You can always rip the discs if it's not too late, but the best option is to download Team Negative1's 4K77, 4K80, and 4K83 to enjoy 35mm prints of the original, unaltered versions in UltraHD.
That's what I did. I used MakeMKV to rip the unaltered original trilogy off the bonus discs, then I upscaled them to 1280x720p with Handbrake. My discs still work because I take care of my stuff, but if anything ever happens to them, I still have the rips on my external HD.
@@TrayChester01 I've seen all of the Harmy versions of Star Wars. Yes, they look amazing, but they are not official releases, and he put his name in the end credits, which I didn't appreciate.
In the words of the good book...., No, not that one, the other one. "Don't Panic!" This might not be DVD Rot. It could be PVC leaching. Several years ago I had similar issues with, funnily enough, Fox releases of "Fight Club" and "The Abyss". These were the original 2 disc releases, pressed in Australia. Within a year of so of purchase, they began glitching. Cleaning (a quick spray of isopropyl alcohol) resurfacing discs failed to fix the issue. Then, one day a region one disc from Warner Bros' " Fringe" glitches. I saw that the disc surface looked foggy. So I opened the set to check the other discs. That's when I noticed a viscus gooey substance on the empty disc tray. DVD cases and their inserts are made of pvc, which under certain environmental conditions can change its' state and migrate onto the disc. Staining its' surface. Two microfibre cloths (wash/dry), a smallish drop of dishwashing liquid (spread across the playing surface and left on a minute) and firm radial (inner ring, to outer edge) strokes around the disc under a warm tap/fawcet. Dry, check and possibly repeat the process. Until You end up with a restored disc. Repeated the process with the "Fight Club" and "The Abyss" disc. Voila! Both now play perfectly. I hope this is the case with Your discs. It's worth a try.
I had these editions. I was even less lucky than you and many in the comments - mine stopped working after less than a year of owning them. I took reasonable care of them, the same as the others in my collection that still played perfectly fine after much time and replays.
the thing is you never know just a few years ago my Playstation 1 was working i unboxed it yesterday looks brand new on the inside even no melted circuitry or dirt or damage and it won't play games. Literally only plays cds. Just like my laserdisc played has started scratching and cracking discs. When in 2015 it was fine.
Frankly, I blame George Lucas in part and Disney now as well because they refused to give the fans what they wanted which was to have the original versions available separately or included as part of a Blu-ray or 4K set with the altered versions. All of this disc rot nonsense could have been avoided.
Hate to tell you this the original theatrical version of Star Wars episode IV a new hope has never been released on any format George Lucas will never release it all the current versions are missing the true opening scenes
@@michaelliptak358 The original theatrical editions were on disc two of each of these special limited edition releases. They were the same transfer as the Laserdisc though so the quality is not the greatest... but these limited editions were the only time the theatrical version were officially released on anything other than VHS and Laserdisc.
@@michaelliptak358 , the theatrical American Graffiti and THX with the cuts imposed by the studio also never were on home video either. I'd settle for good HD blu rays or 4K of the 1978 directors cuts though. I mean no cgi and no removing film grain.
Exactly why physical media is not all innocent after all. The best is too back them up digitally before its too late physical media eventually deteriorates
I’m planning on ripping mine and putting them on dvd-r before they become unusable. I have to be quick tho since I need to get dvd-r DL and a dvd-r burner
Stupid question but... are all the dvd's made in same place, I mean the region code wise 🙄 seen many videos and articles about disc rot, most of them are from US or around same area. And Australi. Havent seen much conversations about this else where, like Europe ?
I did have some issues with these releases (several other release also) some years back, but it wasnt rotting. Disc surface just had turned "cloudy" more or less and movies started to pixelate and jammed around 55min time. I used mild paintvthinnervto clean the discs and they been working fine. Think I need to check those disc again tomorrow and see is there any dark spots visible 😐
Out of anxiety I went to check mine. Thankfully mine are okay, but disc rot is a huge fear of mine. Wherever you store your disc I would advise getting a dehumidifier. ASAP! I am so sorry you are dealing with this. If you have a place that fixes dvds get them to it. sometimes disc rot can be stopped by resurfacing the disc this is for DVDs though. Don't resurface your Blu-rays. Update: I ripped all of them to my computer to be on the safe side
The Harmy Despecialized Versions on Blu-ray . A fan restoration about 2013 they are the best and now the 774k restoration but no 4k Discs yet as far as I know. The Manufacturer of the disc and the fault lies there
The problem is that these DVD's were the final time the original unedited movies were ever released. All Blu-Ray versions are the special edition edits.
