If, like me, you have a bunch of DVDs on your shelf, some recent reports may have you worrying if any of your collection has, in fact, rotted.
Many physical media enthusiasts may be familiar with DVD rot even if you don't know that exact term. The overall problem of disc rot has affected all sorts of products for decades, from LaserDiscs to CDs to video games across various platforms, since any disc is susceptible to chemical deterioration thanks to a variety of reasons, and can then be affected by playability issues - including, at the most dire level, simply not being able to be read or played at all.
By and large, coming across disc rot in your own collection is a somewhat random and unlucky occurrence, but once in a while, there is a core issue related to how a disc was produced. Some specific discs with issues have certainly occurred in the past, but over time it’s become very apparent there is quite a recurrent problem with Warner Bros. DVDs produced between 2006 and 2009.
This problem recently got a lot of amplification thanks to an article by JoBlo’s Chris Bumbray, who unfortunately personally encountered the issue on WB-released Humphrey Bogart and Errol Flynn box sets produced during this era. But among a sect of collectors, this has been a well known issue for years, and covered in great detail by an expert in physical media, YouTuber Spencer Draper, AKA Damn Fool Idealistic Crusader, in a video posted in late 2021 (though he notes others had begun to spot the problem before that).
A Problem Discovered, and a Studio’s Response
As Draper and others began to explore the issue, they even did the detective work to realize that this wasn’t a problem for every single WB DVD produced during this era, but rather those that came from one particular manufacturing plant - the since-closed Cinram plant in Pennsylvania. That matching element was discernible from a tiny manufacturing labeling system you can find on the inner ring of the backside of the disc, where the data is held (more on that below).
Any disc is susceptible to chemical deterioration thanks to a variety of reasons, and can then be affected by playability issues.A massive collector of film and TV across all formats, Draper estimates he probably owns between 5,000-6,000 films on everything from VHS to LaserDisc, DVD, Blu-ray, 4K UHD and more. And as fate – and a rich cinematic and distribution history – would have it, a large portion of his DVDs were produced by Warner Bros. After first learning about this issue, Draper told me, “I did the mad panic check of every single disc, one at a time.”
The problem is, DVD rot is not always going to show up the same way. As Draper explained: “I found that even doing a scan or trying to do a digital backup wouldn't always guarantee that it was actually rot free and that the only way to really tell for sure was to go through the whole disc. And not just the feature, but all the supplements and the menus and things, and also trying to figure out what titles did [other] people have that I didn't but had gone bad.”
Draper began to contact Warner Bros. Home Entertainment about this issue, which was not an easy journey at the time (as detailed in his video), though as he noted in a follow-up video, WB eventually sent him a large package replacing every title he’d noted an issue with - if they were still producing it that is.
Regarding the studio’s current thoughts on and response to the matter, IGN reached out to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and were given the following statement:
“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is aware of potential issues affecting select DVD titles manufactured between 2006 – 2009 and has been working directly with consumers on replacements or alternate solutions for nearly a decade. Any consumer who is experiencing an issue can contact whv@wbd.com. This is not a new issue. A website recently experienced this issue themselves and decided to write a story about it (since updated) and that has caused the latest news. WBHE has been working with consumers for nearly a decade when it was first brought to our attention. We have offered replacements when possible, or an alternate title when needed. Some of the discs are now out of print or the titles no longer licensed for DVD release. In these cases, WBHE offered an alternate title as a replacement.”
This statement is not too dissimilar from the one WBHE gave JoBlo, though it does extend the years affected from ending in 2008 to 2009, which Draper notes matches what he’s found when checking the titles in question.
How Do You Know if Your DVDs Are Rotting?
So what do you do if you’re concerned about one of your DVDs being among those affected? Your first step should be to look at the copyright year on the back to see if it was produced between 2006 and 2009. Anything produced outside of those years should be fine (for now - more on that below).
But if you do see it comes from those years, Draper explains that at that point, “You need to look at the actual disc manufacturing codes on the inner ring [on the backside of the disc]. And if you see the letters ‘IFPI’ in there anywhere, you know it's one of the screwy ones.”
Keep in mind, these are tiny letters and numbers on the clear plastic inner ring, so they may be hard to spot (and you’ll likely need to magnify them with a magnifying glass or camera).
One quick way to know your disc is probably okay, even if it is from 2006-2009? Look at the back cover of the DVD case. Draper says if you see “a tiny blue stamp that says ‘Disc Made in Mexico,’” then you’re good since those were definitely produced at a different plant.
Ultimately, if you have a Warner Bros. DVD made within those years and want to skip all the hunting for the additional labels on the packaging or discs, Draper adds, “It doesn't hurt to just go ahead and check it. The easiest thing is to just put the disc in and just run through everything on ultra fast forward and then do the same on the extras. I know that sounds stupid, but that's one way of doing it.”
Draper has very helpfully made his own list of the titles he’s aware were affected, which is a great starting point for anyone concerned about this in regards to their own collection. Plus, his list also makes for a good way to be forewarned if you’re looking to buy an older title and want to try to avoid potential issues - even though in some cases that can be incredibly frustrating if there are no other versions available beyond those made during the dreaded rot era.
