why could earlier console discs (PS1) get heavily scratched and still run fine; but if a newer console (PS5) gets as much as a smudge the console throws a fit?
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Early discs were CDs and DVDs. New ones are blu ray. DVDs and CDs store a lot less information a lot less densely. Think of them like a sheet of paper with 40 point font. Blu rays store a lot more info, which is great when you want to put high resolution textures or lots of game audio on them, but that means they’re more information dense. More like a sheet of paper crammed full of the smallest font you can read.
If you spill something on the 40 point font you’re probably not going to even obscure a whole letter. The same spill on the tiny font might obscure entire words.
The other issue is that data on blu rays is stored much closer to the surface of the disc. That means the point the laser is focused at is very close to the bit with the scratch. Data on CDs and DVDs is stored much deeper in the disc (even though they’re very thin this does make a difference) so the laser can more easily look “past” surface contaminants.
In terms of scratches, it’s because of both of the above that Blu Rays are coated with a scratch resistant compound. They are much more vulnerable to them so need to be protected more. So you might notice them getting smudged or dirty more but you probably see them get scratched less.
I’d imagine its to do with the density of the data pixels.
Early cd’s have 700MB of data
Dvd’s have 4.7GB of data
Blueray has 50GB of data
With the physical size of the disc being the same, to fit a higher density in the same area you obviously have to reduce the size of each data pixel. Just the same as how 1080p and a 4k TV’s have to increase the pixels per inch.
Computer software has a type of error checking programmed into them so if there is a scratch on a 700MB disc, only a small number of data pixels will need to be corrected. On a much higher density, that same sized scratch will ruin A LOT more of the data and the error checking software probably can’t fix it
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Where did you get this idea? Every PS1/PS2 disc I ever used that got scratched or smudged had difficulty playing.
My experience is the opposite, my playstations have gotten less and less finicky as generations go on, I’ve even had to have a new laser installed in my PS2 cause it wouldn’t ready any discs.
It’s the other way around. CD and DVD games were constantly running into issues, while PS3 Blurays from 15 years ago still run fine.
You’re wrong, PS1 discs were incredibly prone to being scratched to unplayability. I worked at Electronics Boutique during the PS1 era, and you wouldn’t believe how many trade-ins we rejected due to scratches that rendered the game unplayable. Blu-ray discs have an incredibly tough layer of scratch resistant material on the clear side, and even if the disc is covered in a “Gamer Layer” of too much Cheeto dust and hand moisturizer to read it can be cleaned and will work perfectly.
10 yo me disagrees. 10 yo me was so excited for FFVIII, but the first disk was scratched. 10 yo me got all the way to the end of disk 1, and was immensely enjoying the cut scene. Until the gun went off. And the game froze. I couldn’t get past the cut scene. I couldn’t get past disk 1.
Feel like you have this backwards. CDs and DVDs were super sensitive to scratches, one little scratch or smudge rendered them practically useless. Modern Blu-ray’s are much more resilient.
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