Yeah I don't think that's discs rot sometimes discs can just be discolored when discs rot happens the discs looks like see-through plastic and it usually starts at the edges sometimes they'll be dots on the discs to sometimes that's how the disc is made in the factory though with the dots on it put the case here it's not discs rot it's discoloration
I have the 2004 DVD box set. It looks fine. But yeah, it also happened to Fox discs. I lost my copy of Fantastic Four (2005) extended edition. A friend of mine lost seasons 2 and 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And The Marine.
Blast! Now, I'll have to check my original 1977, 1980, and 1983 versions of 'Star Wars', 'The Empire Strikes Back', and 'Return of the Jedi'. Yikes! It's annoying too considering how much more difficult it is to acquire those editions and the cost as well as the cost of other movies in one's collection. None of us wants to constantly have to check for disc rot or wonder if a movie is going to play properly on a movie night with friends or family. That really, really sucks. I've got a bad feeling about this...
Unfortunately, DVD and, to a certain extent, Blu-ray/UHD customers are now experiencing what us laserdisc collectors had to deal with with certain pressing plants. I seriously doubt any metal-based platter sandwiched between two plastic glued "protectors" has the longevity that was ever claimed (I think it was suppose to be around 100 years). Even proper storage can't stop a disc that's prone to laser rot and can only delay its eventual demise. It's sad, but I doubt we'll ever see a physical format that isn't CD/DVD in execution since streaming services have devoured the market. Yeah, there are a bunch of boutique companies fighting the good fight, but many of their catalogs are laughably small and will eventually fall to the streaming juggernaut. Your best bet is to rip them, preferably to an ISO container to preserve all aspects of any given disc.
It kind of looks like heat damage to me. By any chance, were they stored close to a radiator or on top of equipment that produces any heat? If you are able to, definitely make back ups if you can. Thanks for sharing this video!
It's disc rot, I've had plenty, none we're near anything that produced heat, humidity and moisture in a house can cause it, the glue between the plastic layers of the discs get dried out and causes the layers to peel apart
I I got those same DVDs and all three of my DVDs has been working fine I first got them in 2004 and I had them ever since and they are still working great the ones you got is possibly they are a bootleg copy because of their messing up like that they are not the original ones that was released back in 2004 because that's when I got mine
I'll have to check mine, and by the way if you also have vhs copies as I do make sure to play them periodically and don't store them in one position over extended periods of time because they can become unwatchable
Related to this & again Fox... My first 3 seasons of 24 (PAL) went the same way with most of it unwatchable as of last year. Thankfully Prison Break and Millennium which are also Fox are fine.
Yea disc rot happens in different forms. No way to prevent it. Its happening to video game disc, a lot of dvds and some blurays. Just keep your collection in a cool place. It helps but thats all you can really do. It sucks.
It really depends, even my Japanese Star Wars Definitive Collection has mild rot. Us pressing major rot. Faces CLV Kururay pressed in Japan no rot, Japan Special Collection none. The one i have found mutiple rotten copies of is Return of the Jedi Pan and scan from Japan but only the first pressing, Evergreen plays like a brand new disc.
