Recently I discovered that 4 of 5 discs in the Esther Williams Vol 1 box set were rotted, which I learned because the replacement set had 3 of 5 rotted.
I'd picked up snippets on the web: 2007 Warner releases were the problem; the cause is disintegrating glue that holds the 2 layers together, so when the 2nd layer is accessed, no data comes back. That was consistent with my experience that the disc fails in the second half of the film, or when 2 films share a one-sided disc, the 2nd film fails.
I tested around 300 discs from various studios. My list of 46 rotted discs is annotated here:
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls023673057/
All but 1 of the rotted discs are Warner releases from Feb.2006 to Apr.2008. Some boxes in that timeframe still work properly, as do some titles within boxes. One box was originally released in 2004, but I bought it in '06, and that's when one of the titles was released as a single. The 4 damaged Esther Williams Vol 1 titles have been re-released in a set without the special features of the original, so that means I have to keep the original damaged discs.
In case you think the Esther Williams set must have been the worst... nope, Doris Day's Vol 2 wins that prize, with 6 out of 6 discs freezing/skipping at least part of the second half. Honorable mention to the Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland set from 2007, where 4 of 4 rotted.
I did test some older boxes, and they were fine. So it's not just age that's the problem here. It's some manufacturing flaw that endured for almost 2 years, but only manifests after a significant time. (I'm sure I would have watched most of these titles without trouble when I bought them.)
The bigger problem: many of these titles are still only available for purchase in the original box and/or release date, which means the replacement might be just as bad as the rotted ones I have now, as happened with both Du Barry was a Lady, and the Esther Williams Vol 1 set.
I would hope that any of your titles released in the 2006-8 timeframe would be assigned priority to get a Warner Archive release (if they haven't already), namely these sets:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PAAK5K/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UJCAK4/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MGBLQO/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PC8AL4/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000FBC9/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011FDVEK/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001WTWYW/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I2JDF8/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YRY7VC/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NJXG68/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GRUQLK/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OCY7V2/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PKG7DE/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HWZ4DY/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000O179IG/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FI9OCW/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GIXLVQ/
Note: you may have released other box sets in that timeframe that I did not purchase.
I am now retired and on a fixed income. Replacing these sets (or individual discs) is costly; some are priced as rarities. Any assistance you can provide will be appreciated.
