Notes 19/1 of the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) on the Longevity of Recordable CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays

submited by

Style Pass

2021-05-16 06:20:24

The longevity of recordable compact discs (CD-Rs), recordable digital versatile discs (DVD±Rs)Endnote 1 and recordable Blu-rays (BD-Rs) is uncertain, leading to a widespread lack of trust by libraries and archives. Research studies, anecdotal information and manufacturers’ literature suggest that the lifetime of recordable optical discs can range from a couple of years to more than 200 years. This Note explores several of the factors that affect whether a disc will fail within a short period or will continue to perform well for many years.

Poor-quality discs (discs that do not meet standard specifications for proper manufacturing and function) will probably fail sooner than good-quality ones, due to rapid chemical degradation or physical damage. This was a significant problem when discs were introducedEndnote 2 and for at least two to three years afterwards. Poor manufacturing is still a problem to some extent, either because of cost-cutting to meet competitive pricing or because of the growing lack of quality manufacturers producing these materials.

Determining if a disc is poorly manufactured is an impossible task without thorough testing, which likely would include accelerated aging. This is not feasible for most archives, libraries and museums. In the absence of testing, discs with a recognized brand name can generally be assumed to be of good quality. Even though some large manufacturers label discs produced elsewhere with their own brand name, most have no desire to be associated with an inferior product. Information on where the disc was actually produced may be available by consulting the manufacturer and/or examining coding on the disc.