One thing that's always irked me about DVD's is their tendency to be scratched and skip and that thought has been at the top of my head recently.
Last night I bought a Widescreen LE DVD of Star Wars: A New Hope from a local disc replay store, however Disc 2(the one with the theatrical film) has been skipping in a few parts, most notably the Alderaan Meteor Shower, so I'm basically saying: What is the best way to remove any weird scratches or smudges on a DVD? I have provided some pictures of the disc for your curiosity(big pics ahead):
The smudge to the left of my thumb has been particularly worrying me, so I'd like to hear if that could be a problem.
Also here's the front of the disc:
So yeah. I know this is a videogame forum, but many of those come on discs as well so I hope you guys can help me to clean the scratches so I can get it to play without skipping. I also have the receipt so I can return it whenever, however it was put into a resurfacing machine when brought in.
Thanks!
I really just post questions most of the time. I'm that kind of person, but who cares...
If something like a microfiber cloth and a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water don't clean it enough, you're safest bet is to take it to a local game/movie store and use their industry grade disc repair machines. Stores usually charge between .50 - $3.50 for disc repair, but they do a great job.
The disc looks spotless to me, but that could just be the lighting. Another idea is, if you have multiple devices around that can play DVD's, to try different players, as the quality of lasers in each device may vary. My Xbox 360 plays oXbox games that cannot be read in my oXbox.
Ghudda wrote:If something like a microfiber cloth and a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water don't clean it enough, you're safest bet is to take it to a local game/movie store and use their industry grade disc repair machines. Stores usually charge between .50 - $3.50 for disc repair, but they do a great job.
The disc looks spotless to me, but that could just be the lighting. Another idea is, if you have multiple devices around that can play DVD's, to try different players, as the quality of lasers in each device may vary. My Xbox 360 plays oXbox games that cannot be read in my oXbox.
No, I've tested it out in 2 players and that scene has kept skipping. Also said store that I bought it from put the discs in a resurfacing machine before they put them for sale, it's their policy.
Basically how it goes is that after Moff Tarkin says "Terminate Her!" There's this weird 5-7 second freeze then it goes straight to the meteor shower scene with a few freezes, and then resumes as normal. It's not huge, but considering said disc goes for about $40-$60 online I want to fix it.
I really just post questions most of the time. I'm that kind of person, but who cares...
The first thing I typically do is run a skipping disc under running tap water, then wipe it dry using a tissue, in straight lines from the inside hole to the outer edge. Go around the entire disc like that and see if it works. This usually solves my problems with dirty discs. Since your Star Wars looks pretty flawless, I assume this will work.
When an FYE by me was closing, I picked up a ton of disc-cleaning cloths, so now I usually just use one of those on a skipping disc.
If that doesn't work, the disc is probably scratched in some way. They make a number of types of home-resurfacing things, ranging from a roughly $2 packet of a sort of paste and cleaning pad to a slightly more expensive hand-cranked machine such as the Skip Dr. (I see one is $20 on Amazon). They can help, but not always.
A better resurfacing solution is to find a place with a professional-quality resurfacing machine. Tell the store you bought the disc from about it and see if they can resurface it for you; they might do it for free! There's a public library near me that will resurface discs for people for $1/disc. I bet if there are any indie (non-Gamestop) video game stores in your area, they might be able to help too. If cleaning doesn't work, this is your best bet!
HailToApples wrote:One thing that's always irked me about DVD's is their tendency to be scratched and skip and that thought has been at the top of my head recently.
Last night I bought a Widescreen LE DVD of Star Wars: A New Hope from a local disc replay store, however Disc 2(the one with the theatrical film) has been skipping in a few parts, most notably the Alderaan Meteor Shower, so I'm basically saying: What is the best way to remove any weird scratches or smudges on a DVD?
Sometimes used DVDs will skip even when there are no scratches, I suspect the flex of the disc damaging the microscopic read pits when pulled from a tight centered case. At that point all you can do is refund or exchange for another copy.
However, if there are scratches, here is a good reference:
