How long will CD-R's & DVD-R's last?


Several days ago a thread was posted, in which the discussion was about how to copy tapes to cd. One of the responders, in a passing comment, mentioned that cd-r's would only last 10 years. This got me to wondering, is this scientific fact, or "audio wives's tales"? I'd be interested to hear about the longevity of recordable media from folks who are in the know on this subject.
sid42
You can no longer be certain that media from Maxell and Sony is genuine Taiyo Yuden media (definitely an excelent manufacturer).

Very true, I discovered the same thing as you a couple of years ago. One had to look for the made in Japan on the outside wrapper, and the blue/green color burn side. The Taiwan CD-R music are junk in comparrison. One thing right off the bat is the rough jagged outer edge of the Taiwan disc. The Taiyo Yuden Outer edge is as smooth as a baby's butt.

I bought up a bunch of the Maxell made in Japan a couple of years ago. The last ones I could find was from Sams club a little over a year and a half ago.

Marco I was hoping you would address my comment on demagnetizing a CD-R audio disk after recording on it. Why would spinning it in my Bedini Clarifier degrade the sound? Any thoughts....
Marco I was hoping you would address my comment on demagnetizing a CD-R audio disk after recording on it. Why would spinning it in my Bedini Clarifier degrade the sound? Any thoughts....

I've never thought to even try that. I stopped using my Bedini a while ago when I moved and put it in storage. I'll see if I can find it and give it a try. Interesting observation though. No idea what's going on except to say that the recordable media is different from the factory media. Perhaps the explanation for your results lie in that difference. Is it only true right after you burn the CD, or does it hold true to any CD-R/RW at any time after it has been burned?

Marco
I have had them fail.. This was not due to just useage or age, but Burned discs will make it about 2 years if in environmental conditions.. I had several in the car, from 2 winters and 2 summers, they will become very problematic, regardless of what media.. Standard CD from the store have sat in the car 10 years without failure, now of course I am sure any direct sunlight could quickly change that, but its pretty much a guarantee it will occur on CDR just from temp changes and moisture I belive. Something happens either they de-laminate, or All of a sudden posses increased amounts of Jitter and or Warp in the disc itself, they will develop skips, and sometimes not even read after a while even if protected from direct sunlight I have experienced, but for 20 cents a disc, I could care less than having a 20 dollar cd get tossed around and scuffed up in the car. However I can not comment on kept in a environment controled area like the home, they might be okay.
Is it only true right after you burn the CD, or does it hold true to any CD-R/RW at any time after it has been burned?

Marco,
no , anytime. That is for a CD-R audio disc. It is like the life has been drained from the Cd.
If you get a chance try it and post back your results.

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I was a poster in the original thread refered to by the creator of this thread. I did point out that commercially produced CDs use a stamped foil layer where CD-R/RWs use an ink layer. That is why commercially duplicated CDs outlast CD-R/RWs. Supermediastore is a great source for blank media and accessiories. I had horrible results with Maxell CD-Rs, and have had to burn copies of all of them onto other brands of CD-Rs in order to get my CD players to read them properly. My best results, both with a computer burner and a stand alone recorder, have been with CD-Rs from Taiyo Yuden, Fuji and Phillips. Oddly, Mitsui CD-Rs worked perfectly on my computer and on a Pioneer CD recorder, but had a roughly 30% failure rate on my Marantz CDR-632 recorder. I will again recommend that either the analog source be retained, or that you copy to a fresh CD-R every few years. It takes a few minutes and costs 20 - 50 cents, depending on the media. Remember to date your CD-Rs!