Page 1 of Blockbuster and cleaning their rental DVDs

In response to a query by -OZ- about the policy Blockbuster have regarding the cleaning of DVDs in between rentals for their customers, I have today received this reply from Colin Hawkins of Blockbuster:

"Dear Mr Fountain
Thank you for your e-mail dated 1st May regarding DVD in our stores.
At present Blockbuster Entertainment does not have any set policy on the
cleaning of DVD discs between rentals. However, in the near future we will be
supplying all of our stores with the necessary cleaning equipment to ensure
that all rental DVD discs are free from dirt and fingerprints.
I hope that this clarifies the situation and if I can be of any further
assistance please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely
Colin Hawkins UK Customer Service Advisor"

So it looks like no longer will you be renting sticky and smudged DVDs in the near future :)

Mark
DVD Reviewer

Thanks very much Mark, i`m sure I wouldn`t have got the same response as just another member of joe public. Ahhhh how the power of the online media grows......
I think they were being economical with the truth, i mean if they don`t have cleaning equipment now and they do not clean in between rentals then it IS their policy NOT to clean them. Anyway.....
Hope they sort this out soon the dvd`s are getting worse and worse, I finally went and got a cleaning kit because of this.

Anyone tried that CD/DVD cleaning device that looks like an air raid siren?

Its made by Digital Innovations, URL is here:
http://www.digitalinnovations.com/

Well I haven`t tried any scratch repair stuff yet so no.
However the cleaner I bought was a cdrom cleaner from pc world for a tenner. It works with an alcohol solvent and the circular motion of a cleaning pad. Since that digital innovations thing has a handle I assume it works in a similar way but with a repair substance instad of the alcohol.
Bearing in mind rentals get far more abuse than anything else, I would go for a simple cleaner, as I have seen very few dvd`s so far with bad scratching. What they do have doesn`t affect playback. It is the dirt/grease that is the main problem, hence the need for a cleaner. Certainly beats cleaning it with washing up liquid and running it under the tap, :)

In a way I wish they had made the dvd standard to include a housing for the disc, then we wouldn`t have these problems.

btw what about a review of the most cost effective cleaning products?

This item was edited on Wednesday, 3rd May 2000, 13:16

Good idea, someone add it to the list, heh. Reviews we do have coming so far include:

Lasonic 2000 player
Davis Cinema One DLP projector
Hollywood+ decoder card
and possibly various PC software decoders as well