Digital Innovations 10185 Skip Dr. Motorized AutoMax Scratch Repair System
by Digital Innovations
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Digital Innovations 10185 Skip Dr. Motorized AutoMax Scratch Repair System
Customer Review: Works just as advertised
Summary: 5 Stars
The Skip Dr. is one of those rare devices that does exactly what it is advertised to do (no DVD that has a scratch on the label side of the disk can be repaired, and some very deep scratches on a playing side may not be repairable--if the first repair does not work, repeat the process). Though operation of the device is fairly intuitive, the directions for use are clear and it is worthwhile to read and follow them. It's important to realize that CDs and DVDs aren't read the same way that LPs were, back in the olden days (okay, MY olden days--it's humbling to have to explain to your 14-year-old what a "45" or "LP" or even "an album" is). CD/s and DVDs aren't read starting at the outside and spiraling in, they are read in lines starting from the center of the disk and out toward the edge. This is important to realize so that you know why you should only dry and buff a disk from the center outward, take the cloth off the disk, and do it again (from the center straight out,working your way around the disk. Don't swipe the cloth around and around the face of the disk or you will just create more scratches that will interfere with playback. Don't scrub back and forth, just wipe from the center out. Same with the buffing cloth. The Skip Dr's cleaning wheel cleans the disk in the proper direction, from the center out. It leaves "rays" that are like faint shadow-spokes radiating out from the center of the disk to the edge. These faint lines don't interfere with playback in any way. A drying cloth and buffing cloth are included. The procedure is basically spray on the repair solution, place the disk in Skip Dr. (which will start and stop automatically), remove the disk when ejected, dry it off, buff a little (don't go for a chrome-like shine--it's not important for reading the disk and if "new car shine" is that important to you, forget repair and replace the disk with a new one. This is a repair, not a reincarnation). I have used several manual machines over the years and this does the best of the lot--5 moderately damaged disks, all of which play without errors. Oh, and Disk Dr. comes with a lifetime warranty, but I believe you have to send it in its original box--so hang onto the box.Customer Review: PC Magazine says this product doesn't work PC Magazine recommends Alera DVD/CD Disc Repair Plus instead
Summary: 1 Stars
PC Magazine
Digital Innovations SkipDR AutoMax Disc Repair System
REVIEW DATE: 07.13.05
Editor's Rating: 2
Digital Innovations SkipDR AutoMax Disc Repair System
We had high hopes for the SkipDR AutoMax, but even though the device looks great, it didn't come through in our testing. The SkipDR is a motorized resurfacing unit with slots to hold the included spray solution and buffing cloth. All you have to do is spray your damaged disc and insert it vertically into the disc slot. We ran the SkipDR twice on a heavily scratched disc with no luck. The unit requires six double-A batteries to work, though you can send in an included form (and $7.95) to get a power adapter.
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PC magazine recommends the Alera DVD/CD Disc Repair Plus instead over all other systems they reviewed:
The Alera system is a bit more complex than the others we looked at, but it produced stellar results; it earns our Editors' Choice award. You get a motorized repair unit the size of a portable CD player and various wheels you install inside the unit to buff, clean, or repair discs. Also included are two liquid solutions, a buffing cloth, and a power cord. We followed the helpful user guide and ran a few passes; Alera was the only kit that successfully repaired a CD with deep scratches.
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PC Magazine is the only review here who we know 100% does not have a conflict of interest.
The troubling question is:
Why do so many people here on Amazon state that it works on a "heavily scratched disc" when PC Magazine says it doesn't?
My only guess is that SkipDR will only work on lightly scratched disks.
Does SkipDR work after three times on a heavily scratched disc, four times? I wonder if there are impartial reviews out there in which the SkipDR failed after several times on a "heavily scratched disc".
Customer Review: Skip Dr. to the Rescue!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was on the fence for a long time on this Skip Dr Scratch Repair System. A friend of mine had the manual hand crank version, and it seemed to do an OK job. However, once I ruined one of my favorite DVDs (Ben Hur) and then started getting spots on my LOTR extended editions where the DVD would freeze while playing I decided to give this a try. When it arrived I was surprised at how small it was, compared to the hand crank version my friend had once used. The unit comes with a small spray bottle of disc solution (which is just distilled water and isopropyl alcohol) and a cleaning cloth and buffer pad. These extras are stored in their own little holes right on the unit. Cleaning the DVDs is a real no-brainer - just spritz some solution on the disc and then gently push them down into the top slot of the Skip Dr. and it will start cleaning it immediately. Once it stops you just remove the DVD, lay it on the cleaning cloth, and use the buffer pad to wipe it off.
