fixing scratched DVDs and CDs
Feb. 28th, 2010 06:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miriam_eA few years ago I bought a boxed set of the original Outer Limits series. One of the disks in the set was badly scratched, making it difficult to view some of the episodes and completely impossible to view one of the episodes. That disk just wouldn't play on a standalone DVD player. The only way I could see those damaged episodes was to rip them to my hard drive. That worked for 3 of the 4 episodes on that disk, but the final one couldn't even be accessed by the computer.
I'd tried polishing the disk in an attempt to get rid of the scratches, but had actually worsened the problem, because I'd simply covered the surface with numerous, finer scratches. None of the different ways of polishing that I could think of worked. Even gently polishing with talcum powder and a cotton-ball only scratched the soft plastic further.
Today I decided to try a different approach. I used a cotton-ball again, but this time wet with water, and I polished it so softly that intuition told me that it would have no effect at all. I sat and polished for about an hour while listening to an audiobook. Eventually I could see the surface was definitely clearer and shinier. When I tried ripping the previously inaccessible track it worked. The disk was now smooth enough that I could read it. Yay!
The track is still damaged and there are some bad bits where the image breaks up, but most of the episode plays perfectly now. Quite a difference from before when it couldn't be retrieved at all.
I'd tried polishing the disk in an attempt to get rid of the scratches, but had actually worsened the problem, because I'd simply covered the surface with numerous, finer scratches. None of the different ways of polishing that I could think of worked. Even gently polishing with talcum powder and a cotton-ball only scratched the soft plastic further.
Today I decided to try a different approach. I used a cotton-ball again, but this time wet with water, and I polished it so softly that intuition told me that it would have no effect at all. I sat and polished for about an hour while listening to an audiobook. Eventually I could see the surface was definitely clearer and shinier. When I tried ripping the previously inaccessible track it worked. The disk was now smooth enough that I could read it. Yay!
The track is still damaged and there are some bad bits where the image breaks up, but most of the episode plays perfectly now. Quite a difference from before when it couldn't be retrieved at all.
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no subject
Date: 2010-03-02 02:01 pm (UTC)It is also interesting to see how there has been a blanding of actors.
Fewer non-bit part actors there days have character in their faces. Of course there are more actors who are not Anglo, but if my experiences with things like Heroes are any indication, just because they're not white doesn't mean you can pick them out in a crowd.
Some of the actors in one I just watched had scars on their faces!
The acting is also very broad. I suppose that is a given, assuming most came from theatre or variety.
I agree with all your comment about the actors, part of the fun episode is watching the husband and boss from Bewitched interacting.
I don't make the hard and fast SF/fantasy rule you do, and I haven't seen anywhere near enough Outer Limits to judge, but I don't think the differences between the two shows (good or bad) is nearly as great as all that.