Faulty CDs

[Browny]

This album was one of many made by PDO (Philips Du Pont Optical) in the late eighties / early nineties.

There is an article about it in the following link:

http://www.classical.net/music/guide.../excerpt3.html

It relates to classical CDs, but its the same plant as used for the Dan Reed Network disc (in my case at least). Interestingly it mentions about PDO providing replacements...I may have to give this a try (especially as I have others from the same era displaying the same symptoms).

[Mark Lanctot]

In the photo of CD rot here:

http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?DiscRepair

near the end, note the second CD reads, if you can read backwards, "MADE IN THE U.K. BY PDO". Note the wavy, grainy bronzing.

[Browny]

See the attached for what my Dan Reed Network disc looks like now...

There's only a small piece left that is still silver!

[Keith]

Yep the replacement was secondhand.

Both discs were UK according to the data in the middle.


I've managed to get hold of the last four tracks in Flac format from a friend who's disc isn't faulty. I think it's a different pressing. I'm going to take my copies up next time I go and visit them and see if I can spot the difference. That way I'll know what to look out for...

Re comments on the state of the disc below from Browny - I assumed that the disc was supposed to look like it was 'Heated' thus the discolouration as part of the package, maybe you're right, I'll have a look at the good disc my friend has.

[Phil Leigh]

See the attached for what my Dan Reed Network disc looks like now...

There's only a small piece left that is still silver!

That disc is definitely "bronzed" from CD-rot.
I've had a total of 8 out of 2,000+ that suffered the same fate. All of mine were PDO discs. Annoyingly 2 of them were rare low volume pressings that are irreplaceable because there is no alternate pressing and all the ones out there are bronzed... grrrr.

[Mark Lanctot]

Re comments on the state of the disc below from Browny - I assumed that the disc was supposed to look like it was 'Heated' thus the discolouration as part of the package, maybe you're right, I'll have a look at the good disc my friend has.

Discs definitely aren't that bronzed on purpose.

You may want to try a drive that can read rewriteable media, they can read lower reflectance. Unfortunately just about all drives made in the last 5 years can read rewriteable media.

[cliveb]

There is an article about it in the following link:

http://www.classical.net/music/guide.../excerpt3.html

....Interestingly it mentions about PDO providing replacements...I may have to give this a try (especially as I have others from the same era displaying the same symptoms).

I can confirm that PDO will replace bronzed discs - I had them replace about half a dozen back in late 2004. The address supplied for PDO in the classical.net article mentioned by Browny is the one I had to send my faulty discs to. It took quite a while for them to source replacements for them all, but they eventually came up trumps after a few weeks.

One point of interest: one of the faulty discs I sent in was "17-11-70" by Elton John. This original CD version had long been superceded by a remaster with extra tracks by the time PDO replaced it, and yet they somehow managed to find the original non-remastered version. I was a little disappointed not to get the extra tracks!

[Phil Leigh]

I can confirm that PDO will replace bronzed discs - I had them replace about half a dozen back in late 2004. The address supplied for PDO in the classical.net article mentioned by Browny is the one I had to send my faulty discs to. It took quite a while for them to source replacements for them all, but they eventually came up trumps after a few weeks.

One point of interest: one of the faulty discs I sent in was "17-11-70" by Elton John. This original CD version had long been superceded by a remaster with extra tracks by the time PDO replaced it, and yet they somehow managed to find the original non-remastered version. I was a little disappointed not to get the extra tracks!

Given the mechanism by which the bronzing occurs, I wonder how they manage to have a stock of NOS non-bronzed discs - presumably these are actually recent repressings or contemporary pressings from another plant?

[cliveb]

Given the mechanism by which the bronzing occurs, I wonder how they manage to have a stock of NOS non-bronzed discs - presumably these are actually recent repressings or contemporary pressings from another plant?

None of the replacements say "Made by PDO" on them, so my guess is that they try to track down contemporary pressings from other plants (which must be quite difficult in some cases). I can't imagine they'd go to the trouble of repressing the older versions, (unless the number they have to replace is very large).

[funkstar]

One point of interest: one of the faulty discs I sent in was "17-11-70" by Elton John. This original CD version had long been superceded by a remaster with extra tracks by the time PDO replaced it, and yet they somehow managed to find the original non-remastered version. I was a little disappointed not to get the extra tracks!

If it is rare enough, then you probably got a more valuable disk

<rhetorical questions>
I know printers and disk plants always over run on lines they produce. I wonder what they do with the excess? Do they archive it in case it might be needed later? Does it go to the customer as a little extra product for the same cost? When i worked in a design house we always got the over-run in the delivery, but i wouldn't be surprised if the pressing plants keep the excess and the glass master in their stores.
</rhetorical questions>