Some of my DVDs needed more than one pass in the Skip Dr. in order to play again without skips or freezes. I could not, however, recover my Ben Hur DVD, but that's only due to my own stupidity - I had the bright idea one night to try to clean the DVD with Goof Off. I recommend you never do this yourself; Goof Off is a great product but not for DVDs - each drop of the fluid effectively burned the surface and left it unplayable. So much for bright ideas.
If you have some DVDs that freeze or skip and you want to recover them then I highly recommend this device. Originally I was going to buy a new DVD player, because some people informed me that the laser was out of alignment (hence the skipping), but then if that were true it wouldn't play any DVDs at all. So my solution was to buy this device and give it a go. Overall the Skip Dr. has repaired six of my troublesome DVDs and sufficiently paid for itself in the process.
Customer Review: Worked as advertised, easy to use!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was very skeptical at first, but it worked!!
Bought the Skip Dr for fixing a non playable scratched wii sports disc. Somehow a circumferential moderately deep 1/2 inch long scratch was near the edge of the wii sports disc, and it's the only scratch on this disc, but the wii could not read it at all. Because of the deep scratch,i had to run the disc through the machine 5 to 6 times to buff the scratch shallow enough, and now the disc WORKS!!
How it works:
As you know, the skip dr actually resurfaces the disc, so it will buff off a very thin layer of the plastic on the disc surface so it will buff away the light scratches and make the deeper scratches shallow. BTW, you need 6 AA batteries, everything else is included in the kit (skip dr, resurfacing fluid, drying cloth, buffing square). You can repair 30 discs before the resurfacing wheel needs to be changed.
My experience:
The product is very easy to use, spray the resurfacing fluid on the disc, slide the disc in the machine, and let it do all the work. The key is to use LOTS of the resurfacing fluid provided, when they say use generous amount, believe it, spray lots on the disc. I didn't use enough fluid the first time around, so this created more scratches on the disc. But don't worry if this occurs, you can simply spray more fluid on the disc, and run it in the skip dr a few more times until the scratches are buffed out.
After drying the disc with the included non-scratch cloth, the manual also said to use the buffing square after running the disc through the machine, I didn't even have to use the buffing square, and the disc is running fine now.
Remember, this product is great for light to moderate scratches. Any deep scratches, or scratches on the media side (the side with the disc label) will not work.
Customer Review: Works ok, but definitely not worth it.
Summary: 2 Stars
About 20 years ago my brother got me the original hand cranked CD Doctor. It worked fairly well, but this new motorized Skip Dr is borderline useless.
It will have no problem taking out minor scratches on CDs. But these are scratches that aren't thick enough or deep enough to cause the disk to skip or misread. Why bother "repairing" a disk if it works?
Ive run 5 disks through this thing with what I would consider moderate scratches. Not hairline, but not extremely deep either. Each disk has been run through at least six times. I have yet to see any of them work any better.
Here is my recommendations for your scratched disks:
1. Try to make a copy of it first. If the copy works then stick with the copy. Don't bother trying to "repair" the disk if the backup works.
2. If you can't get a working copy then its time to repair the disk. Ive used a set of automotive plastic polish (for headlights, tail lights, etc). It comes in a heavy and fine formula. Start with the fine formula, if the scratches don't come out, then switch to the heavy and then finish off with the fine.
3. If the polish doesn't work then I try some 2000 to 3000 grit sandpaper. THIS IS ONLY A LAST RESORT! Try to get as much data from the disk as possible before doing this. I start with the 3000 grit sandpaper and try removing the scratches. If that doesnt work then I go to some 2500. If that doesn't work then 2000 grit. Then go over again with the 2500, and then the 3000 grit. Then use the plastic polish mentioned above.
After all this I run the disk through the Skip Dr to take out the tiny hairline or "spiderweb" scratches. Works well for me.
Or you could just send your disks out to have them professionally restored!