Optical Disc Extraction Quality Control

Quality control ensures that extracted CD and DVD content is complete, correctly identified and traceable to the original source.

Source identification

QA should establish that the correct disc was processed and that the expected content has been recovered.

Completeness checks

For data discs, compare file counts, filenames, sizes and checksums. For audio CDs, compare track count, durations, sample rate, bit depth and channel configuration.

File verification

For DVD-Video, verify the authored structure and playback. For disc images, verify image integrity and expected size or structure.

Checksums

Checksums such as SHA-256 can provide a persistent integrity reference for delivered files.

Exception reporting

Any unreadable sector, missing file or uncertain recovery should be recorded rather than hidden.

Reference guidance: This article is informed by optical-media preservation guidance from the U.S. National Archives and the Library of Congress Recommended Formats Statement. Where appropriate, the article distinguishes preservation guidance from practical extraction procedures.