Product Review: Page (1) of 1 - 10/21/05

Disc-Go-Pod Plus Disc Repair Machine

Gets the job done, but makes a huge mess By Charlie White

DVDs and CDs have a familiar weakness that most users have encountered: They get scratched. Disk-Go-Tech has released the Disc-Go-Pod Plus disc repair machine ($499), an industrial-strength unit that immerses your disc in a gritty liquid, and then goes about working it over until all of its scratches and imperfections are gone. Besides being entertaining to observe in action, we found the Disc-Go-Pod Plus to be effective. Its not perfect, though. Lets take a look at this beast.

When you take this monster out of the box, the first thing you notice is that it weighs a full 8� pounds. Its massive. It looks like a miniature old-fashioned washing machine with an alien face on top. Included in its box are bottles of a gritty fluid, called polish compound, that work along with the internal scrubbing wheels to take scratches off any CD or DVD.

The first thing you must do is pour the polish compound into the back of the unit, an operation thats akin to pouring water into the back of a coffee maker. This milky polishing substance covers a pump mechanism in the back of the machine, which then circulates the stuff throughout the machine. Once its reservoir is full to the top, you close the cover and push the button that opens the top of the machine. After placing your disk label side down and clamping it into the machine, you close the lid and push the start button. If you push the start button once, the machine begins a five-minute scrubbing cycle, and if you have disk with an especially stubborn scratches, you can push it twice, and the machine will run for 10 minutes. For the deepest scratches and most damaged disks, its recommended that you run even more than one 10-minute cycle.

Notice the milky substance drooling down the front of the Disc-Go-Pod Plus

Push that start button, and this behemoth springs to life. With its alien-like face, complete with a see-through mouth through which you can see the milky substance splashing around inside, the thing seems to take on a life of its own. It makes a variety of noises including groans, whines, slurping noises and an occasional growl while its lights fiercely blink on and off. All the while, rivulets of the milky substance stream down the outside of the machine, as if it were a drooling beast devouring and digesting its prey.

After a 10-minute cycle, I removed the disk that previously was heavily damaged, thanks to my gleeful application of numerous intentional dings and scrapes. Even though the disk was covered with scratches, now it was polished almost clean. Putting the disk into a DVD player, it played back perfectly, where it wouldnt even load before. Experimenting with a variety of lightly-damaged and heavily-damaged disks, the Disc-Go-Pod was successful in repairing each one. Hey, this thing actually works.

But that operational success comes at a cost. First of all, this thing makes a terrible mess. This gritty milky goo that resides inside the machine and runs all through it must be cleaned up afterward. It leaks out of the top and runs down the sides, as I mentioned before. Then, all of that stuff must be reused. The company suggests that you pour it back into some kind of covered container and save it for the next go-round. But heck, I dont want to do that. And then, after youve used this milky, gooey crap a few times, you have to go and get more from this company. Plus, in my numerous uses, it was impossible to run a disk through a cycle in this machine without having the machines slime spilled all over the countertop. Best to use it in a kitchen with cleanup implements nearby. Once, when I mistakenly thought a disk had finished its cycle, I opened the lid and it was still spinning, and this beast spewed droplets of its milky issue all over a four-foot radius. Yuck. This is the messiest device weve ever encountered here.

At its hefty price of $495, this device is obviously intended for those who own a video store or for some reason encounter large volumes of scratched or damaged discs. If you just need an occasional disc repair, I would suggest a unit thats lower-priced and much more user-friendly, such as the Alera Technologies DVD/CD Disk Repair Plus product I reviewed a few months ago. It was nearly as effective as the Disk-Go-Pod, cost about a fifth of its price, and most importantly, didnt make a huge mess because its entire process didnt involve a gritty, sticky, milky liquid. The Disc-Go-Pod does its job well?better than any other weve tested?but with all of the mess it makes, Id rather go by a new disk than repair the old ones. Not recommended. 4 stars out of 10.

Page: 1

Related Keywords:DVD, CD, scratched, Disk-Go-Tech, Disc-Go-Pod Plus, disc repair machine, Alera Technologies DVD/CD Disk Repair Plus, cleaning