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Menegrothx
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Re: Disc Rot

by Menegrothx Tue Jun 05, 2012 10:46 am

The causes of this effect vary from oxidation of the reflective layer, to physical scuffing and abrasion of disc surfaces or edges, including visible scratches, to other kinds of reactions with contaminants, to ultra-violet light damage and de-bonding of the adhesive used to adhere the layers of the disc together.

So if UV light is one of the things that causes disc rot, is disc rot on average more common the closer you get to the equator? Is bright sunshine coming through a window to a game box/jewel case enough to rot the game inside?
pepharytheworm wrote:I have 2345 disc based games and found only two with disc rot. One was Dracula SCD and the other was Zombie Revenge DC, both of which were somewhat scratched to begin with and still seem to play fine.

wip3outguy7 wrote:I went through most of mine last night and I would say around 90% of them have label "speckles" (as I have mentioned earlier in the thread). I found 4 (out of about 60) that had outright rot.

Austin is usually at least partially sunny, receiving nearly 2650 hours, or 60.3% of the possible total, of bright sunshine per year.

City Sunny Partly Sunny Total Days With Sun
Birmingham 99 111 210
Huntsville 100 101 201
Mobile 102 116 218
Montgomery 107 107 214

Percent sunshine yearly City % Sun
Birmingham 58
Montgomery 59

Judging by that, the annual sunshine in Huntsville is around 58.125% so the difference between the two cities doesnt see that dramatic, although Austin is further down South (~~100 miles?).
Naturally whether you keep your windows open or closed, do you have black plastic bags taped to your window to prevent the sunlight from getting in and are you storing your game collection down in a basement and other factors like that have a far higher significance than that.
My WTB thread (Sega CD/Saturn games)
Also looking to buy: Ys III (TG-16 CD), Shadowrun (Genesis) Hori N64 mini pad and Slayer (3DO) in long box/just the long box
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wip3outguy7
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Re: Disc Rot

by wip3outguy7 Tue Jun 05, 2012 10:51 am

Menegrothx wrote:Judging by that, the annual sunshine in Huntsville is around 58.125% so the difference between the two cities doesnt see that dramatic, although Austin is further down South (~~100 miles?).
Naturally whether you keep your windows open or closed, do you have black plastic bags taped to your window to prevent the sunlight from getting in and are you storing your game collection down in a basement and other factors like that have a far higher significance than that.

Oh, I think it has to do with where I have recently stored the games. I moved into a much smaller apartment six months ago and for the first time space has really been an issue. I have all of my gaming stuff stored (and hooked up to play) in the utility closet where the washer and dryer would normally go. I have sealed up the dryer vent and the hose hookups to prevent outside air from making its way in. However, the area gets warm. I would say it gets up to 90º F in there now that we are hitting the summer months.

I had not noticed the label speckles until recently, so I am pretty convinced that the heat has something to do with it. I am going to clear out a space somewhere else in the apartment that receives a bit more air and move the games there in an attempt to slow the process. That's all I can do really. What's done is done.
Menegrothx
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Re: Disc Rot

by Menegrothx Tue Jun 05, 2012 11:05 am

Dont you have AC or fan that would cool the area? Room temperature should remain at/below 71.6F if I recall correctly, so games discs, CDs, DVDs and such probably arent built to last very high or low temperatures.
My WTB thread (Sega CD/Saturn games)
Also looking to buy: Ys III (TG-16 CD), Shadowrun (Genesis) Hori N64 mini pad and Slayer (3DO) in long box/just the long box
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wip3outguy7
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Re: Disc Rot

by wip3outguy7 Tue Jun 05, 2012 11:15 am

LOL, not going to happen. My electric bill would be $200 a month if I kept the apartment at that temperature.

Edit: I do keep the door to the closet cracked open a few inches. I just don't think that's enough.
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scarper
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Re: Disc Rot

by scarper Tue Jun 05, 2012 5:35 pm

scarper wrote:I have a notorious example; my japanese copy of Daytona USA.
The lighting made all of those holes look bigger than they actually are. There are, however, that many holes.

This type of thing is a big part of why I stopped collecting. I would rather not pay a crap load of money for things that encounter problems like this. Nothing lasts forever, as unfortunate as it is.

I tried playing it, just for shits and giggles. It actually works. Aside from the very frequent skips in the victory music, it works almost perfectly.
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wip3outguy7
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Re: Disc Rot

by wip3outguy7 Wed Jun 06, 2012 12:19 am

I can't do much about the hardware, but I moved all of my discs into the living room. At least I feel better now.

sigh of relief
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Re: Disc Rot

by AppleQueso Wed Jun 06, 2012 10:14 am

wip3outguy7 wrote:LOL, not going to happen. My electric bill would be $200 a month if I kept the apartment at that temperature.

...really?

I keep my AC at around 74-76 and my electric bill tends to stay pretty low. I live in Texas too.
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wip3outguy7
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Re: Disc Rot

by wip3outguy7 Wed Jun 06, 2012 10:44 am

AppleQueso wrote:I keep my AC at around 74-76 and my electric bill tends to stay pretty low. I live in Texas too.

This is a relatively new property. I think it's been open for about 2 years. They cut corners during construction. The complex looks great on the outside, and even the decor of the units is very clean. But there's barely any insulation. We can hear our neighbors below us as if they were in the next room... when their TV is at a very low volume. Same goes for the temperature outside. Our unit gets pretty uncomfortable even when it's only 80º outside. Seriously, the A/C will run non-stop.

Oh and the thermostat looks like they pulled it out of a junkyard from the 1970s.

Edit: Also, Texas is a pretty huge state. The climate can vary pretty radically from area to area. I lived in Houston for most of my childhood and 20s. While it was extremely humid there, I could get away with running the A/C less on average than what seems to be required to stay comfortable here in Austin.
Last edited by wip3outguy7 on Wed Jun 06, 2012 10:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
AppleQueso
 

Re: Disc Rot

by AppleQueso Wed Jun 06, 2012 10:47 am

Ah, yikes, that's pretty crappy.

My last apartment was kinda a shithole, but at least it had decent insulation.
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wip3outguy7
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Re: Disc Rot

by wip3outguy7 Wed Jun 06, 2012 10:49 am

AppleQueso wrote:Ah, yikes, that's pretty crappy.

My last apartment was kinda a shithole, but at least it had decent insulation.

Yeah... we realized out mistake about a week after we moved in. :/

We definitely won't be resigning in December.

Add: I have also noticed over the years that the newer the apartment is, the worse/cheaper the construction.
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