Disc-repair Technology
Vaneyes
Brian Morton, Vancouver Sun, June 2, 2005
GREATER VANCOUVER - A Langley company is making some big waves in the
home
entertainment industry by developing machines that "repair" scratched
or
damaged DVDs and CDs.
Disc-Go-Tech president Mark Chaplin said Monday that sales of their
machines, which grind and buff scratches away, totalled $2.8 million
last
year, compared to $1.2 million in 2003 and $200,000 in 2002.
"And we expect to be over $5 million this year," he added.
Disc-Go-Tech's products include everything from a $400 unit that
repairs a
disc in five to 10 minutes to a $50,000 high-volume commercial machine
--
favoured by many of the larger DVD rental companies -- that repairs up
to
100 damaged discs per hour.
"We've sold thousands of [disc repair units]," said Chaplin in an
interview.
"And we've also sold a number to home users. For the home user, it only
takes five or six video game CDs to pay for itself."
Next summer, he said, the company plans to offer a disc repair product
geared for the everyday consumer that would sell for less than $100.
According to a news release, Disc-Go-Tech's line of disc repair
machines is
the main choice for anyone in the entertainment industry looking to
fight
the financial losses caused by scratched discs.
It said companies including Blockbuster Canada, Rogers Video Canada and
Video Update Canada (Movie Gallery), are now utilizing Disc-Go-Tech's
machines, allowing them to return damaged games to shelves, provide
playability guarantees and offer quality used games for sale.
An exhibit is planned for the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los
Angeles
next month.
Chaplin said that most of the damage to a CD or DVD is from scratch
damage,
including scuffs, scrapes and dirt that make it difficult for the laser
to
"read" the information on the disc.
The problem is acute for large video chains, which rent out thousands
of
discs daily.
Vincent Ventrone
>
> Brian Morton, Vancouver Sun, June 2, 2005
I'm not surprised -- I'm always amazed to see how much abuse rented DVDs
have suffered. I can't imagine being so careless!!!!
Matthew B. Tepper
letters to be typed in news:d7q629$hjo$1...@courier.brandeis.edu:
My theory is that some people are so poor after investing in the home theater
that they can't afford plates to eat off of, frisbies to fling around, etc.,
so they press the DVDs into service that way.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Take THAT, Daniel Lin, Mark Sadek, James Lin & Christopher Chung!
Simon Roberts
Indeed. One of the reasons I'm glad to own DVD burners is that computer drives
seem more tolerant of abused rented DVDs than DVD players, so I can make a copy
and play that instead; I've only been thwarted once, and blanks are so cheap it
adds less than 50c to the rental cost....
Simon