DVD or VHS?

[Fairydreams]

When CDs first came out they claimed they'd last for decades. The problem was the glue they used ate through the disc itself. The chances are that if you hold any original 80s CD up to the light you'll see holes in it. If you have a bad one you'll see a whole constellation of little stars. Laserdiscs also suffered the same problem (called laserdisc rot). They changed the glue but still holes do appear. CDs don't last for ever even if kept in their boxes.

 

Now CDs have error correction, so one or two holes don't matter, but lots make it unplayable. In my CD collection I have about 5 which are totally unplayable and many more with some holes. This is even after checking bought discs to ensure no holes at the time of purchase.

 

Of course, now that record companies are removing error-correction to add protection, the chance of a CD becoming unplayable due to holes or scratches is far, far higher. The benefit of CDs is once you see two or three holes appearing, you can just make a copy. Of course, with error protection they try to prevent you doing this. That is why I'll never buy a protected disc.

 

As DVDs are still fairly new there is no way to tell how long they will last. All estimates of longevity are based on just giving tough external conditions to a disc. None can check how the glue - metal - dye -etc are interacting in the longer term.