My DVD backups seem to degrade

[glennunland]

I realize this is not possible, DVDs don't degrade. I guess I just need to vent. I have an incredible investment in time trying to copy DVDs for my kid. I have 2 DVD players in my home, a Samsung and an Allegro.
I have no problem creating DVDs. I use DVDShrink and Copy2DVD. They play perfectly... a couple of times. Then after a few weeks they start studdering and freezeframing. Sometimes they play through, but usually they don't. They are not scratched. I've tried cheap and expensive media. I've defragged. I've tried every program I can get my hands on and followed every suggestion in every forum I can find. No matter what I do, they don't seem to last. My frustration level with this is through the roof.
Since they do play through a couple of times, I believe it means that the DVDs are clean of errors and the problem is my DVD players.
Has anyone else had a similar experience? Sorry for venting.

[parallax1]

You're not using labels are you?

[glennunland]

Yes, labels are an issue???
They've been put on the proper side. I have read that magic marker shouldn't be used because it could potentially seep through the plastic to the media layer. More info please. Thanks!
By the way, I should have mentioned that store bought or rented DVDs play fine on both of my dvd players.

[ghoster]

us a sharpie no problems

[Ma_Jie]

Do a search around these forums for sticky labels...the consensus is that they are crap.

Just use a sharpie -- I do -- or get an Epson printer and some IJP discs (Inkjet printabes).

- MJ

[otpw1]

Labels are evil!

[MOVIEGEEK]

I use this analogy for adhesive labels:
"Just because they sell cigarettes doesn't mean they're safe."

Use WD40 to remove the label,then wash with a mild soap and dry.

[handyguy]

" I have read that magic marker shouldn't be used because it could potentially seep through the plastic to the media layer. More info please. Thanks! "

We have Lots of Sharpie topics, as a matter of fact, sharpie.com says you can use them just fine. So I don't know where you got your info.

[garryheather]

This is more true for CD's, where the data is barely underneath the surface on the label side.

With a recordable DVD the data is on a layer in the center of the disc, so unless you've got a marker with a sulphuric acid base you should be OK.

Polycarbonate can be depressed to a degree where the data can theoretically be damaged, so don't try "engraving" the disc with a ballpoint and you should also be OK. Personally, I like my Epson R200.

[mats.hogberg]

IMO, it seems like my DVD player lasers degrade a whole lot faster than my DVD discs...

/Mats

[cd090580]

Remove the labels from your burned disc and they will play perfectly like the first day they were burned.

I had the same problem with labels. The work fine at first but after a few months (2 or 3), I got jerky playback or a lot of green pixels,...
The problems with the labels appears only on the end of the disk. If I put a label on a dvd which contains less than 4 GB that play fine with the label on it.

Maybe the label weigthens the disc and thus it's not spinning fast enough to be read.

[garryheather]

It's more likely to be introducing a wobble to the disc that's throwing the laser assembly out of focus. Don't forget the disc is only clamped in the middle, the outer edge will try and act like a gyroscope.

[joeg04]

Paper labels warp the disk.

[proxyx99]

DVD and CD discs are balanced and tested. Never heard of balanced label. At these rotational speeds even tiny change in weight distribution makes a world of difference. Ever seen a tire balancing? Same principle. Sharpie is not adding additional weight to your disc and therefore is 100% safe to use.

[joeg04]

Further -- and most curiously -- on DVD+R discs which are having read errors, I have taken to removing as much of the label as possible, but found that removing the entire adhesive layer is very difficult. Still, I was surprised to discover that as long as the complete paper layer is removed, the discs will read perfectly. This is the case even with a large amount of the sticky stuff left in place -- and decidedly unbalanced. By all rights, if wobble is the real concern, leaving splotches of unbalanced adhesive should be fatal, but this has not been the case on any of the discs I have reclaimed.

(Source: https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=878867#878867 )

From this I conclude, that imbalance does not cause the playback problems.

