a DVD into a VCD copy. Then the DVD gets locked away and only the VCD gets played. A lot easier replacing a worn out CD-R than buying a new DVD disk.

Takes about 6 hours total encoding in 4 steps:
Ripping the DVD to the hdd
Converting the DVD (vob files) to AVI (DivX & Surround WAV)
Encoding back to MPEG-2 standard
Burn to VCD format with Nero

Each CD holds just over one hour of the movie (1:09:00)
so each DVD costs me two CD-R's. And th good thing is you can edit out studio logos, titles, credits etc.

Note: Encode times vary with Machine specs.
All mine are done on an AMD Athlon XP2000+, 512 DDR Ram, 48 x 16 x 48 CD-RW and a 7200rpm HDD.

Can you play these in the DVD player though? It plays CDs so it should....

 

[Belilica]

You don;t have a DVD-R? CD-RW drives can do this??? *thinking*

 

[sigh]

Five years after a movie comes out you can buy a copy off the supermarket sales rack for $6.99. I'm not going to lose too much sleep over this.

 

[Guest]

You know how DIVX expires after 2 days?

What are you on about?

 

[ClaudiusMaximus]

Disposable DVDs are a possibilty, damn those corporate bastards:

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/disposable021204.html

...

Although the idea of disposable DVDs is not exactly environmentally friendly, Nabil Lawandy, chief executive of Spectra disc in Providence, R.I., claims his company is doing everything possible to make the single-use DVDs green.

"It's ideal for consumers. You can open and watch the movie any time you want and it doesn't take a special trip to Blockbuster's," Lawandy says. "Once you use the disc, you put it in the recycle bin."

The discs are designed with two coatings, explains Lawandy. One coating prevents tampering while the other is designed to turn black — and black out the movie — three days after the disc is removed from its package. He says if consumers send back the discs, his company can replace the coating and use the discs again. He hopes a rebate system might encourage customers to do so, but the DVDs aren't yet available to purchase.

New York-based Flexplay has designed disposable DVDs that can't be reused, only recycled. So far, the DVDs have only been used in promotional mailings, not widespread movie releases.

...

 

[LadyG]

Would the same not apply to music cd's then?

 

[HeavyStick]

Would the same not apply to music cd's then?

shhhhhhh

 

[Spinaroonie]

Disposable DVDs are a possibilty, damn those corporate bastards:

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/disposable021204.html

WTF happened to this thread?

Ok, Claudius and Agent99, DivX didn't work. It will NEVER work.

People like to own things. Out and out own. Having something that you can't use frustrates people to no end.

Draco, I'm on a Mac and forty-two is being a bitch. That's why I'm having troubles.

 

[Spinaroonie]

Re: Re: DVDs may not last five years before they rot

Each CD holds just over one hour of the movie (1:09:00)
so each DVD costs me two CD-R's. And th good thing is you can edit out studio logos, titles, credits etc

I'd just like to say right now that I hate how SCVD's cut off at the damndest times.

 

[Draco]

Re: Re: Re: DVDs may not last five years before they rot

Can you play these in the DVD player though? It plays CDs so it should....

If you have a fairly recent DVD (Home) drive, with DVD, VCD, SVCD, MP3, CD, CD-R & CD-RW capabilities, they will play fine. There is a little quality difference between them, but they are still very watchable.

Agent 99, I've used DIVX for ages (currently using Version 5.02). Can you tell me for about the Expiration of DIVX, it's something I've never come across.

 

[Draco]

Re: Re: Re: DVDs may not last five years before they rot

I'd just like to say right now that I hate how SCVD's cut off at the damndest times.

Spin, the program in VCD Galaxy that does the final MPEG-2 encoding (TMPEGenc 2.5 in my case) has some pretty spiffy tools and allows you to cut the single file into sections according to your own wishes. I usually cut the movie in half, and apply the cut at a major scene change. A little inconvient maybe, but it's better than it just finishing in mid-scene and having to run to the DVD player to change discs.
SVCD is a different matter, they are ALMOST DVD quality, (very little discernable difference) but you need about 4-5 discs for the average length movie.

 

[Cuckolded_BlK_Male]

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/31/1043804519345.html

Turns out that some DVDs have been constantly degrading over time. Some flake, others just wear down at a rapid rate. This sucks. It might be illegal to make backup copies under the DMCA, and it's hard too.

It's not that hard. I rip DVDs day and night ... Even if you don't have a DVD burner, you can rip them onto cds. Everything that you need to do so can be easily downloaded from KaZaA.

 

[Draco]

According to Toms Hardware Guide, a new type DVD player (KiSS **** {I cant remeber the model number} has been released which features DIVX, it will allow you play DIVX encoded AVI's on your home player.