Sorry but looks like improper handling or storage maybe heat damage looked at mine mine are clean mint looking condition no marks scratches scuff marks no sign of rot whatsoever
I’m so scared with mine. I’ve had them for about a month or so now. I got them resurfaced and the top label on the special edition disc got damaged when being resurfaced, so now it’s messed up at the final act of the movie, all the other discs, special edition and despecialized, are fine. But they still have this weird cloudiness from when they were resurfaced. It doesn’t come off on some of them. Also, the discs look like the reflective data layer is chipping away at the edges, and it kinda looks like disc rot, but it hasn’t gotten worse, so I’m not TOO worried about it. But I’m definitely gonna get a dehumidifier for my room when I get the chance
Goddammit! I have this set, but I haven't watched them for a long while, I just checked them and my discs look WORSE than yours :-( At least I ripped them to mkv years ago. If you want HD versions of the ORIGINAL versions, check 4K77, 4K80 and 4K83 or Harmy's despecialized editions. There are unfortunately no official at least HD versions of the original versions.
The original trilogy is far from being lost. There may not be any other official releases but there have been more than enough fan preservation efforts to keep it alive forever.
Means whatever they were made with goes bad making the disc unreadable and unplayable it happened to a lot of Warner Brothers Discs especially their HD Dvds because they were poorly manufactured with cheap components
@@Cuppy88 , Star Wars isn't even the theatrical its the 81 cut with the 77 crawl spliced on with the 1993 audio mix. The theatrical if you want to be technical has never been on home video. That is why 4k77 is quite something you can watch the original roll up and starfield and you have 2 of the three theatrical audio options presented. Stereo and Mono, the 70mm is a recreation so i don't count it. If one wants to get even more technical the silver screen edition has the original credits and not the later issued credits from later in 77, 78.
@@matthewgaudet4064 You knew what I was talking about though so was that whole novel of a reply really necessary? For most people, they just want a basic approximation how they saw the movies prior to 1997 without all of the radical visual changes. Your average viewer doesn’t give a fuck about grain for grain accuracy to release day prints so long as there’s no CG Jabba or Greedo shooting first. ANYWAY, the entire point of my original comment was to make it clear to @CameronKiesser that the reason people still want these DVDs is beicase they include content that is NOT present on the Blu-rays. I am also well aware of what Despecialized Edition, Silver Screen Edition and 4K77 are. I never claimed that these DVDs were better or “more original” than any of those. Again, I was simply explaining to one specific RUclipsr as to why people still go out of their way for these old DVDs over the official Blu-ray set.
Agree, the special editions are just better. People only want the original cuts for nostalgia and complete collection status, as do I. But I can't see myself ever watching the theatrical cuts ever again. The originals on 4k look fantastic, even the prequels have never looked better.
You can always rip the discs if it's not too late, but the best option is to download Team Negative1's 4K77, 4K80, and 4K83 to enjoy 35mm prints of the original, unaltered versions in UltraHD.
Thanks will check them out!!!
That's what I did. I used MakeMKV to rip the unaltered original trilogy off the bonus discs, then I upscaled them to 1280x720p with Handbrake. My discs still work because I take care of my stuff, but if anything ever happens to them, I still have the rips on my external HD.
@@SniffHeinkel You really should upgrade to 4K77, 4K80, and 4K83. They were scanned from original reels and they are incredible.
@@TrayChester01 I've seen all of the Harmy versions of Star Wars. Yes, they look amazing, but they are not official releases, and he put his name in the end credits, which I didn't appreciate.
@@SniffHeinkel I didn't say anything about Harmy. He makes his versions from the ones I am talking about.
In the words of the good book...., No, not that one, the other one. "Don't Panic!"
This might not be DVD Rot. It could be PVC leaching. Several years ago I had similar issues with, funnily enough, Fox releases of "Fight Club" and "The Abyss". These were the original 2 disc releases, pressed in Australia. Within a year of so of purchase, they began glitching. Cleaning (a quick spray of isopropyl alcohol) resurfacing discs failed to fix the issue. Then, one day a region one disc from Warner Bros' " Fringe" glitches. I saw that the disc surface looked foggy. So I opened the set to check the other discs. That's when I noticed a viscus gooey substance on the empty disc tray. DVD cases and their inserts are made of pvc, which under certain environmental conditions can change its' state and migrate onto the disc. Staining its' surface. Two microfibre cloths (wash/dry), a smallish drop of dishwashing liquid (spread across the playing surface and left on a minute) and firm radial (inner ring, to outer edge) strokes around the disc under a warm tap/fawcet. Dry, check and possibly repeat the process. Until You end up with a restored disc. Repeated the process with the "Fight Club" and "The Abyss" disc. Voila! Both now play perfectly. I hope this is the case with Your discs. It's worth a try.
