I have a few homemade DVD-R discs that have basically become unplayable. They will play a few minutes, then start to pause and hesitate, then eventually freeze up all together. The discs are close to 10 years old. I handle and store DVD's carefully, the discs don't have smudges or scratches, but somehow they must be losing their data. Perhaps there is a problem with the dye layer. Anyhow my question is, does anyone know if the discs can be repaired so they will play properly again? Is there a magic spray or solution that can be applied to re-activate playback, or am I just out of luck?

Not possible. If the disc has been finalized (aka: plays in a DVD player) there is no way to fix it.

If the disc isn't playing due to scratches on the bottom you can try re-burning the disc and that might fix it, but to me this sounds like an old disc that has begun to corrupt it's data. These discs have dye in them, the purplish to blue color you can see on the bottom of the disc is the dye pad- once that starts to dry up the DVD-r, +r, rw, etc. is basically toast.

Not possible. If the disc has been finalized (aka: plays in a DVD player) there is no way to fix it.

If the disc isn't playing due to scratches on the bottom you can try re-burning the disc and that might fix it, but to me this sounds like an old disc that has begun to corrupt it's data. These discs have dye in them, the purplish to blue color you can see on the bottom of the disc is the dye pad- once that starts to dry up the DVD-r, +r, rw, etc. is basically toast.

Yea I think that's exactly what the problem is, the dye layer is going bad. Thanks for your reply.

The DVD-R's that have gone bad on me is a 5 disc set of David Cassidy Man Undercover. These are recordings of uncut episodes that aired on Channel America in the early 1990's. I tried to contact the person I got these from, but he told me he's no longer collecting or trading. If there is anyone here who has these episodes and can help me out, it would be much appreciated. Again, I'm looking for the uncut David Cassidy Man Undercover episodes that aired on Channel America in the early 1990's. It's the complete series, all 10 episodes.

did you at least try to copy them in a computer?
If you tried and got a copy error failure, you can use software like DvdFab and set it to copy with errors. You might get some pixelation with burning a new copy but it might be more playable. Or you could try to edit out the pixelation bit before burning.

did you at least try to copy them in a computer?
If you tried and got a copy error failure, you can use software like DvdFab and set it to copy with errors. You might get some pixelation with burning a new copy but it might be more playable. Or you could try to edit out the pixelation bit before burning.

I have two DVD players, the one player seems to handle the DVD's a little better than the other, but the discs still end up freezing in both players. I also have a CD/DVD high speed duplicator, I tried to make new DVD's from the old ones, it starts to burn the new DVD but then it stops, ejects the DVD and the message says "bad master disc".

If disc can be read by computer, you might individually rip the episode files with free program like Handbrake.

If disc can be read by computer, you might individually rip the episode files with free program like Handbrake.

It's strange because the DVD's do load in the DVD player, the menu screen appears. But when I play the DVD, after a few minutes it will start to pause and hesitate before freezing up completely. Maybe I will try your suggestion.

Give IsoBuster a shot...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IsoBuster

http://www.isobuster.com

Just curious ... what kind of DVD's are they? Memorex? Sony?

I have a few homemade DVD-R discs that have basically become unplayable. They will play a few minutes, then start to pause and hesitate, then eventually freeze up all together. The discs are close to 10 years old. I handle and store DVD's carefully, the discs don't have smudges or scratches, but somehow they must be losing their data. Perhaps there is a problem with the dye layer. Anyhow my question is, does anyone know if the discs can be repaired so they will play properly again? Is there a magic spray or solution that can be applied to re-activate playback, or am I just out of luck?

Just curious ... what kind of DVD's are they? Memorex? Sony?

They are Philips DVD-R's.

I have been able to salvage a disc before that was having the same issues, I was able to copy the video_ts folder to my computer and reburn.

I have been able to salvage a disc before that was having the same issues, I was able to copy the video_ts folder to my computer and reburn.

I tried that but it didn't work, I got an error message.

Fortunately, the discs haven't gone completely bad yet. One of the discs is fine, both episodes play. The other four discs, one episode plays and the other has problems. So I have taken the six episodes that play and transferred them to VHS- SP speed. They look excellent, no drop off in quality from the DVD. So at least I still have something, I'm going to see what I can do with the other four episodes. I've always liked VHS better than DVD. Some VHS tapes I've had for over 30 years, they still play fine, no problems. I haven't had to worry about tapes erasing themselves. DVD is garbage. The dye layer fades over time, and causes playback problems. Junk.

Give IsoBuster a shot...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IsoBuster

http://www.isobuster.com

Not familiar with IsoBuster. Thanks for suggesting, if all else fails I may give it a try. I called my local video store and described my problem, the manager asked me to bring in the discs, he will try something that might make the discs fully playable again. So I'll see what happens with that first. At least for now, I have been able to transfer six of the episodes to VHS.

Wow! You've just made me paranoid about my DVD collection. I use nothing but Phillips DVDs for my collections.


Looks like I am going to start backing everything up on my computers just in case something like this happens to me.

Phillips DVDs are becoming just as bad as Verbatim and Memorex. Out of a spindle of 50 I only get about 35 that are usable and the rest are trash.

Phillips DVDs are becoming just as bad as Verbatim and Memorex. Out of a spindle of 50 I only get about 35 that are usable and the rest are trash.


How do you copy discs? that sounds more like a software or hardware malfunction and not the discs themselves. Ive never had a problem with any disc, ever. The only discs Im concerned about using are the shiny silver blank topped discs. Its also a very good idea to store your favorite programs on an external hardrive- the dye pads in those dvd-r's dont last forever.

This topic has some good information and guidelines to preserving your collection: http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=325637&page=2

Phillips DVDs are becoming just as bad as Verbatim and Memorex. Out of a spindle of 50 I only get about 35 that are usable and the rest are trash.


Yeah that sounds like its the burner, how long have you had it? do you burn a lot with it?

I've burned over 700 discs for my personal collection (all from VHS tapes) and probably another 300 or so I've sent out for trades. I've had problems with fewer than 10 of those.

There are a few discs I've discovered where an episode won't play properly that I've had to redo (good thing I kept all those VHS tapes!) I've heard it said that 2 in every 100 discs are bad anyway, so you'd have to expect a few problems here and there.

I've regularly used Maxell, TDK and more recently Verbatim discs - always tried to use a respected name brand - and have had great success with them.

Having said that, I prefer the VHS storage. I've got tapes from the mid-80s that still play great. From what I've heard and seen, I don't think digital storage is forever :( I've read that even major networks have had trouble with it. I guess we're stuck in a digital world now...