Why do my CDs degrade over time?

Question

When I burn CDs from my computer they play fine, at first. But soon they start skipping and stuttering. I thought it was my car stereo but I have one that has only been in the house in the CD player of my stereo.

Does anyone know what is going on?

Answer 1

Yeah, I do. Unlike stamped CDs which last basically forever, burned CDs use organic dyes to approximate the pits of a stamping machine. These dyes degrade, both with time and abuse, rendering discs unreadable. In the future, keep your discs out of sunlight, away from sources of heat, and preferably in something like a sleeve or jewel case. Also, buy quality ones. Cheap discs use cheap dyes which quickly break down, while still-affordable Japanese discs use really good dyes that could probably last a few decades, and are even used for archival by some. Branded discs tend to be in the middle, using dyes from semi-decent factories in countries like Taiwan and India. The level of protection between dyes and oxygen and oxygen also varies; minimal in generics.

Lastly, check for scratches. But, that should be the obvious issue.

Here's some genuine Taiyo Yudens, real high quality discs from the company who invented the CD-R in 1989.

http://www.rima.com/Merchant2/merchant.m...