Are my DVDs beyond repair?

Saturlight

Hi, chums, I'd like to know something. Most people do on these forums, anyway!

Anyway, I have around 70 DVDs which I have recorded over the last three years. In that time, I've watched them that much, the majority skip "frames" or freeze completely; and the others won't play at all. There are a few still working, but I am interested to know whether the damaged ones are beyond repair, or that there is some fluid I could buy and wipe on the discs to bring the DVDs back to full use again.

The scratches aren't deep, not like I went over them with a chizel, they're more surface, light scratches through them being handled and played over the years.

Does a scratch, no matter how apparently covering a small surface level, remove the data on the discs?

Thanks. Once again, any help appreciated...

Topper

It may not necessarily be the discs themselves, have you ever cleaned the laser lens on your CDRom?, the build up of of dust on the lens often is the culprit.
Just a word of caution use a CDRom cleaning kit, never open a unit and clean it as the laser has the potential to damage your eyesight

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gameboy

You can get the discs 'polished' at some DVD rental outlets.

They cannot repair damage to the read surface. Best way to tell is hold the disk up to the light - if you can see the light through the scratches then they are beyond repair.

If they have surface scratches on the read side then a polish should work.

You can buy home polish kits but I am not sure how effective they are.

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Saturlight

You have a point there. Some of the discs play okayish in my PC's DVD drive, whereas in my stand alone DVD players, they' won't work at all.

I think the lasers in the stand alone DVD players therefore could do with a clean. Is this possible?

Thanks.

Saturlight

Thanks Gameboy, I'll do that - when it's light in the morning. It's pitch black outside now!

BUGabundo

it might be only a prob with the lense but with the quality of your burned DVDs.
Many players get in trouble with DVD+/-R

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PaulR

It could also be that one of your standalone DVD players might not understand either DVD+ or DVD- if you have a mix of + and - discs.

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spiney

DVDs can't wear out, but in some writable types the written surface has been known to self destruct after a few years.

Tiny scratches don't matter, the laser beam width is wide at disc suface, and only focusses to a point inside the disc.

If you're getting problems, it's probably the servo control going wonky, needs adjusting with proper equipment and service manual, just cleaning lens will do little (but no harm).

Just possibly the laser's failing, if so it will go completely soon, but that's very unlikely.

Saturlight

All these discs are write once, if that helps.

spiney

Nope, makes no difference whether R OR RW, cos it's your player!

The servo keeps the laser correctly tracking the spiral of pits (forming the digital bitstream 1s and 0s). As cd and dvd players age, they can start to "jump", due to this gradually worsening. Since its a complex electormechanical system, it could be either mechanical or electrical components slowly changing, and the remedy is proper workshop realignment, but it will be cheaper to buy a new player.

Confirm this by playing your dvds in a different machine, they should be ok!

You can try cleaing the lens using one of the kits available (the laser can burn a hole in your eye, make sure player is unplugged !!!!), but I don't think that will help.

(added) - sorry, I've just realised that's confusing! Some lens cleaners are a special disc that you insert, in which case the player must be switched on. But, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES open up the player without first unplugging it from mains power (for example, if you use a cotton bud to clean the lens, in which case also remember it's delicate).

(added later) On most DVD and CD players, there's a safety interlock, where a drawer slides out or lid flips open, physically disconnecting the laser. However, despite this, NEVER look directly straight down into the laser diode, along its central axis, instead always look across it, with the axis pointing well away from your eyes. If you think the laser is shining in your eyes, then quickly turn your head away (bad eye damage takes a few seconds).

spiney

hmmmm, have just read top of this thread again.

The DVD side opposite from label - where the laser shines though - is not greatly affected by small surface scratches (as the beam is wide at that point, a design feature of optical media formats).

If there's bad scratching on the other side, then this may have removed some of the written information. If some parts of the disc have become transparent, then that's a dead givaway, but damage can still occur without this.

Remember, although you might think that the transparent side is fragile, actually it's the label side which is most fragile!

Saturlight

Once again, I appreciate your interest and advice. The scratches are not transparent. It could be the player/s - I have more than one, but then again, I've always bought cheap discs...

Maybe from now, I should go for quality instead of cost cutting. I'm glad to learn that a disc cannot be damaged entirely - so like you peeps said, it's either the cheapo discs themselves, or the cheapo DVD player.

I'll get some DVD disc cleaning solution, and see if that helps. Thanks.

spiney

Well, try the same disc in different players! Is there always a problem at the same point (suggesting a damaged disc)? Or, do the players behave differently (suggesting servo/laser problems?). Perhaps it's both?

If you think the discs are deteriorating, it might be a good idea to copy what you can now, before they get worse.

see: http://hometheater.about.com/cs/dvdl.../aadvdrota.htm .

http://yukongis.ca/bin/view/Main/CdRot

BarMoo

I would smear some dishwasher finish glass sparkly stuff on the disc, work it in with clean fingers and run it under a warm tap. Use a lint-free (normal) bath towel to wipe off the water. Never clean in a rotational way (laser travel) - always from the centre to the edge (perpendicular to laser travel). Tedious but worth it.

Pop it into your PC drive, save to your hdd - and burn another copy. This time keep it in a cover and don't faff around with it. Grab at edges with thumb and fingers and use the first finger after the thumb to poke through the middle of the disk.

I am always having problems with rental dics and careless users. The washing trick does the job. I also find my PC drive is more rugged than ANY of my standalone players.

.

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Saturlight

You have a point. One plays a certain disc with a few hitches, the other, has never been able to play it.

I think it's down to the discs, if you pay bananas, you get monkey-made discs...

Thanks.