CDs gone bad.

[smilnJackB]

How well have your CDs lasted? #I have been disapointed with mine going bad and skipping, etc. #I am not careless with them, but they do get left in my pick-up and it gets hot and cold here in Iowa.
#One exception to CD longevity is Lyle Lovett's 'Cowboy Man'. #A friend borrowed it from me about 2 years ago and had it in his college age son's Honda Civic's CD player. #It got stuck in there and is still in there and playing fine. #
#Same with DVDs. #I am on our library board of directors and we have had poor luck with DVDs checked out by library patrons. #We have a 'CD-DVD scrubber' and it helps some.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif Jack

Hey my cd's usually work great! I take good care of them. Every once in a while i get a smudge and it skipps. But they usually stay in pretty good condition.

[John S]

CDs can last a long time if they are well taken care of. CDs are made of polycarbonate which is a pretty touch plastic but it is susceptible to damage. Direct UV radiation (e.g., sunlight) can degrade the plastic and make it less transparent, hence more difficult to "read" in the CD player. Also, excessive heating/cooling may stress the polycarbonate, causing it to change dimensions or weaken, both which will compromise the integrity of the data. It doesn't take much heating or cooling to do that, so keep it in a room temperature, dry environment if you can. Also watch the humidity -- any significant rapid change in temperature or humidity can stress the plastic. Handle the CD by the edges only -- exposure to skin oils from fingerprints over time can damage the plastic.

Here are some dos and don'ts:

DO:
Handle discs by the outer edge or the center hole.
Use a non solvent-based felt-tip permanent marker to mark the label side of the disc.
Keep dirt or other foreign matter from the disc.
Store discs upright (book style) in plastic cases specified for CDs and DVDs.
Return discs to storage cases immediately after use.
Leave discs in their packaging (or cases) to minimize the effects of environmental changes.
Open a recordable disc package only when you are ready to record data on that disc.
Store in a cool, dry, dark environment in which the air is clean.
Remove dirt, foreign material, fingerprints, smudges, and liquids by wiping with a clean cotton fabric in a straight line from the center of the disc toward the outer edge.
Use CD/DVD cleaning detergent, isopropyl alcohol or methanol to remove stubborn dirt or material.
Check the disc surface before recording.

DON'T:

Touch the surface of the disc.
Bend the disc
Store discs horizontally for a long time (years).
Open a recordable optical disc package if you are not ready to record.
Expose discs to extreme heat or high humidity.
Expose discs to extreme rapid temperature or humidity changes.
Expose recordable discs to prolonged sunlight or other sources of UV light.
Write or mark in the data area of the disc (area where the laser "reads").
Clean in a circular direction around the disc.

[SteveW]

Here's what I found in an article on CD longevity: "Recently, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) looked at CDs and DVDs to see how long digital information recorded on to them would survive. They concluded that most CDs and DVDs will last 30 years or more if handled with care, but many factors can slash their longevity."

So, according to this the best we can hope for from a beloved CD is 30 years under optimum conditions and care, as outlined in John's post. I seem to do 90% of my music listening in the car, and keeping CDs in the car would not qualify as optimum conditions by a long shot. Even though I try to bring them into the house when I get home, I get lazy and leave them out in the heat and cold more than I should.

I have LPs that are over 50 years old and still sound great, give or take a few pops and crackles. I'm sure they will still be going strong 50 years from now. I love the convenience of CDs, but wonder sometimes if we've been swindled in terms of trading a semi-permanent music retrieval system (the vinyl record) for one that will barely last a generation. Of course, CDs will ultimately be replaced by iPods and their descendants, so that all you'll have is files on some sort of computer or other device. Whether that's an improvement over storing music on CDs remains to be seen.

[Lee]

Blank CD's are cheap. Burn copies of your most listened to CD's and keep the originals safely stored.

[mad dawg]

A friend borrowed it (Lyle Lovett's 'Cowboy Man') from me about 2 years ago and had it in his college age son's Honda Civic's CD player. #It got stuck in there and is still in there and playing fine. #

I guess that is the literal definition of a single CD player. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[SteveW]

Lee957,

Car copies -- that is indeed probably the best way to go. I think I'll get started this weekend.

