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Forums - Gaming - Study shows blu ray discs last only about 10 to 20 years.

drkohler 10 hours ago
Shadow1980 said:

Yeah. Rewritable/recordable discs are known to not have nearly the longevity of a regular pressed disc like you find movies & music on. Barring any manufacturing defects, a standard CD, DVD, or Blu-ray will last many decades if you take care of it properly. I have CDs that are 30 years old and still play fine.

All my music-CDs from the early 80s (and later) still read without problems.

Just for fun, I checked some of my CD-W with 1980s data backups. All read without problems.



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xl-klaudkil 10 hours ago
Wman1996 said:
Zippy6 said:

Early Physical games will one day start failing enmass. Probably early optical games first.

I just picked up GT1 for PS1 and that's working just fine. I have PC games from the 90s also. By the 2040s though we might start having a problem.

PlayStation needs a disc to digital program (like the rumored one Xbox is coming out with) for emulated PS1/PS2/PSP/PS3 games to get added to your account from physical copies. 
Obviously, I know it would not support games that don't have emulated versions available on PS4 and PS5. 

Pretty sure a lot of PS1 games will indeed stop working by the 2040s like you said. CDs of any type are expected to have a very good chance of failure/rot after 50 years. 

Time will tell, but pretty sure cds will last my whole lifetime, but we shall see.

PlayStation game discs can last anywhere from 10 years to over 100 years, depending heavily on the console generation, material quality, and how they are stored. Original PlayStation (PS1) standard CDs often have a longer potential lifespan than newer formats, while modern Blu-ray discs (PS4 and PS5) face a shorter estimated window of 10 to 20 years due to thinner data layers and environmental vulnerability.
Lifespan by Format
  • PS1 Discs (CD-ROM): Projected up to 30 to 100 years if kept clean, as pressed standard CDs resist chemical breakdown well.
  • PS2, PS3, PS4 & PS5 Discs (DVD and Blu-ray): Projected around 10 to 20 years on average according to recent conservation studies, because dense data layers and thin coatings degrade faster when exposed to heat and minor wear.
    Risks and Damage Factors
    • Disc Rot: The reflective foil or adhesive layers separate or oxidize over time, making the data unreadable.
    • Scratches and Cracks: High-density formats like Blu-ray require precise laser reads; small surface scratches can ruin the whole disc.
    • Environmental Exposure: Heat, high humidity, and direct sunlight speed up plastic decay and layer separation.

    What i mean to say is NOBODY knows for sure and yet so many "experts" think they do.

    If a cds in 40 years looks perfectly fine,explain to me why all of a sudden it will start rotting away in the next 10 years when research "claims" discs starts to degrade from day1

    Last edited by xl-klaudkil - 10 hours ago

     

    My youtube gaming page.

    http://www.youtube.com/user/klaudkil

    drkohler 4 hours ago
    xl-klaudkil said:

      If a cds in 40 years looks perfectly fine,explain to me why all of a sudden it will start rotting away in the next 10 years when research "claims" discs starts to degrade from day1

      Degradation does not start after x years, it starts right when the material goes out of the machine that produces the CD/DVD/Blu-Ray/whatever.

      Polymer degradation is an oxidation process that can be greatly "helped" by environmental condition, the worst of which is UV light and heat.

      Barring these conditions, CDs have a lifetime of over 80 years.

      CD-R lifetimes depend on the dye used. Phthalocyanine lives for over 100 years, simple cyanine dyes live around 10 years.

      CD-RW lifetimes can be less than 40 years due to complex write processes.

      The key is to protect the uppermost lacquer (a special UV resistant polymer) layer from any damage. If this layer gets damaged, oxygen can start to oxidize the aluminum layer which will render the disc unreadable over time.

      If you want to keep your discs forever, put them in a light and air tight safe under nitrogen atmosphere in a fridge