Warner Bros says it will replace certain DVDs damaged by ‘disc rot’, but you might not get the same movie you sent in for replacement

If you’re the sort of person that can’t bear to let go of that DVD collection taking up far too much room under your TV, it might be worth checking to see if any of them have fallen prone to the dreaded phenomenon of “disc rot.” Warner Bros has admitted that “select DVD titles” made between 2006-2008 may have fallen prone to early degradation, and it’s offering replacements—although you might not get back the same movie you sent in.

Chris Bumbray, the editor-in-chief of movie news and reviews site JoBlo, first wrote an article highlighting that many Warner Bros DVDs in his collection were now reporting errors or refusing to load (via Ars Technica). Warner Bros later reached out to comment on the issue with the following statement:

“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is aware of potential issues affecting select DVD titles manufactured between 2006 – 2008, and the company has been actively working with consumers to replace defective discs.

“Where possible, the defective discs have been replaced with the same title. However, as some of the affected titles are no longer in print or the rights have expired, consumers have been offered an exchange for a title of like-value.”

Which seems, err, of limited use. Still, given that DVD collectors are now something of a niche group, and optical media in general appears to be on its way out through a death by a thousand cuts, it’s perhaps no surprise that Warner Bros is unprepared to spin up factory lines just to replace your now-error-prone copy of Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!

Disc rot (sometimes referred to as laser rot) is the tendency of CDs, DVDs and other optical discs to oxidise underneath the reflective layer, causing the adhesive to de-bond and often resulting in a “milky” spot on the readable surface.

There is no known remedy, meaning that if your discs have started to look more like science experiments than optical media, you may in fact own a collection of previously-expensive coasters.

A typical DVD disc is estimated to have a life expectancy of 30-100 years, which is a pretty large margin. Still, given that the affected DVDs seem to be a maximum of 19 years-old, it’s nice to see that Warner Bros appears to be doing the right thing and replacing them with some sort of equivalent, even if you don’t get the correct movie back in return.

Look at it this way—you might get to see an entirely new movie, a hidden classic of which you were previously unaware. Or perhaps you’ll get an even worse Scooby-Doo joint. Your mileage may vary, is what I’m saying, but it’s worth digging those old DVDs out just in case, isn’t it?