[proxyx99]

Considering credibility of this source, you must be right... and the only conclusion left is that DVD players don't like paper... have it your way

[yellowsugga]

Yes its the labels. I think tis the paper part that created too much tension or pressure as it heats up and warps the disc causing read errors. Try running a labled DVD through a PI/PO scan and see the jumps in the readings. Then remove the labels and re run the scan. You will notice a huge difference.

[Spoffo]

Heat is Definitely part of the cause for paper label problems. At one point I used to use them on both CDs & DVDs. Then I started traveling again. Every labeled disk would play OK for the first 10-15 minutes on my PowerBook, then start to skip, then freeze entirely. That puppy runs very hot inside, and every time I popped a froze-up disk out, it was quite warm to the touch. The results were so consistent that it must have been the result of heating up. Disks without paper labels would play fine all the way through.

[proxyx99]

That is easily explainable with centrivical forces beeing higher towards the egde of the disc (discs are read from the center). Addiing even minimal weight to the disc will screw its balance and its larger overall mass will cause more wobble and jitter.

[Spoffo]

The reason I'm convinced it was heat is that a number of these disks played fine on my desktop computer or stand-alone player, where the internal temperatures are much lower. They only hung up in the PowerBook, where they got seriously heat-soaked.

[moults]

I recently had the exact same problem and there were 7 dvd's which played no problem but would not copy.

I removed the labels using wd40 and hey presto all 7 copied with no problems.

I now will not use any labels and when my printer finally gives up the ghost I will replace it with an Epson which prints on discs!

[proxyx99]

Every labeled disk would play OK for the first 10-15 minutes on my PowerBook, then start to skip, then freeze entirely.

then you say:


The reason I'm convinced it was heat is that a number of these disks played fine on my desktop computer or stand-alone player, where the internal temperatures are much lower. They only hung up in the PowerBook, where they got seriously heat-soaked.

Heat sounds reasonable too although first 15 min. you mention refer to the inside section of the track where the wobble is less distructive.

[Capmaster]

I'll chime in in favor of removing the labels. But I would use warm soapy water and let it soak overnight. Good media is sealed at the edges and won't be an issue.

If you're using Princo or some other garbage media, then, no ....find some way other than soaking to remove

[Zisguy1]

Naptha (zippo lighter fluid) is a really powerful solvent of that sticky stuff. No idea what it would do to the plastic or anything else on the top layer tho.

[thor300]

It cost like $5 for a 4-pack of verbatim CD markers, so if anyone is afraid of sharpies there are alternatives. Personally i still use labels, havent experienced any problems, but be sure to center them properly to be safe.

[proxyx99]

Naphta, methyl alcohol, mineral spirits - cheap "tthinner" sold in hardware stores (using ethyl for labels would be a crime, there are some better uses for that.. like mixing with tomato juice...) for stubborn glue type, but soap (dishwashing liquid) and water seems to be the best suggestion.

[glennunland]

Hello all,
I was the one who started this thread. Thanks to all of you who responded. The problem WAS that I was using injet LABELS on my dvds. I have now removed every label from every DVD in my homemade collection. Every one of them now works perfectly.
Left behind on all of them was some adhesive, so I have gone to the trouble of re-ripping each one of them using DVDShrink and CopytoDVD.
Thanks to all who responded. I was really pulling my hair out! -=gu=-

[Red Barchetta]

Humm - first I have ever heard of a problem using stick-on CD/DVD labels (I use them all the time and have yet to have any trouble at all) - however, I could see it might cause more heat to build up - so if you are having that problem... I could see removing ONE label just to varify that is what is causing the problem (before spending any $$$) but if this is what is causing it, wouldn't it be a lot easier to simply add a fan or two to your player than to remove ALL your labels? (there should be plenty of room inside the case of your DVD player to mount them) - and for computer drives, I have seen fans that are made for them....

[thor300]

Cheap media, cheap labels, cheap DVD player, could be a nice combination with strange side-effects.
I have tried bad media/burnt too fast media both with and without labels without any difference, and good media still works with labels.

[Shocker Milwaukee]

I don't think balance is the issue. The great majority of my DVDRs have masking tape labels. That's way more unbalanced than a slightly off-center label. All of my masking tape DVDs play & scan just fine.