I've never been a fan of DIVX movies, I've seen some dreadful copies at times, some of them are so bad, it's just pointless downloding them...(who said that....??)

I only use DIVX as one part of the encode process.

I recentl 'obtained' a copy of Harry Potter II, it was so stripped it wasn't watchable at all, and it was about 175 meg. Usually after fully encoding to VCD, the average movie is between 1-1.5 gig.

I'd rather use 2 cd's, than sit for two hours watching a sub-standard divx rip. (Personal preference)

 

[Draco]

VCD Galaxy website: http://go.to/vcdgalaxy

DVD Decrypter website: http://www.flexion.org/dvddecrypter

DVD2AVI website: http://hiroko.ee.ntu.edu.tw/ (NOTE: I keep getting a TCP error from this site. I'll hunt around later for an updated link)

TMPEGEnc website: http://www.tmpgenc.com/

These are the major components of VCD Galaxy.

 

[Spinaroonie]

Re: Re: Re: Re: DVDs may not last five years before they rot

Agent 99, I've used DIVX for ages (currently using Version 5.02). Can you tell me for about the Expiration of DIVX, it's something I've never come across.

I think she was referring to the original DivX, the best buy thing where you'd go and buy a divx dvd for like three dollars, then you'd take it home, put it in your DivX enabled DVD player and you could watch it for 24 hours. After that, you had to use your credit card and pay to watch.

 

[Chicklet]

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/31/1043804519345.html

Turns out that some DVDs have been constantly degrading over time. Some flake, others just wear down at a rapid rate. This sucks. It might be illegal to make backup copies under the DMCA, and it's hard too.

my dvd's are having problems already.

also, my ps2 games with the purple backs - I guess the one's with the purple are ceasing to work after time <sob>

 

[Guru]

Five years after a movie comes out you can buy a copy off the supermarket sales rack for $6.99. I'm not going to lose too much sleep over this.

I agree. We rent them. I own a few of them, and won't be devastated if they don't play in a decade.

 

[Agent99]

Draco,

Yes, Spinaroonie was right. The original DIVX was what I was referencing. It was my understanding that the later versions of the DivX technology would allow the consumer the choice of 3 levels- as to how many times the tape could be played (gold, silver and bronze) It made no sense to me to keep paying "rent" [as it were] instead of just a one time purchase fee.

Here is an explanation of what it was:

Firstly, you needed to have a Divx player. The players could play Divx discs and normal DVDs, but a regular DVD player cannot play Divx discs. Once you had a Divx player you could purchase the Divx discs. They sold for around $5 which included 48 hours viewing time. You could watch the Divx title for 48 hours from the first time you put the disc in your player. You could watch the title as many times as you liked within the 48 hour period. After the time had expired, the disc could no longer be played - you had to purchase additional time. To do this, the player's modem dialed Divx and "un-locked" the disc for another 48 hours. Your Divx account was charged for the additional time. You could keep doing this and therefore rent the title or in some cases purchase the title outright. Again, your Divx account was charged the relavent fee. There were plans for "Divx Gold" discs that would be strictly sell-through, although discs of this type were never released.

My point was that I am sick and tired of having to change formats every couple of years. Not only do I have to keep replacing my favorite movies and music, I have to upgrade to the new hardware as well.

I sometimes wonder if there is collusion among electronics manufacturers and media/entertainment companies. What? It isn't that far fetched!

As to the remarks about purchasing videos for $6.99, it isn't just the fact that those decompose over time. I am much more worried about old home made videos (No, not that kind!!!) The ones that are irreplaceable. Of family, friends, events.

You know how movie studios have had to restore films. Will there be a way for us to do that?

 

[Draco]

Thanks Agent 99 & Spin, you cleared up any confusion.

With regard to Playstation 1 & 2 games, a friend of mine got his mod-chipped and then buys new games, copies them with CloneCD and only plays the copies. His game discs are all in Pristine condition, and when he wears one out, its into the burner and run off a new copy.

With the prices of CD-RW drives and CD-R's, owning one is almost a must.

CloneCD: http://www.elby.ch/english/products/clone_cd/index.html

 

[Spinaroonie]

As to the remarks about purchasing videos for $6.99, it isn't just the fact that those decompose over time. I am much more worried about old home made videos (No, not that kind!!!) The ones that are irreplaceable. Of family, friends, events.

Lemme just take a moment to point out that you never technically buy a movie.

The MPAA insists that you only buy a right to the copy and that they throw in the media with that purchase. Realistically, you should be able to get another copy when it wears down... but... just try it. See what happens.