I had these editions. I was even less lucky than you and many in the comments - mine stopped working after less than a year of owning them. I took reasonable care of them, the same as the others in my collection that still played perfectly fine after much time and replays.
the thing is you never know just a few years ago my Playstation 1 was working i unboxed it yesterday looks brand new on the inside even no melted circuitry or dirt or damage and it won't play games. Literally only plays cds. Just like my laserdisc played has started scratching and cracking discs. When in 2015 it was fine.
I have those collections.
Mine don't have this issue, but I will probably make an ISO of the discs before it does.
I had the original 1977,1980,1983 versions and they did the same thing
Frankly, I blame George Lucas in part and Disney now as well because they refused to give the fans what they wanted which was to have the original versions available separately or included as part of a Blu-ray or 4K set with the altered versions. All of this disc rot nonsense could have been avoided.
Hate to tell you this the original theatrical version of Star Wars episode IV a new hope has never been released on any format George Lucas will never release it all the current versions are missing the true opening scenes
@@michaelliptak358 The original theatrical editions were on disc two of each of these special limited edition releases. They were the same transfer as the Laserdisc though so the quality is not the greatest... but these limited editions were the only time the theatrical version were officially released on anything other than VHS and Laserdisc.
@@michaelliptak358 , the theatrical American Graffiti and THX with the cuts imposed by the studio also never were on home video either. I'd settle for good HD blu rays or 4K of the 1978 directors cuts though. I mean no cgi and no removing film grain.
Exactly why physical media is not all innocent after all. The best is too back them up digitally before its too late physical media eventually deteriorates
I think you mean "impervious."
Well said 👏
Thanks for the heads up
*keep in dark cold places dude! A lot of hot countries there are people who lost or thrown their collections away* ☹️
I’m planning on ripping mine and putting them on dvd-r before they become unusable. I have to be quick tho since I need to get dvd-r DL and a dvd-r burner
Stupid question but... are all the dvd's made in same place, I mean the region code wise 🙄 seen many videos and articles about disc rot, most of them are from US or around same area. And Australi. Havent seen much conversations about this else where, like Europe ?
I did have some issues with these releases (several other release also) some years back, but it wasnt rotting. Disc surface just had turned "cloudy" more or less and movies started to pixelate and jammed around 55min time. I used mild paintvthinnervto clean the discs and they been working fine.
Think I need to check those disc again tomorrow and see is there any dark spots visible 😐
Out of anxiety I went to check mine. Thankfully mine are okay, but disc rot is a huge fear of mine. Wherever you store your disc I would advise getting a dehumidifier. ASAP! I am so sorry you are dealing with this. If you have a place that fixes dvds get them to it. sometimes disc rot can be stopped by resurfacing the disc this is for DVDs though. Don't resurface your Blu-rays.
Update:
I ripped all of them to my computer to be on the safe side
Do you think we can get a refund?😅
The Harmy Despecialized Versions on Blu-ray . A fan restoration about 2013 they are the best and now the 774k restoration but no 4k Discs yet as far as I know. The Manufacturer of the disc and the fault lies there
There are 4K discs now someone on Facebook is doing them tho you have to donate $10 to St Judes before you can purchase them
Exactly why im updating all my movies with bluray versions. Bluray is far more resistant to this problem.
The problem is that these DVD's were the final time the original unedited movies were ever released. All Blu-Ray versions are the special edition edits.
@@Elfenlied8675309 I don't mind that. It's a worthy sacrifice if it means I can have a working physical copy for preservation.
Yeah I don't think that's discs rot sometimes discs can just be discolored when discs rot happens the discs looks like see-through plastic and it usually starts at the edges sometimes they'll be dots on the discs to sometimes that's how the disc is made in the factory though with the dots on it put the case here it's not discs rot it's discoloration
I have the 2004 DVD box set. It looks fine. But yeah, it also happened to Fox discs. I lost my copy of Fantastic Four (2005) extended edition. A friend of mine lost seasons 2 and 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And The Marine.
