I remember back in the seventies on a British TV show called Tomorrows World a presenter showing us what the future of music will be.
DIGITAL SOUND! I watched in awe as he presented a small silver disc, 12cm across and said you can fit 74 minutes of music on this. I could not believe what I was hearing. 74 minutes of pristeen sound, that would never wear out on a robust medium that you could scratch get finger prints on, (oh yea they got that wrong) and nothing will happen to the music on it. This definitely was the future.
I remember when the first CD players came on to the market, quite a few years later, and trying this for myself, and yep for the best part, he was right. It seemed like we had finally got a medium for music that would not wear out, last for ever, create exact copies, (that's another issue) and store any recordings we had made in the 'analog' age so our music can last forever.
Well it looks like he was WRONG!
CDs and also DVDs are not the things we thought they were. It appears they can rot and go moldy, just like tape does, (ok not quite but you see what i mean), so it could be time now for you to check out your old cds and see what condition they're in.
So how can you tell if something's up? Tina Sieber has written an article on the subject, she says,
You can do a simple visual check. If you see light shining through tiny little holes when you hold a disc against light, then the reflective layer has started to disintegrate. Also check your CDs for discoloring, especially around the edges. See whether the different layers are still tightly together or have started to de-laminate.
If you are getting worried you better check out the rest of her article here.
Written by Steve
Links
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/cds-truth-cddvd-longevity-mold-rot/
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