Don't BDs already have a protective coating? Still this might work wonders on my old PS1 CDs though.

Nintenboy01

I don't think I trust it. It looks hungry.

itchytooth

My dad has a Disc cleaner that he got a few years ago and it looks EXACTLY like this one. Same buttons, same cleaning wheels, same casing. Looks like a re-brand.

Reiji

I bought a similar product from Memorex--the Optifix Pro. The only discs put through the machine were those that would fail byte-for-byte copies after a careful hand cleaning. Out of 100 discs, zero were repaired.

It has been donated to Catholic Charities, so there's likely someone out there cursing the 25 cents they wasted on such a worthless product.

bobhope2112

@Soulxside: I have a CD buffer at home that has saved a few of my MS-DOS relics using only distilled water. I love the thing.

This Sanwa product doesn't buff though, it just 'sucks ass'.

Metkis

I went to E3 five years in a row and every year I would head down to Kentia Hall to wander around the flea market of 45 year old former Playboy models signing autographs, crappy vendors selling video games and peripherals nobody wants, experimental joysticks, hideous chairs with built-in speakers that didn't work, and about 100 different CD resurfacing companies. Call it self-loathing.

The CD resurfacers would either be selling the devices or the service. It was all too expensive if you ask me - I mean, unless you own a used CD or game store or a rental store. After seeing dozens of them demonstrated over the years after hearing all of the promises, I can say that none of them ever did a fantastic or perfect job... at least not any better than just using household products and buffing them by hand.

I would buy this if it cost less than the cheapest portable CD player (I guess that's around 20 bucks)... otherwise, that's all this reminds me of - the hopeless waste of time that is Kentia Hall.

Soulxside

@Metkis: I have the same thing, but it has a hand crank instead of being electric and it's also not nearly as absurdly expensive for what it is (like that 40 dollar lazy-man's version).

These suck and only work sometimes and even then, barely. Hand buffing works best. Try flitz and a microfiber cloth for deep scratches. Or search on youtube for several "home remedies."

Soulxside

@Reiji: @bobhope2112:

[www.amazon.com]

that is the one I got, works wonders for me, but wears out.

Metkis

@Reiji: Well now that Sanwa took over the product, this will add both much-needed brand recognition as well as the superior build quality that the company is so well-known for.

Soulxside

What about that old Game Doctor? Anyone ever tried that? Anyway I agree with Soulxside, a bit of elbow grease and toothpaste or Pledge can work wonders for minor to moderate scratches.

Nintenboy01

@Soulxside: Oh that's just Amazon being fickle, I got mine for half that easy. I've tried the home remedies... they actually have ruined my disks. When it comes to deep scratches, I do use microfiber cloth, but when it's obvious this thing can do the trick, it certainly was a bargain at like 19.99.

Metkis

I have one by Alera. Exact same thing as this one except it's black. About half the price at Amazon. I've had it for years and it works great so far, I have saved many abused CDs.
This new one must be white so it will coordinate with Macs. I guess that would explain why it costs twice as much.

BigDogues

oh cool, does it rewind them to the beginning too?

Gonzie

You can get one of these machines or you can use the "banana" technique...

Write-up here:
[www.rainydaymagazine.com]

We didn't have much luck using it to repair the scuffing on an iPod, but the technique was originally "developed" for use on repairing CDs. Not that we think it would work on that neither :-)

RainyDayInterns

@Gonzie: No. Everyone knows that CD's are one time use. Or maybe that was tv's. or computers..... or puppies....

HawkSkater0

I had a DVD Doctor that worked in a similar way. All it did was scratch the disks up even more.

A far better way is to just run your disk under hot water then buff it with a paper towel. Works almost every time. Just make sure you dry it off completely before putting it back in the player.

towlie420

Buy CD/DVD, make archival backup, use backup, if CD/DVD gets scratched make a new CD from your pristine original. Wash, rinse, repeat.
I have never used a cleaner other than my pants leg or shirt tail. All of my originals ar in perfect condition except those that are rotting from old age. Thank goodness I made backups.
What?
I'm not suppose to do that?

Rengeek

Scratched CD? Boil it in water for some time.

I'm not kidding.

[www.instructables.com]

kvstud

I bought one of these, except it's Memorex branded. During a move a box with many of my cd's (music and other) got fairly well abused. It's good about 75% of the time. For cleaning and repairing scuffed discs it worked nicely. Deep scratches it won't fix - those went to the local used CD store and got repolished for less than $1 each.

MrWashy

Um... Best Buy has this exact thing for about $20... and they started selling it more than 3 years ago. Its AC-powered, one circle cleans or removes scratches (depending on which cleaning bottle you use and which setting) and the other dries and buffs the finish. Its convenient, easy to use, but doesn't work very well on scratches. That other one, Disc Doctor (hand-cranked or powered) works much better.

battlehamster

I'll put it on the shelf next to my CD rewinder.

Andrewpetty

I have one of the Memorex versions, as well. It usually works for cleaning and for small scratches. As noted, it looks exactly like this, but black, and was only about $20.

CSX321

@Andrewpetty: Someone already cracked that joke, Carlos Mencia

Soulxside

Wow, these Sanwa guys are on the cutting edge of today's technology. I have heard good things about these "compact discs", but do they make a machine like this for LPs?

asthecrowspins

@kvstud:

Here's the problem with the boiling a CD method: It doesn't work. Try to RTFA that you link before you spread disinformation next time.

The FIRST comment on it is

"I tried this on my windows vista CD and you ruined it. It just melted the CD."
thanks a lot."

LUV2CattleCall

Nanowax from Eagle works wonders - so does Pledge.

@Soulxside:

Because Carlos Mencia has never stole a joke in his life....

LUV2CattleCall

Another good method for light scratches is a soft toothbrush and regular standard toothpaste (not gel). This works great for glass watch faces as well. No joke!

Gervy

The ABSOLUTE best way to resurface CDs/DVDs/BDs...

Make friends with someone at Blockbuster. Blockbuster (and I'm sure other movie rental stores) have commercial quality units that are made to take out MAJOR scratches. Most home units make your CD's look like crap with swirly spiral patterns, and never really work on any real scratch. The commercial units make the CD's look band new. Granted, you can only resurface a disc twice, maybe 3 times as what the unit basically does is remove a layer of plastic via buffing with multiple levels of fine grain material and solvent.

Also, a lot of companies will give you a new CD/DVD if you send them the scratched one.

Gervy

@kvstud:

If you really want to use water to fix a CD, you want to preheat the water to 500 degrees...then you stick the game inside the water, then put it inside the oven for an extra 30 minutes. After that, if the game isn't ruined, you stick it in the toaster to dry it off..

*Kids Don't try this at home.

LUV2CattleCall

To fix my cd's and DVD's I run them through my shredder, then they work like new....

HawkSkater0