Disc-Go-Pod Plus
Knife and disc should never meet: Disc-Go-Pod Plus to the rescue
Tags: Categories: DVD/TV Reviews, Game Cube Reviews, PC Reviews, PS2 Reviews, Reviews, Tech Reviews, Xbox 360 Reviews, Xbox Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Sep 25th, 2006
I used to use one of the $11 CD cleaners, the one that looks like an enlarged CD case with an off-white pad inside that you place a few drops of “cleaning fluid” and then manually crank the CD around and around. That got tiring real quick when my kids started handling my collection and things would take longer and longer to clean using this method. If a CD was scratched beyond repair I was out of luck. With game, movie and CD collections growing ever larger, replacement just isn’t a viable option – it gets to be far too expensive.
Recently I went through my CD collection (which is quite large) and took out several CDs that were heavily scratched. While they were all playable, it wouldn’t be much longer before a few more times being handled by my 14 year old and that wouldn’t be the case. I was a bit skeptical about placing the first one in the Disc-Go-Pod Plus, so I started with one that would still be available in stores.
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The first thing that I noticed about the device was just how big and heavy it is. This isn’t just a “quick fix” bit of equipment. Setting the device up was easy enough, there’s a tank in the back where the Polish Compound is to be poured. There are two bottles that come packed in, each should last for quite a number of repairs.
Opening the lid one sees where to place the afflicted CD and position it so that the scratches face upward, to come in contact with the two polishing pads that are affixed to the lid. Plugging the unit in automatically turns it on, there is no power switch. It would have been nice to have a power switch, allowing the Disc-Go Pod Plus to be permanently placed somewhere without having to worry about plugging it in and out.
Two options are available for repair, a 5 and 10 minute cycle. For rather heavy repairs one is advised to run the 10 minute cycle and then the 5 minute one. The first CD that I repaired was one that could readily be picked up in stores, so if anything went wrong it could be replaced. It was also one that still played relatively well, so it didn’t necessarily need repair or replacement, but it was a good first test to make sure I knew how the Disc-Go Pod Plus operated and was familiar with its operation before moving on to some more advanced repair on some discs that are irreplaceable.
The first disc was fixed with a 5 minute cycle and appeared brand new at the end of the test. Feeling a bit bold with the results, I decided to make the leap to the most extreme case. I took a CD that I wasn’t particularly worried about – a promotional compilation of bands that I was given last year, one that I wouldn’t mind having around for one or two of the songs, but nothing that really mattered.
I took a knife to it.
Taking a serrated knife from the kitchen I marked that CD up like there was no tomorrow. The CD player wouldn’t even register that there was a disc inserted after I was done, let alone play it. It was a brutal act, one that should never be attempted. I wish I had taken photos because I almost couldn’t believe what I had done to this poor helpless disc.
I put the disc in for a 10 minute repair session. The CD player acknowledged that a CD had been inserted and that there were indeed 12 songs that were supposed to be listened to. That was it. I placed the disc in for another 10 minutes, and the darn thing played. Not well, mind you, but it played. After one more 5 minute cycle it was virtually undetectable from how it appeared 30 minutes previously.
Let me reiterate the point – I hacked away at a CD with a knife and 30 minutes later played as if nothing happened.
After completing the repair cycle one is tasked with wiping away the excess fluid with a clean cloth, then using Finishing Spray and their Cleaning Cloth to polish up the repaired surface. This is what makes the CD “like new” in both appearance and performance. I decided not to tempt fate and attempt that trick with any of my CDs that I really cared about, but did spend the rest of the day repairing several other discs that had a number of scratches of varying degrees. Most were taken care of with a 5 minute session.
So what are the drawbacks? Well, the first one is that there is no power switch. It’s not that noisy when simply plugged in, but it does draw power and does make some noise. It’s not as clean as one might like either. The tank in back to hold the Polish Compound will spill when the Disc-Go-Pod Plus is moved about.
Perhaps the biggest drawback is the price. This is a commercial unit, and not many people will be able to afford $495 to repair their discs. It’s also not feasible for people with small collections either, but for people like me with thousands of CDs and a few hundred DVDs and videogames this can be viewed as an investment. If I ran a rental place I’d make sure I used this.
It’s not a perfect solution, especially for the “casual” home user, but for a business that can leave it under the counter out of sight it could be worth it. There are refills of the Polish Compound available (a little pricey at $149 a gallon) and the Finish Spray as well as an adapter for GameCube discs. The company has been around a while and offers a full line of products, so there isn’t any danger of running out of materials and not being able to repair discs six months down the line.
Suffice to say that if I can hack away at a CD with a knife and have it come out sounding brand new, something is working right.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
| + Knife gouges gone | 8.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- No power switch - Spillage when moved - Pricey |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| For commercial use, a device like this is a must have. For those of us with large collections, with many irreplacable items, it could be an essential piece of equipment. You need to do the math and find out if it's right for you. | |
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Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Sep 25th, 2006 and is filed under DVD/TV Reviews, Game Cube Reviews, PC Reviews, PS2 Reviews, Reviews, Tech Reviews, Xbox 360 Reviews, Xbox Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
