disc rot!
Disc rot does exist. It happened to a few from Polygram's PDO manufacturer at the end of the 1980s/beginning of the 1990s. Thankfully they acknowledged that some of their discs would discolor over time, "bronzing" as it's been called, and are willing to make replacements.

Here's a little PDO history:

  1. PDO was Philips & Du Pont Optical UK Ltd.
  2. Polygram/Philips was bought by the Universal Music Group and PDO became Universal Manufacturing & Logistics Ltd.
  3. The Universal Music Group had severe financial woes and had to sell off the manufacturing to Disctronics.
  4. Deluxe Media Services bought/took over/renamed Disctronics. Their web site is now www.bydeluxe.com.

    5. But, apparently they'll still accept sick copies ("bronzed") versions of the PDO discs.

    Here's a couple examples of discs burned from the same manufacturing plant, once known as PDO, later known as Universal, then known as Disctronics, now known as Deluxe.

    fig. 1:

    fig. 2:

    fig. 3:

    healthy cd

    sick cd 1

    sick cd 2

    This is an image of a beautiful (yet deleted and marvelously fantastic) CD manufactured in 2001 by Universal. This was scanned on my scanner at 100%, 72DPI. Notice how a healthy CD reflects all colors of the rainbow when a light shines upon the non-printed sections?

    This is an image of another wonderful CD, but this one was manufactured in 1992 by what was at the time PDO. While the distribtor of this release denies the mere existence of disc rot, or "bronzing," significant differences can be noticed in the scan alone. This was once again scanned on my scanner at 100%, 72DPI. Notice how in the unprinted sections, the reflection is dull and rusty colored?

    This is an image of another wonderful compilation CD, also manufactured in the early 1990s by PDO. This was once again scanned on my scanner at 100%, 72DPI. Notice the more pronounced rusty discoloration in the unprinted sections? The figure on the cover doesn't look too happy. Perhaps he knew what was in store for the disc inside.

    Please note that these are scans, which are quite a different technology than actual photographs. Under the right conditions, photographs may be made and uploaded. In the meantime, send your bronzed PDO discs (DO NOT INCLUDE THE CASES OR BOOKLETS) to:

      PDO Helpline
      Deluxe Media Services
      Philips Road
      Blackburn
      Lancashire
      England
      BB1 5RZ

    INFORMATION ABOUT THIS LOCATION

    If you want your disc returned, Please include a letter with your full mailing address and all pertinent details.

    More info:

      Customer service
      Grant Mitchell
      CD-ROM Customer Services
      T: +44 1254 505400
      E: grant.mitchell/at/disctronics.com

    Send him a lovely kiss.

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