With the introduction of Hardcoat technology to the manufacturing of new DVD-R blank discs, has anyone heard (or used) a product that can be applied to the surface of previously burned (and yet - to - be- burned) discs to give them a 'hardcoat' type of protection too?
In a former life I tested at least a dozen so-called protective sprays, wipes, and solutions that claimed to provide a hard coating. The tests used forty discs from a single production batch:
1) 10 were left blank
2) 10 were recorded and had their errors tabulated
3) 10 had the "protection" applied before they were recorded and had errors tabulated.
4) 10 had the "protection" applied after recording and tabulation and then had their errors tabulated again.
In cases 2, 3, and 4, discs with the protection applied either before or after recording showed higher error rates than discs that had no protection. This was to test for damage just from the application. Radial patterns suggested that it was the application and removal of the excess coating that caused the increase in error rates.
Then a test sled with coarse sandpaper was drawn across half of all discs and the other half were slid down an incline of the same type of sandpaper. The blank discs in 1 were then recorded. All discs were retested and errors retabulated. The results:
1) Most of the blank discs were scratched too badly to offer good recordings. Some were actually OK but had suspiciously and dangerously high errors.
2) Recorded discs suffered the least. A playback system can recover read errors; but if the defects exist before recording, the recording itself cannot be good.
3) Discs "protected" before recording had average results not much better than blank discs but more fatal errors.
4) Discs "protected" after recording had slightly better results than those protected before recording, but like them, had fatal errors higher than unprotected discs. It appeared that the slickness offered by the protection actually increased the speed of the discs while reducing the coefficient of friction. It was the speed across rough surfaces that did more damage than that on unprotected discs.
My conclusion and recommendation in all the tests was to avoid using any "protection" for discs other than careful handling and storage.
So far all of the Hardcoat tech I've heard of cost more than the media their put on. Personally I would just buy an external hard drive and re-burn anything in question.
Yes I agree any Improvement in disc survivability should be "a Good Thing as Ms. Martha sez !!!" But beyond all the hoopla , Voodoo and Propaganda The best protection for your Prized Media be they Movies , Games , Vacation recordings , Video's of babies first steps !!! or anything else you would consider Rare , irreplaceable or Critical in value !!! Is to make atleast one though several would be better Back up copies and store that in a safe secure place or if you did make multiple safety copies store them in separate individual safe places so a catastrophe at one location does'nt eliminate them all at once ! Also The usual disc care rules apply ! Always store your CD/DVD/Game /Movie /Software ect... in it's Jewel box , dvd case , Binder, DJ type hard case or other suitable Protected storage when not using them ! always handle disc =cd's or DVD's ect... by the edges try not to touch the surface of The disc that the laser must read ( usually The bottom but can be either/both sides if it's a flipper Disc !!!. This will put fingerprints, skin oils and whatever other deritus is on your hands/fingers none of which you will want in your burner/player? or on your disc ! Also it's beeen said before by myself and others Clean your dvd's /cd's ect... if they need it ? I have found that a Radial type hand cranked cleaning Gadget works well you want the type that has the circular/or O shaped cleaning pad ! Avoid the ones with a small bean or shoe tap shaped pad as these will scratch the disc your trying to clean . for cleaning solution 91% isopropyl alcohol is what I use You may be able to get by with 70% as long as it does'nt leave residue behind ? put some on a hand mirror and let it dry /evaporate if you don't see any residue then it should be okay ? I would avoid other chemicals especially strong solvents as they'll probably melt /eat your disc and ruin your day too ? Sorry I went Soapbox here I'm Finished now !!! Thanx for putting up with me anyways Ciao!!!!!!1
Originally posted by JoeRyan: My conclusion and recommendation in all the tests was to avoid using any "protection" for discs other than careful handling and storage.
Very interesting reading there Joe, i cringed at the thought of sandpaper near my discs!. It always annoys me how flimsy blank dvd media is, the slightest touch and they get scratched. I'm glad i've always been paranoid about keeping blank media safe and clean once recorded to, they're just nowhere near as durable as commercial pressed discs, very wise advice to handle them carefully and store them well.
All i can add is that i used to live on the river for a few years, all my tubs of unopened and recorded media were stored on the floor of the boat (recorded media being stored upright in 240-capacity binders, not too tightly packed in the 240's); anyways, the floor of the boat was about a foot under the waterline, my point being that a few years later all my discs are still fine, even spending extended periods in literally frozen temperatures, along with condensation when folders were opened sometimes.
creaky- Well said your Creaky-ness !!! you might even say in your particular case that your Blanks were water- cooled like a high speed gaming rig ???? quite possibly a first ???? . Good media houskeeping is it's own best reward !!!! Cheers my friend!!
