I have had them fail.. This was not due to just useage or age, but Burned discs will make it about 2 years if in environmental conditions.. I had several in the car, from 2 winters and 2 summers, they will become very problematic, regardless of what media.. Standard CD from the store have sat in the car 10 years without failure, now of course I am sure any direct sunlight could quickly change that, but its pretty much a guarantee it will occur on CDR just from temp changes and moisture I belive. Something happens either they de-laminate, or All of a sudden posses increased amounts of Jitter and or Warp in the disc itself, they will develop skips, and sometimes not even read after a while even if protected from direct sunlight I have experienced, but for 20 cents a disc, I could care less than having a 20 dollar cd get tossed around and scuffed up in the car. However I can not comment on kept in a environment controled area like the home, they might be okay.
How long will CD-R's & DVD-R's last?
Several days ago a thread was posted, in which the discussion was about how to copy tapes to cd. One of the responders, in a passing comment, mentioned that cd-r's would only last 10 years. This got me to wondering, is this scientific fact, or "audio wives's tales"? I'd be interested to hear about the longevity of recordable media from folks who are in the know on this subject.