Blast! Now, I'll have to check my original 1977, 1980, and 1983 versions of 'Star Wars', 'The Empire Strikes Back', and 'Return of the Jedi'. Yikes!
It's annoying too considering how much more difficult it is to acquire those editions and the cost as well as the cost of other movies in one's collection. None of us wants to constantly have to check for disc rot or wonder if a movie is going to play properly on a movie night with friends or family. That really, really sucks.
I've got a bad feeling about this...
Nice planet of the ape pfp
Strange because my discs are still fine and they still read fine on my PS5
The PS5 plays DVDs?
@@reneastorgaterre1954yes
Doesn’t mean the issue doesn’t exist
@@reneastorgaterre1954yes unless they are the wrong region code
I'll check mine after I finish this video!
It happened to me with some dvds and blurays 😢
Unfortunately, DVD and, to a certain extent, Blu-ray/UHD customers are now experiencing what us laserdisc collectors had to deal with with certain pressing plants. I seriously doubt any metal-based platter sandwiched between two plastic glued "protectors" has the longevity that was ever claimed (I think it was suppose to be around 100 years). Even proper storage can't stop a disc that's prone to laser rot and can only delay its eventual demise.
It's sad, but I doubt we'll ever see a physical format that isn't CD/DVD in execution since streaming services have devoured the market. Yeah, there are a bunch of boutique companies fighting the good fight, but many of their catalogs are laughably small and will eventually fall to the streaming juggernaut.
Your best bet is to rip them, preferably to an ISO container to preserve all aspects of any given disc.
It kind of looks like heat damage to me. By any chance, were they stored close to a radiator or on top of equipment that produces any heat? If you are able to, definitely make back ups if you can. Thanks for sharing this video!
It's disc rot, I've had plenty, none we're near anything that produced heat, humidity and moisture in a house can cause it, the glue between the plastic layers of the discs get dried out and causes the layers to peel apart
Also touching the play service of the disc can cause the disc to breakdown
@@michaelliptak358 I've never touched disc play surfaces myself but then again most my dvds we're used when I bought them
@@FreeJohnDoe2006 that's why I will never buy used disc of any kind
@@michaelliptak358 budget wise most of us don't have a choice especially on out of print
I just checked all mine and they look as immaculate and flawless as they did when I took the wrapper off on release day in 2006.
I I got those same DVDs and all three of my DVDs has been working fine I first got them in 2004 and I had them ever since and they are still working great the ones you got is possibly they are a bootleg copy because of their messing up like that they are not the original ones that was released back in 2004 because that's when I got mine
No i got all of these at actual stores so no chance they are bootlegs.
I'll have to check mine, and by the way if you also have vhs copies as I do make sure to play them periodically and don't store them in one position over extended periods of time because they can become unwatchable
Related to this & again Fox... My first 3 seasons of 24 (PAL) went the same way with most of it unwatchable as of last year. Thankfully Prison Break and Millennium which are also Fox are fine.
New Discs today have this issue, looks likes Disc rot, I think it's the manufacturing process.
My copy of Dead Space on the Xbox 360 got disc rot.
Yea disc rot happens in different forms. No way to prevent it. Its happening to video game disc, a lot of dvds and some blurays. Just keep your collection in a cool place. It helps but thats all you can really do. It sucks.
I have the laserdiscs and even those don't have discrot for me
Yeah, my Laserdisc Trilogy played just fine.
@@philiphanan1493 those were probably high quality discs compared to others me thinks
These DVDs were quite cheap when they came out. I got mine for about $13 Australian which would be about $8USD. Their quality likely reflects that.
It really depends, even my Japanese Star Wars Definitive Collection has mild rot. Us pressing major rot. Faces CLV Kururay pressed in Japan no rot, Japan Special Collection none. The one i have found mutiple rotten copies of is Return of the Jedi Pan and scan from Japan but only the first pressing, Evergreen plays like a brand new disc.
