|  Digital
Innovation's original SkipDR was a ground breaking product that allowed
users to resurface their scratched CDs or DVDs and in many cases recover the once
unreadable data from the disc. Since the data layer does not reside directly on
the reading surface of the disc, it is possible to remove some scratches that
cause problems when reading data. It cannot in many cases fix deep scratches,
but based on my experience it can repair a good number of damaged discs. The downside
of the original SkipDR was that it required the user to manually spin the
disc using a hand crank. For this reason we were excited to see the latest generation
SkipDR called the AutoMax™. The new SkipDR AutoMax™
is designed to automate the resurfacing process instead of requiring the user
to manually turn the disc using the hand crank found with the previous design.
Six "AA" batteries (not included) are required to run the AutoMax™
or an optional AC adapter can also be used.
The
system includes the main resurfacing unit, resurfacing wheel, fluid bottle, drying
cloth, felt buffing square and user's guide. The unit is about 5-1/2" tall,
7" wide and around 4" deep due to the resurfacing wheel. The design
includes a slot for the resurfacing fluid bottle and the drying cloth, which means
you will not have to look for the items each time you are ready to use the product. Operation
 The
new SkipDR AutoMax™ is designed to automate the resurfacing process.
Simply spray the disc with the Resurfacing Fluid and insert the disc to
start the resurfacing wheel. Once the process is complete (within a minute or
two), the unit ejects the disc and the unit stops. The user then dries the disc
using the supplied Drying Cloth. To restore the disc's shiny surface, the
Felt Buffing Square can be used. This process requires a bit more elbow
grease. While most of our discs are in excellent condition, we did have a few
used discs that came with scratches resulting is periodic skips and lockups on
some sensitive DVD and CD players. The SkipDR AutoMax™ worked well
in most cases except for those discs with significantly deep scratches. Conclusion
The SkipDR AutoMax™ is a big improvement to the original SkipDR
with its automatic spinning of the disc during the resurfacing process. Getting
rid of the manual crank is a great benefit for those who have used the earlier
design. The AutoMax™ can repair minor surface scratches or abrasions
from virtually any CD or DVD containing music, movie or games. We found the new
design to be very easy to use with good results for the majority of our stratched
discs. The
new SkipDR AutoMax™ is available from a variety of retail outlets
including Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, Staples and Blockbuster Video stores.
The unit can also be purchased online at www.digitalinnovations.com.
The removable radial resurfacing wheel is designed to repair up to 50 discs and
can be purchased separately for $12.99. -
Kevin Nakano | 