Steve

[Salty Dog]

Making car copies seems the obvious solution but I recently read an article that "home made" CDs are far more vulnerable to damage than "store bought" CDs as they are made by different processes. #Apparently professionally mass produced CDs have the business part stamped from a master while home PC copies are "burned" by a lazer. #The article claimed that the home made ones were far more susceptible to reading problems from fingerprints, scratches, etc. #I don't recall that it mentioned temperature extremes but this might be a catch-22.

[Tom C]

Be careful not to scratch the <span style='color:red'>TOP</span> of the CD!!!

The bottom of the CD has millions of holes (from burning)going in toward the top.
The reading is from the top of the bottom side of disc. (make sense? It's hard to say) Scratching the top of the CD will affect the reading of it more than scratching the bottom.

[SteveW]

Yes, I doubt burned CDs will last as long as stamped ones, but the idea is that they are so cheap, that when they wear out (and I have some that are several years old now), you can just make a new copy from your "master" for a few cents. Meanwhile the stamped CD stays safe and sound in your climate-controlled clean room. The only thing I don't like about burned CDs is that they skip more often due to bumps in the road.

One caveat I've heard about burned CDs is that you shouldn't afix a label to them. Some labels react with the plastic coating and wear out that critical top layer, or peel off after a while and damage it.

Steve

[JD Cowles]

don't leave your records in the su-uh-unnn
they'll warp and they won't be good for anyone
they just won't play
just won't play
just won't play
just won't play
no more...
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[patsites]

I'm pretty anal about my CD's so everytime I buy a new CD I immediately copy it and print a label to go on it and then add it to my travelling flip book that I keep in my car. The CD's I actually listen to are the copies. I put the orignal on the shelf in A-Z order with the original case and liner notes and only listen to the copies.

Then if someone swipes, ruins or wants a copy of one of my discs, I can easily replace it or make another one from the original that is in perfect shape.

I have a lot of live taper recordings of my favorite mando players and most couldn't be replaced if I lost the master copy.

[JeffS]

I make car copies and keep most of the originals at home. Good thing too because I have ruined a few by shoving them in my visor and then having them fall and roll away, out the door, etc. DVD's are a pain. I've had a DVD not play on an expensive player and then play fine of a cheap player. Somone told me that a DVD that won't load can sometimes be fixed by licking it. I'd prefer to wipe it down with a soft cloth however. I have CD's though that I bought in the mid 80's that still work fine. I have vinyl much older though that would probably play fine too if I had a turn table that worked.

[smilnJackB]

J.D., Do you have chords or tab for that song? I smell a top 10 hit!
Jack

[Landgrass]

Jack...That's John Hartford from "Mark Twang". Don't think it made the Top 10 back in 1976! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[bluegrassjack2]

I hardly ever listen to a bought CD because most CDs only have a few songs that are really great songs. #So I pick and choose songs off a bought CD and then burn only the songs I really like. #I guess I should treat those as my origonals and burn copies of them. #Hmmm, better get busy. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Mandodoc]

With well over a thousand cd's I'd be busy for a while and in the dog house for the money I spent making copies.

[levin4now]

Making car copies is the best thing that's happened to my CD collection. I won't even play a new CD if its with me in the car till I've made a copy. I don't like the idea of my CD being pulled into the changer past those "brushes" and who knows how much grit caught in them.

[TommyK]

Ditto on the sunlight. Although I had heard that it 'erases' them, degrading the recording media sandwiched betwixed the clear stuff. I have a CD player that constantly skips on specific CDS. I pop the same CD into another player or my 'puter's CDROM drive and no skips. It could be your player man!
That one stuck in the in dash player is relatively protected from RAPID temp changes while down in the bowels of his Kraco. That might have something to do with it's longevity.
Taking a cue from the days of the floppy (i was there) isn't a bad idea either. Copy the original and put it away until the copy gets corrupt. We had to double check and double check we had the original in the 'read' drive and not the 'write' drive. Too, some Radio Shack 'puters would flash a floppy if you turned it on while the floppy was in the drive. I always prayed I could get the copy made before the 'puter destroyed my original. "Save Early and Save Often," was our mantra! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif