I didn't start working here until 2006, so I don't really know the details of what the process was like back then for testing discs after they had been burned.

I didn't start working here until 2006, so I don't really know the details of what the process was like back then for testing discs after they had been burned. I assume at least a verification step was involved. Now, when I want to see how bad a disc has gotten, I use PlexTools to do a Q-Check. However, we haven't considered anything on optical media to be a master copy for a while (at least five years). CDs only get burned when someone wants to listen to something in their car.