How to Repair Scratched Disks

Ever wonder how video stores manage to reuse their DVDs over and over, even though customers often treat disks like Frisbees or drinks coasters? Many use the $2,299 VMI Buffer 3500 (pictured), a heavy-duty disk buffer that essentially heats up a DVD's plastic coating until it's flexible, then smoothes it out. According to VenMill reps, with whom I met last week, this process is more durable and less damaging to the disk than other options, which usually sand a very thin layer off a disk's surface to get rid of scratches.

The latter method, used by products such as Digital Innovations's SkipDr., works okay if you only damage disk a few times and are willing to clean it a few times in one sitting, but over the long haul can wear a DVD out (as well as your patience). VenMill says its "Optoclear" method (as it likes to call this heating and molding process) is ideal for next-gen HD-DVD disks, which contain much more information in a disk that's the same size as traditional DVDs (other methods are more likely to sand away this information).

Luckily, you won't have to spend $2,000 for the Venmill solution next time you scratch a disk (or get a damaged disk from Netflix). Come December, the company is releasing the Skip-Away, a $250 version of the VMI Buffer that uses the same melting and reshaping disc technology. It will repair all manner of DVDs, CDs, game disks (even next-gen ones), and HD-DVDs.

The sole exception, interestingly enough, is Blu-ray disks. Though more durable and less likely to get scratched, Blu-ray disks have a special coating that Venmill hasn't yet figured out how to remold.

How often do you get scratched disks from Netflix? Could you use a product like this?