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58 of 60 found the following review helpful:
 Best Disk Cleaner/Repair Available + Great Value Jan 03, 2008
By Kaio
I researched disk cleaners and repair thoroughly before buying the Maxell DSR-1, and this unit is the best by far. I compared this unit head to head with Skip Dr. and Aleratec and both were total junk compared to the Maxell. I'll report some of what I found in my research and then about the Maxell DSR-1:
SKIP DR. REPAIR UNIT: is poorly constructed and they don't have a combo unit so you need to buy a repair unit and a cleaning unit separately. The repair unit severely scratched my test disk, creating huge starburst type scratches from the center to the edges of the entire surface of the disk. Plus, their repair unit doesn't even buff. You have to do that manually with a cloth!! So I'm supposed to strain and waste my time buffing out all those pretty scratches their unit created with a cloth? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of an "automated" product?? And the buffing cloth was useless anyway cuz the scratches the unit created were far too deep. Not to mention, if you use this unit on a rental disk, the video store will probably charge you for mangling their disk.
SKIP DR CLEANING UNIT: is equally a piece of junk. It's supposed to eject the disk after cleaning but it doesn't. The disk just keeps spinning and spinning forever. Both Skip Dr. units run on batteries, so be prepared to spend extra money on that too. And you know as batteries die down, the cleaning and repair units will be less and less effective, so you'll have to replace batteries often. Don't bother with Skip Dr. unless you want to destroy disks, waste time, waste money on batteries and waste space on 2 inadequate units.
ALERATEC: was better than Skip Dr but you have to change wheels every time you want to repair, polish or clean. So where do you keep all those parts and cleaning fluids when not in use? And from what I've seen, refills are almost as expensive as the unit itself! And neither the unit or refills are readily available anywhere except online.
THE WINNER:
MAXELL DSR-1: by contrast the Maxell DSR-1 cleans, repairs and buffs. In fact, you can clean one disk while repairing another all at the same time! The Maxell is a 2 sided vertical unit, with cleaning on 1 side and repair/buff on the other. It also has a nifty storage compartment in the back that holds an extra cleaning wheel, cleaning fluid, repair fluid, a cloth and 2 buff wheels when not in use. You do have to swap the repair/buff wheels if doing a full repair. But at least you have somewhere to store the extra wheels when not in use. The storage compartment also has a cleaning sheet to record how many times you've used the wheels. Unlike the previous 2 models above, the Maxell is rated for 100 uses for each wheel. And having a place to easily check off each use makes it easy to keep track of when a replacement wheel is needed. They only give you one sheet though so I made copies and am using one sheet for each clean, buff and repair wheel, that way I'll have an accurate record. None of the other units had this. Apparently you're just supposed to remember on your own. Not to mention, the refills for the Maxell were only $6 for an entire replacement kit of 2 wheels each for clean, repair and buff, 1 bottle each of cleaning and repair fluid and another cloth. The Maxell also runs on an AC adapter, so there's no need for batteries. That combined with the inexpensive refills make this the cheapest unit to use over the long run. Some other reviewers said this unit doesn't clean the outer part of the disk - well, for my experience, that's not the case at all. The repair/buff function also works very well. If the disk isn't that bad, you can just buff or you can do a full repair/buff. The unit doesn't scratch the disk like Skip Dr did, but it does leave the disk looking hazy. But that doesn't affect playback and it did successfully fix unplayable disks I tried. Also, it's unlikely a video store would notice you repaired/buffed their disk, so there's no danger of being charged for damaging a disk as with Skip Dr. And the Maxell is fully automatic with 3 minute cycles that stop when each procedure is done.
All told, the Maxell DSR-1 cleans and repairs disks very well and far out performs all other units!! This is easily the best disk clean/repair/buff unit out there!
31 of 33 found the following review helpful:
 works well, but beware of repair fluid leaking Dec 02, 2007
By Mickey71
I bought this at a local retail store and really liked it. The problem was, that when I opened the package, the repair fluid had leaked into the accessory area in the back of the unit. The repair fluid tube appeared to be sealed, but it came right out of the bottom of the tube where it is supposed to be crimped and sealed. I was worried that the fluid leaked inside the unit and might have damaged the motor. I decided to give it a try and see how I liked it before exchanging the unit. It worked VERY well, so I took it back to the store and exchanged it for another unit. When I got home and opened the package, I found the exact same problem with the repair fluid. Soooo, back to the store I went, although this time, I insisted that the store open the package before I left. They again found the exact same problem with the repair fluid tube. After having tried 3 packages of the same model, I gave up and decided to exchange it for a different brand. I don't remember the name of the second brand, but it only cleaned 3 discs before I hear an awful sound and the unit stopped spinning the disc. It spun fine as long as there wasn't a disc in the unit, but when I added a disc, it made terrible noises. So I returned that one as well and finally tried the Memorex OptiFixPro. In my opinion, the Memorex doesn't do anything to really fix discs at all; it just cleans them. I will be returning the Memorex unit and I will call Maxell Customer Service to see if they can do anything to ensure I get a unit that doesn't have the leakage problem.
To summarize, I have now tried 3 different brands of disc repair kits and this one does the best job of repairing discs. Also, I liked that the unit allowed me to clean one disc on one side of the unit while simultaneously repairing a second disc on the opposite side. I have not found any other repair kit that allows two discs at once. However, I think that Maxell had some quality control issues or manufacturing issues that allowed these units to be sent out with leaking repair fluid tubes, so I would definitely recommend that you only but this unit from a respectable retailer that allows exchange or refund without hassles in case you encounter this same problem (and be aware that with some retailers, you may need to pay shipping charges to send the unit back for exchange).
15 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Great product - saves money Jul 01, 2006
By S. McMuphy
"Shannon"
I had a DVD Beauty and the Beast that my daughter loves. She had been unable to watch it because it continually repeated a chapter due to being damaged. This product repaired the disc. I did have to run it through 3 times to completely resolve the issue but that's no big deal.
Anyway - the point is - if you have discs that are skipping - instead of replacing - buy this thing for $36 bucks from Amazon - best price I found - and fix it yourself. It's easy!
17 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Seems Good to Me Apr 09, 2007
By 70's Girl
"Born to Talk"
I used this unit to repair a DVD that was skipping. I found the unit easy to use and able to do the job. The DVD no longer skips. The pads and fluids are supposed to last for about 100 CDs, DVDs etc. One side does the repair work and the other cleans. It is okay to just use the cleaning mode. The price is great considering how much it would cost to replace 100 CDs or DVDs.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 Doesn't repair disks that are tiling May 02, 2008
By Alysoun Bond
My older son is gaga over Men in Black II, but my 3 year old son maybe bit the disk. We ordered the Maxell Pro Disc Fixer DSR-1 and waited with baited breath until it arrived. When it did arrive, I noticed a chemical smell - we had the same fluid leaking problem another reviewer had.
Before my 3 year old chewed up the instructions, I noticed that at the bottom it says "THIS PRODUCT WILL NOT REPAIR TILING ON DVDS" and shows a picture with big pixels on it - not something I'd seen in any of the information I saw before ordering the device.
Also repeated in the instructions several times is "DO NOT TOUCH PADS!" Well, for my hands, it is physically impossible to pick up the pads using only the crossbar you're supposed to use.
Oh, and BTW, the website given for help/information on the package doesn't exist.
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