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  #1  
Old Nov 26, 2019, 11:52 PM
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Exclamation Beware of the protective sponges

I'm referencing a recent twitter post here: https://twitter.com/RokunoKouichi/st...52576927682560



It shows that there are risk on the deterioration of protective sponges packaged in some CD releases.
Sometimes people also added some in CD cases which originally did not contained any, over or under the CD.
So it's probably interesting to check physical CD collections on this matter.

Last edited by dma; Nov 27, 2019 at 12:00 AM.
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Old Nov 27, 2019, 01:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dma View Post
I'm referencing a recent twitter post here: https://twitter.com/RokunoKouichi/st...52576927682560



It shows that there are risk on the deterioration of protective sponges packaged in some CD releases.
Sometimes people also added some in CD cases which originally did not contained any, over or under the CD.
So it's probably interesting to check physical CD collections on this matter.
Thanks for the heads up. I feel like I have at least a couple of soundtracks that came with a protective sponge like this, but I can't remember which ones. I have too many to check through all of them (it would take forever).

Perhaps if anyone finds them in their own collection, they could post which soundtrack it was in so that others who own the same one can check and see if theirs has it as well.
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Old Nov 27, 2019, 04:53 AM
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Even ignoring the natural deterioration by age, never been a fan of "protective" sponges. My gut feeling is that any contact with the data side of the CD by anything (sponges, paper or plastic slip holders etc) is bad. Standard CD trays with "teeth" centers are the only acceptable way of storing a disc as far as I'm concerned.
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Old Nov 27, 2019, 07:57 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee View Post
Even ignoring the natural deterioration by age, never been a fan of "protective" sponges. My gut feeling is that any contact with the data side of the CD by anything (sponges, paper or plastic slip holders etc) is bad. Standard CD trays with "teeth" centers are the only acceptable way of storing a disc as far as I'm concerned.
Note that the problematic sponge in the twitter post was over the CD, so not touching the CD data surface.
But i agree that protective sponges or "soft-mats" to put under CD are a strange idea. Was their purpose to kind of "clean the CD" while it was being stored?
The more contact with any material the CD has, the more scratching risk it gets (as any unwanted material on this data surface would be even pushed further against it with this).
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Old Nov 28, 2019, 01:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dma View Post
Note that the problematic sponge in the twitter post was over the CD, so not touching the CD data surface
Data is written on the front/top and read from the back/bottom. That's why if the bottom gets scratched to hell you can still sometimes read it fine but if the top is damaged not so much.
From those pics I imagine there is some data lost or it left the disc unreadable in spots. The reason you can see through it is because the top was destroyed
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Old Nov 29, 2019, 12:16 AM
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And how exactly did that happen? What is the sponge made of? I guess plastic, and some other chemicals? So this one of those chemicals munched on the disc? after going brittle?

The only people adding stuff inside a case are Japanese sellers lol. Maybe they should stop
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Old Nov 29, 2019, 10:11 PM
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They're probably made of foam. I had some foam earpads that I left in a pair of earbuds that I hadn't used for years and they seemed to just melt onto the plastic.

My copy of All Star Dairantou Smash Bros. came with blue cushions that looked faded. You can see one here: https://vgmdb.net/db/covers.php?do=view&cover=198401

Last edited by Jedi QuestMaster; Dec 2, 2019 at 04:56 PM.
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Old Nov 29, 2019, 10:42 PM
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I just picked up a copy of Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers Arcade Gametrack [SRCL-2822] and it had a brown foam pad with the word “Freeway” written in gold on it. Does anyone else’s have that?
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Old Nov 30, 2019, 01:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zorbfish View Post
Data is written on the front/top and read from the back/bottom. That's why if the bottom gets scratched to hell you can still sometimes read it fine but if the top is damaged not so much.
From those pics I imagine there is some data lost or it left the disc unreadable in spots. The reason you can see through it is because the top was destroyed
Exactly. Also in general, the bottom layer is considered sensitive because scratches alter laser reflection (yeah, everyone knows that ).

To add on this subject, it seems that it's specifically those thick "sponges" from some multi-discs sets which are problematic.

The "disc protection pads" do not seem made of the same kind of material, and then not as prone to age-destruction as those sponges.
I found some of those pads originally included in a box (even glued to the CD case under the CDs location), the Falcom Special Box '91.
So quite an old release, but the pads haven't degraded much, leaving some fiber here and there on the data surface, but directly moving away when blown on, so apparently no more problematic than occasional dust fiber getting on the data surface.
Still, better be checking those once a year to see how they age i think.

-edit-

Actually, when looked at on a higher resolution picture, the pads i linked here are not the same type as the older pads, like those from the Falcom Box i described.
The old ones are more like a "toilet mat" (eh) than microfiber. So possibly more prone to age deterioration than the latest produced.

-edit again-

It seems some microfiber type pads can also be found in old original releases, for example under the two discs placed on the middle part of the case for this album: https://vgmdb.net/album/815

Last edited by dma; Nov 30, 2019 at 01:40 AM.
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Old Nov 30, 2019, 08:24 AM
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OK, big sponges can be found in (probably all) VICL 40XXX double CD cases.
I also found one in N64 Smash Bros album.

Here are some pictures of those, from the oldest VICL 40XXX album (1991) to the newest one i got (1994), and then S.B.



So yes, the material is aging even inside the case.
(and the stack of those smells like, ooold )

Those were clearly added to prevent the disc, in the section of the case without booklet, from jumping off its case mount.
Actually the VICL 60XXX album i got, acquired new, not coming with a sponge as Victor apparently stopped including those at that time, had one of the CD unattached and moving in the case as i checked it, eh.
Not much of a problem actually, as the disc can then only move away and back the mount in the case, not sideways.
And, if you ship such used big double CD case albums, you should always put some plastic bubble sheet in this space.

Last edited by dma; Nov 30, 2019 at 10:48 AM.
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