DVDs

[Guest]

Folks:


I have a bunch of DVDs with video content.
These DVDs seem to work intermittently.

I sometimes get the following error messages:
* You may NOT have permission to use this resource.
* CRC Error
* Etc
On other occasions, the DVDs work perfectly well.

This problem happens on different DVD drives, so the problem is definitely
NOT a faulty drive.


* Just wondering if there is any techniques out there to treat the
physical media. Maybe a device/machine to scrub the media.



Thanks,
Jo.

 

[R. McCarty]

A couple of things, one Optical drives benefit from a regular
cleaning of the Laser lens. The easiest way to do that is get
a 3M Cleaning disk. It has microfiber bristles that clean the
lens. Available at most Office Supply shops for ~$10. On the
disks themselves you need to make sure that the surface is
free of smudges and "Fingerprints". There are special types
of cleaning cloths that you can use for that. On disks that are
heavily scuffed or damaged you can get a cleaning tool. It
basically re-burnishes the surface area of the disk. But it's a
delicate operation and if not done correctly will render the disk
completely unusable.

 

[Guest]

McCarty:



Thanks for the enlightenment.
Do you have any Internet references so that I can continue reading on this
topic.


Thanks again,
John.

 

[R. McCarty]

Just as a general guide, the following Sony PDF document:
http://sony.storagesupport.com/mediacare.htm

For an all-around good resource on Optical recording, I'd
start at CDFreaks:
http://cdfreaks.com/