As a big horror fan, one title that stood out to me in that regard while looking over Draper’s list was the DVD sets for HBO’s Tales From the Crypt, with multiple seasons having proven to be affected. That series is said to have a lot of complicated rights issues associated with it, curtailing its availability, and currently it’s not available anywhere to legally stream, rent or purchase digitally. Worse, those WB-produced DVD sets were the only time the show was ever put on physical media, meaning that if you’re a fan who wants to track down Tales From the Crypt for your collection, you have to do so knowing there’s a very good chance the discs won’t all play correctly when you receive them.
The WB DVD rot issue is a lot more erratic than LaserDiscs were, so a disc could be fine now, but then the next time you go to watch it, it won’t play. For Draper, a similar issue is with Volume Two of the classic RKO Tarzan films, which had its one and only physical media release from WB and is one of the affected titles. Its rarity means it’s often fairly high priced on the resale market, including on eBay. And then, even if you decide you’ve found a price you’re willing to pay, you have no way of knowing if the discs will turn out to be plagued by issues. Worse, even if everything looks fine when you receive them, it’s often fairly random if and when they might go bad after that. As Draper notes, while LaserDiscs were also prone to rot issues, there seemed to be a time they hit where if they hadn’t gone bad in this regard yet, you were probably fine. But the WB DVD rot issue is a lot more erratic, so a disc could be fine now, but then the next time you go to watch it, it won’t play.
What’s a Typical DVD’s ‘Life Expectancy’?
If there’s any silver lining, it’s that this widespread issue for this particular run of DVDs from this particular studio has also underlined that, by and large, we’re not seeing large-scale DVD rot occurring, even as DVDs themselves near their fourth decade of existence. Draper notes there were some poorly produced DVDs in the early days that suffered from rot, but those tended to be the exceptions.
In regards to how long a typical DVD’s life expectancy is, Sony’s official statement is that “A typical DVD disc has an estimated life expectancy of anywhere from 30 to 100 years when properly stored and handled.” That’s a pretty substantial 70-year gap in terms of possibilities, but as we hurtle towards the 30th anniversary of the introduction of DVDs in 1996, Draper isn’t seeing too much cause for concern anytime soon. “I have early Warner DVDs from 1997, the first [WB] year, snapper case era, perfectly fine. No issues whatsoever. It's like, ‘Well, they managed to nail these perfectly!’ These still work great.”
And so far, there also doesn’t seem to be any notable or widespread issues with Blu-rays. There have been some recent reports about Blu-ray concerns, but Draper notes there really isn’t any heavily repeatable examples he’s seen beyond some examples in France that likely can be sourced to a specific French manufacturer. (On the flip side, nearly all WB-produced HD DVD titles no longer play, for any who did initially invest in that doomed format when it was in a showdown with Blu-ray for dominance.)
Sony’s official statement is that “A typical DVD disc has an estimated life expectancy of anywhere from 30 to 100 years when properly stored and handled.”At one point, Criterion had a similar disc rot issue with some Blu-rays to the one Warner Bros. has with those DVDs, where discs manufactured at a specific plant were highly susceptible to rot. In that case, not too many titles were affected and Criterion did well dealing with the issue, confirming the details, including the specific titles to look out for, and beginning an exchange program for the discs from later repressings.
As noted above, Warner Bros. are well aware of this ongoing problem with DVDs from that era and emailing whv@wbd.com can begin your process of trying to replace your discs, though Draper cautions he’s seen wildly different responses from those he’s spoken to, including how quickly – or not so quickly – someone gets back to you. And in some cases, you have to deal with pushing back on the hurdle of being asked for receipts on products few people will still have after so long (or perhaps never had, if it was a gift). Plus, while Warner Bros. may have newer editions of many of the titles in question, with many classic films now made using their MOD (Made on Demand) program, there are other films and series that are long out of print and WB will simply not be able to replace thanks to rights issues. WB’s statement does say they’ll then offer an alternate title in these situations, but that’s obviously far from ideal if you understandably just want the film or series you already had in your collection.
Draper wishes the company had been more candid and up front about this issue in the manner Criterion was with their similar occurrence, including providing their own list of titles that may be affected. (The list he made still stands in for concerned consumers since there is no official one.) They also haven’t publicly acknowledged that these rotted discs all came from the same plant, nor explained that there is a way to identify that.
Also, there’s the fact that even if you get a replacement disc of a more recent release of a film, it may very well be lacking bonus features that were only on that earlier version, something Draper has encountered firsthand with films like Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. That movie was recently given a Criterion Collection 4K UHD, but the 2006 Warner Bros. two-disc DVD has hours of exclusive extras that have not been replicated - and Draper’s copy has rotted.
We physical media enthusiasts often note that, in the streaming era, keeping a copy on your shelf has become one of the only ways to ensure you can watch a favorite film or series whenever you want and without any concerns given how little stability there is regarding when and where titles are available online. For the most part, that thankfully remains true, but the WB DVD rot problem points out a glaring trouble spot that can have you ruing the Pennsylvania Cinram plant long after its closure.
Header art designed by Amanda Flagg.
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