Sorry but looks like improper handling or storage maybe heat damage looked at mine mine are clean mint looking condition no marks scratches scuff marks no sign of rot whatsoever
I’m so scared with mine. I’ve had them for about a month or so now. I got them resurfaced and the top label on the special edition disc got damaged when being resurfaced, so now it’s messed up at the final act of the movie, all the other discs, special edition and despecialized, are fine. But they still have this weird cloudiness from when they were resurfaced. It doesn’t come off on some of them. Also, the discs look like the reflective data layer is chipping away at the edges, and it kinda looks like disc rot, but it hasn’t gotten worse, so I’m not TOO worried about it. But I’m definitely gonna get a dehumidifier for my room when I get the chance
Goddammit! I have this set, but I haven't watched them for a long while, I just checked them and my discs look WORSE than yours :-( At least I ripped them to mkv years ago. If you want HD versions of the ORIGINAL versions, check 4K77, 4K80 and 4K83 or Harmy's despecialized editions. There are unfortunately no official at least HD versions of the original versions.
Looks like I got lucky. I checked mine and none show any disc rot.:)
I have seen this on another copies, this could be really bad, we could loose the theatrical versions of the original trilogy on physical for good!
The original trilogy is far from being lost. There may not be any other official releases but there have been more than enough fan preservation efforts to keep it alive forever.
I Have Never Heard Of Disc Rot Or Even What That Means 🤔
Means whatever they were made with goes bad making the disc unreadable and unplayable it happened to a lot of Warner Brothers Discs especially their HD Dvds because they were poorly manufactured with cheap components
I need to check my discs 😮
this is not discrot.. it's a manufacturing error ... it should not affect play
That’s not disc rot.
@DM-ei6oo I don't know, but disc rot is normally black or green spots. Spots with faded colors in many shades.
Whatever you want to call it, it renders the discs unplayable. Call it "disc cancer" if you prefer because it's the end for those discs either way.
He said the movie kept freezing on him. Either way, something js happening to that disc.
Looks like improper handling and storage maybe heat damage my disc are clean mint looking condition no signs of rot anywhere
@DM-ei6oothe layers are separating its most likely and usually due to the manufacturers fault
Oh Shit... I gotta make backups.
Mine are fine
I Do Know That DVD 📀 😏 Do Scratch On Disc Which Will Ruin And Damage Picture And Sound Quality
Get the 4Ks.
Worth every penny.
They don’t contain the original cuts of the film. That’s the entire point of owning these particular DVDs.
@@Cuppy88 , Star Wars isn't even the theatrical its the 81 cut with the 77 crawl spliced on with the 1993 audio mix. The theatrical if you want to be technical has never been on home video. That is why 4k77 is quite something you can watch the original roll up and starfield and you have 2 of the three theatrical audio options presented. Stereo and Mono, the 70mm is a recreation so i don't count it. If one wants to get even more technical the silver screen edition has the original credits and not the later issued credits from later in 77, 78.
@@matthewgaudet4064 You knew what I was talking about though so was that whole novel of a reply really necessary? For most people, they just want a basic approximation how they saw the movies prior to 1997 without all of the radical visual changes. Your average viewer doesn’t give a fuck about grain for grain accuracy to release day prints so long as there’s no CG Jabba or Greedo shooting first.
ANYWAY, the entire point of my original comment was to make it clear to @CameronKiesser that the reason people still want these DVDs is beicase they include content that is NOT present on the Blu-rays. I am also well aware of what Despecialized Edition, Silver Screen Edition and 4K77 are. I never claimed that these DVDs were better or “more original” than any of those.
Again, I was simply explaining to one specific RUclipsr as to why people still go out of their way for these old DVDs over the official Blu-ray set.
@@Cuppy88 , fair enough i just hate the 1993 mix.
Agree, the special editions are just better. People only want the original cuts for nostalgia and complete collection status, as do I. But I can't see myself ever watching the theatrical cuts ever again. The originals on 4k look fantastic, even the prequels have never looked better.
I see nothing
“dIsC rOt” isn’t real.
Discs did not rot
Bought mine day one ZERO rot plays perfect.. It's funny I have never encountered Disc rot of any sort in my 10,000 Movie collection