Aleratec DVD/CD Disc Repair Plus
by Alera Technologies
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Aleratec DVD/CD Disc Repair Plus
Customer Review: It works, but
Summary: 4 Stars
I have a couple of scratched DVDs that I wanted to fix. After reading the reviews here and elsewhere, I ordered the Alera DVD/CD Disc Repair Plus.
I was able to successfully repair the two damaged DVDs, but it took hours of effort due to the poorly-written instructions that have been noted by others here.
I developed my own method for repairing one stubborn scratch I had on one of my DVDs. After determining that the repair mode alone (yellow pads) would not repair the scratch after a number of passes, I used the pink pads, followed by a number of passes with the yellow repair pads.
The problem with the repair process is that it is difficult to get the exact amount of repair polish on the disk. Too little, and the scratch is not repaired, too much and the disk doesn't play right. The instructions call for three drops of repair liquid to be applied to the pads. This works if the drops are exactly the right size. I found another way to get the amount just right.
Start with two drops of repair liquid, or three very small drops. Play the DVD at the spot in the movie where it skips, and see if it is fixed. If it is not fixed, run the disk through the repair process again, putting just one drop on the yellow pad this time. Play the DVD again to see if it is fixed. Repeat this procedure, one drop at a time until the skip is fixed. You do not have to clean the yellow pads in between passes (until you are finished with the repair). Do not wash the DVD between repair passes. Washing the DVD puts you back to square one.
The repair liquid seems to be a polish that works somewhat like wax. It appears to be similar to the polish/cleaner used ceramic stovetops. It fills in the scratches and polishes over the repaired area. Running a repaired DVD or CD through the disk cleaning cycle seems to clean off the repair polish, exposing the scratches once again.
So when your disk is repaired do not wash it in the future. If it needs to have dust cleaned off, wipe it off gently with a soft cloth. If you do need to wash the disk in the future, you will probably have to run it though the repair cycle again to reapply the polish to the disk's surface.
I hope this helps. The Alera machine does work, but it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out how to make it work due to the inadequacy of the instructions shipped with it.
A couple of other things not covered in the instructions, the cleaning and repair pads screw counter-clockwise into the machine. The wet and dry sides are not labled on the pads themselves, but on the machine. The wet cleaning pads do not have to be filled to 80 percent capacity like it says in the instructions. That is wasteful, unless you are cleaning a lot of DVDs or CDs all at once. A 20 percent fill works just as well. You are going to lose what cleaning liquid you don't use immediately due to evaporation.
Customer Review: Repairs discs to useable condition as described
Summary: 4 Stars
With boys aged 2 & 3, and some poor disc storage procedures when I'm driving, it appeared I was in need of one of these units. Generally my toddler boys are not permitted to handle discs, but it occassionally happens, and doesn't take long for scratches, damage and finger prints to hinder performance, and when changing children's cds in the car I don't always store the disc properly and that leads to damage also. I read through a lot of reviews on this item and the skipdoctor products, and finally decided on this unit because it runs on a/c power, is fully contained and automatic, and was about $10 less expensive than the most equivalent skipdoctor unit. Both items had mixed reviews - mostly positive, but I found that most people who tried to make the units work and put in some time and effort were satisfied with both products. I'm very satisfied with my purchase it has repaired two discs that could not be played at all, and one that skipped.
This product repairs a disc to "useable" condition, it does not repair it so that scratches are not visible. I can still see, but not necessarily feel the scratches. It's also important to remember that some scratches do not affect performance. If a disc plays well, but shows scratches - I just clean off the finger prints with a cloth or use the unit to clean the disc and see if the performance is satisfactory before attempting a full repair.
I agree that the instructions with the unit could be better. I saved the instructions provided by another reviewer to use with the provided instructions for clarity. Also, some severely scratched and damaged discs do take many passes to repair, so I agree it is time consuming to acheive a full repair for some items - but it is possible. I noticed that I could cut down some of the repair time and solution usage by repeating the buffing/sanding (pink disc) process several times in a row for deeper scratches before using the repair. I ran one disc through 3 times in a row, then used the repair cream solution with yellow pads and it played fine. My lesser damaged disc only required one pass with the buffer and one with the repair until it worked great. I usually clean the disc (manually with the cloth or with the machine depending on severity of grime), then buff, then repair. It can be time consuming to repair a disc to functioning, but it does save the disc and my discs play like new despite the scratches that are still visable. I think this was good purchase and not overly complicated to use.
Customer Review: Very good for cleaning and surface scratches
Summary: 4 Stars
I have used the DVD Doctor before using the Alera, and the Alera beats the DVD Doctor hands down. This will repair everything except for major scratches, data damage, and label side damage. I know of nothing that can repair data damage or label side damage.
