Ellen,
DVD players definitely have a lifespan. For continuous play, 6 months is
about as long as one could expect to have consistent, quality play, even
with proper cleaning and whatnot. I have burned out two in the past year in
exactly that way. It turns out to be cheaper to buy the 60 dollar versions
every six months, than the multi-hundred dollar professional grade versions
every two to three years. Sometimes you will luck into one that lasts for
much longer. Rather like light bulbs. They may last for a long while, but
when they go they go.
Worn out DVD players can definitely damage disks played in them, both
physically and informationally. If the skips/glitches are always in the
same place then your disk may be damaged, but if they are random it is
likely your player. If new copies of the disk still have glitches when run
in a new player, then the data on your original is faulty for some reason.
The DVDs themselves also have a lifespan, and can begin to lose data in as
little as a year, depending on their quality and material composition.
Continuous play will shorten their lifespan considerably. Make sure to have
an archival(unused) copy of anything you intend to play alot, from which
you make your copies. Do not copy a heavily played disk. If we are talking
about truly valuable archival information or art, then the disk(s) should
be copied every few years, whether or not they are played/accessed.
Essentially, we need to make sure our collections policies include the fact
that CDs/DVDs are not permanent media storage, and they should not be
treated as such.
Good luck.
Mark Janzen
Registrar/Collections Manager
Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art
Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection
Wichita State University
(316)978-5850
Ellen Carrlee
<Ellen_Carrlee@CI
.JUNEAU.AK.US> To
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DVD foibles
07/21/2005 04:08
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We have a DVD of our local history film that we play continuously in the
summer for our visitors. It gives us glitches, skips, and other troubles
fairly frequently, even if we switch to a new copy or a new TV. I'm
wondering if other institutions play a film continuously and what the
parameters might be for wear-and-tear on the machine or the DVD. Our
situation:
DVD built-in to a TV (from Costco)
DVD on repeat
DVD removed nightly and put in its case
DVD and DVD player cleaned regularly
DVD plays 7 hours per day, 7 days per week
We have only recently switched from using a VCR to show our film and I'm
hoping folks out there might be able to tell us something about our
problem.
Thank you!
Ellen Carrlee
Curator of Collections and Exhibits
Juneau-Douglas City Museum
155 S. Seward Street
Juneau, AK 99801
(907) 586-3572
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