Ameba-like anomalies on retail discs
 

I've purchased several retail CDs and DVDs over the years that have an ameba-shaped impression on the recordable side of the disc. What produces these? Are there any reasons to be concerned about disc longevity? Thanks!

It's simply cheap pressing materials. That's all there is to it. The reflective surface is ... something ... I forget the technical term.

You could probably ask a reputable replication facility, such as NewCyberian -- they'd most likely know all the details on this. I've used them for press jobs, and the discs always came out spotless, perfect as could be.

Thanks Admin, that's about what I figured. Do you think there's reason to be concerned about longevity though?

Yes and no.

These discs can often be harder to read. As your players/burners/ROM drives age, the disc may "become unreadable". It's not that the disc has changed, but rather that that player has weakened and can no longer read the somewhat-crappy DVD.

This is a very common scenario. Many people wrongly assume that their data has "disappeared", but that's not the case.

VHS tapes age with use. VCRs are abundant, with many of them having the ability to outlast tapes. The tapes are the problem. People falsely assume DVD tech is the same way.

DVD players age with use decades faster than the discs will. In 50 years, we may have discs without any players left to retrieve the data.

(NOTE: I'm NOT suggesting we use VHS instead of DVD to archive footage, just pointing out a potential future issue! Same for hard drives or tapes over discs -- there's no guarantee data tape/drive connections/drives will last either.)

If possible, always replace crappy media, whether it's pressed or burned. Readability is the primary issue of concern, not really longevity of the disc itself.

Hope that clears it up for you. :)

Definitely, thanks. :)