It works great at repairing and cleaning the discs I have. Some of them get abused by my three young girls. They don't always take care of them as they should. It helped me to play a section on one disc that had a major scratch that the DVD doctor couldn't touch. I think there is data damage on that disc, sincee it was still skipping. It has deteroiated since.
The buffering part takes off a very thin layer off of the bottom of the CD that is only plastic. There is only so much that can be taken off before it will get to the data part. The wet poloshing I believe fills in some scratches so it helps the lazer go over those scratches smoothly to be able to read the data.
The people at Alera are smart. You can not just buy the cleaning or repair solution. You have to buy the kits whether or not you need to replace the wheels. The cleaning solution is Isopropanil#67-63-0, and the repair solution is Aluminum Oxide as labled directly on their containers. I have no idea where I can buy either solution by itself at larger quanities. That is my only complaint.
Tip: With the cleaning solution they have you fill the duel buffer up 80% with the cleaning solution. The solution will be absorbed by the buffers making the buffers wet. The problem I had was when I only did one or two discs at a time. The solution would dry out. If I kept using their instructions I would run out of solution extremely fast. What I did instead is put the solution directly on the buffers instead of filling the bottom. It used less solution, and worked just as well. The tip of my solution bottle either has a slit or is cracked, I can't figure out which. I make sure I our the solution the the slit facing away from the buffers.
I also found out the repair solution comes out fairly fast. I try to be careful not to squeeze the bottle. Keep the bottle upright until you are ready to put some of the cleaner on the buffer. Then be quick at tipping it down and back up quickly. To me it acts more like a liquid than a thicker substance I expected it to be.
Customer Review: This Product Does Work
Summary: 4 Stars
I had a rare DVD disc that had developed a tangle of faint cracks, making later tracks unplayable.
I used the advice given in an earlier review to use two drops of the repair fluid (aluminum oxide) for the initial cycle and single drops thereafter. This was good advice and made some improvements, but there was persistent stalling and break-up in some tracks.
The unit works by having an electric motor spin two cylinders, each of which rubs an annulus-shaped surface against the CD or DVD. The set comes with each repair surface attached to a flat disc with three prongs, mounted into a clear plastic base. The buffing surface comes only on its disc-tripod. To go between repair and buffing, one must use an enclosed small plastic brush-crowbar to pry open the surface between the disc-tripod and the clear plastic base. This is not mentioned in the instructions.
Also not mentioned is that one may buff more than once. I ended up buffing four times. This was probably more than necessary. Sometimes one may put on too much of the repair fluid, which may find itself spread unevenly or left in small clumps. The result is that areas of the DVD that had played all right before now break up because of irregularities or waves in the fluid coating itself. My final cycle involved two larger drops, followed by using the repair cycle without putting any extra fluid on. This may have smoothed the coating without the more severe action a buffing would have given.
Now the disc works all right throughout. There is some loss of picture sharpness, but it's acceptable.
Along the way, I sent the customer service rep at Aleratec two e-mails seeking advice. The responses were fast, courteous, and helpful.
The product does work but needs more complete instructions and suggestions. Skill rises with practice. Be patient at first.
Customer Review: Does the Job
Summary: 4 Stars
My old PS2 system damaged two games (unplayable -- scratched and would not read). So, I purchased the Alera kit with the hope of restoring my discs to their former glory -- or at least keeping them alive until I was able to finish the games. My initial reaction to the system was disappointment. Similar to the 2-star review published earlier, the original scratches were still there and my system kept giving me the disc-read error. However, after running one game through the buffing mode several times (~6), I had that disc looking good and free of major scratches. (buffing mode is the one that literally files down the surface of the disc.) The disc still did not play.
I gave up and decided to buy a new PS2, so that at least I wouldn't ruin and more games. Of course, just to check, the first thing I did was insert the "fully repaired" disc from before -- worked like a champ. Inserted the other damaged disc and got the familiar disc-read error on the new PS2. I then ran that disc through an even longer process (literally used the buffer mode >10 times followed by the standard repair mode three times). Tried it in the machine again, and it worked.
My guidance is this. If you have discs that do not function (won't read, or quality is so bad it's not worth using), this is worth a shot. Replacing these two games would have cost me ~$60-70. However, bear in mind that it takes many iterations to repair the type of scratches that would cause a disc not to read. The instruction manual says to replace the buffing heads after 10-20 uses -- since the Alera only comes with one set, I guess that means mine are done. Also, make sure to replace your system (e.g. old PS2) if that is the root cause.