rudedog
10-15-2005, 01:59 PM
Everybody know that awful feeling you get deep down inside, when you realize your favorite game, music, movie or software disc is scratched. You first try and gently wipe the bottom of the disc off, then you do the shirt/pants swipe to find out it does not play or install anymore. Developers don't let you make backup disc and frown on using the so called "NO-CD" cracks, mostly because it does promote piracy.
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/thumb_tin.JPG
That's where d_skin® Protective Disc Skins® comes in. They have a new product out that simply snaps onto the bottom of your disc to take all that day to day abuse. This protective layer will sacrifice itself to protect your media. The d_skin®, actually stays on the media disc, while you use it in your optical drive(s).
What actually is a d_skin® Protective Disc Skins®? "d_skin® Protective Disc Skins® are a combination of the latest developments in micro-resin engineering and hi-tech manufacturing. The patent pending laser transparent Skin® and micro-engineered outer ring technology are breakthroughs in disc protection. The ultra-thin Skin® forms a protective barrier around your discs that render them nearly impervious to scratches and the cruelties of an active life. The outer ring is securely fused to the laser transparent Skin® to keep the Skin® firmly attached to your discs at all times, even while they play."
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/tech_illust.gif
Let's go ahead and take a look at how there packaged. d_skin® Protective Disc Skins® come in different quantities. The ones I picked up at my local Staples came in a metal tin that included 5 protectors, for about $5.99 plus tax. They also had a spindle of 50 for $49.99. I've also noticed a 20 pack online at Wal-Mart. More on availability and pricing at the end of this review.
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/thumb_contents.JPG (http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/contents.JPG) http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/thumb_side%20skin%20only.JPG (http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=179&fullsize=1)
click to enlarge
Now that we have the tin can open, lets install one.The first thing you'll want to do is carefully clean the data side of your disc of any surface dust or light scratches. Once clean you simply take a d_skin® and snap it onto the bottom of the disc. Keeping in mind not to put any fingerprints on the inside of the d_skin®. The protector has 8 tabs to secure it to the disc, make sure all 8 tabs are snapped on and in place.
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/thumb_close%20up%20tab.jpg (http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/close%20up%20tab.jpg)
click to enlarge
Not that you have your d_skin® installed, simply place the disc in the drive and get ready to enjoy, scratch free gaming and or movies.
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/normal_close%20up%20disc.JPG
[break=PC game testing]
[B]Let the gaming begin....
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/normal_top%20of%20disc%20with%20skin%20on.JPG
The main reason I purchased the d_skin®, was that I noticed my BF2 DVD had some DVD tray scratches. The ones that are caused by the disc spinning against the bottom of the DVD tray when the drive spins down. I've never taken this disc out as I have 2 DVD-RW drives in my gaming box. This is what lead me to want to protect my media.
I simply cleaned any dust or dirt from the bottom of the BF2 DVD and carefully snapped the d_skin® onto the bottom of the disc. I made sure all 8 tabs we securely fastened to the disc. I placed the newly skinned disc into the drive and fired up BF2 v1.03.
At first I was concerned with the hi speed of the DVD player. I had thoughts of the protector coming off and destroying the internal workings of my LITE-ON 1773S drive. However this never happened. I did not notice any difference in game loading, playability or any ill effect with the d_skin® installed. I've been playing with the skin installed now for about a week. The only difference is, I'm not worried about scratching my BF2 DVD anymore.
[B]Let the fat lady sing. Next test was to see how they perform in my home CD player. This is an older Carver tray loading CD player. I grabbed one of my thirteen year old daughter's CDs (one that was not already scratched) and again following d_skin® installation recommendations, cleaned the disc and applied the skin. I popped the disc into the CD player and did not notice any difference in the way the disc sounded or any increase in loading times.
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/normal_compare.JPG
Compared with and without d_skins
Next, I then give my truck radio a test spin <- no pun intended. The radio in my truck is a CD/DVD Navigation system, IVA-D900 by Alpine . This is a slot loading CD/DVD in dash drive. This time I used a CD-R with some of my I Tunes music burned onto the disc. I applied the skin to the CD-R and began to listen to some of my music music. This time I did notice it taking a second or two to start read the disc. After reading the disc, it played and I was able to pause, skip back and forth between tracks as well as eject the disc over and over without any noticeable changes in the audio.
[B] It's show time.. Onto what I think is one of the best area's for this product, DVD movies. DVD movies are usually one of the hardest things for kids to return to their rightful place, their DVD cases. Especially if you have kids under 12. If they are like my kids, then you have a stack of movies on top of the DVD player and a bunch of empty DVD cases in the corner.
Again, applying a skin to one of my unscratched DVD movies resulted in no noticeable change in loading times or a decrease in movie quality.
Do you Want to Play a GAME... The last test was using the d_skin® on both an Xbox and PS2 game. Both game boxes seems to take a couple seconds longer to load but again no noticeable difference in gaming on a console.
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/normal_disc%20skin%20bottom.JPG
So far everything I could throw at it worked without any noticeable difference or any compatibility issues. While looking for some online pricing I did notice a couple minor complaints from customer reviews at Circuitcity.com (http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetailReview.do?oid=111099&com.broadvision.session.new=Yes&BV_SessionID=@@@@1862209741.1129383493@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccladdfmgfgidfcfngcfkmdffhdfki.0) .
One individual complained about his XBox games not working or freezing up, while another said, that they scratched his GTA disc so bad the game freezes constantly. If you follow the directions and clean the disc, you should have no problems.
The protector is is designed to sacrifice itself to protect your media. If the protector gets scratched you remove it and replace it with a new one. It's a small price to pay to keep your games/movies/music and software discs safe.
Most stores that sell recordable media have them, Gamestop, BestBuy, Buy it now, Radio Shack, EB games, Target, Borders, Wall Mart, Media Play, Sam Goody, ShopKO, Pamida, Game Crazy, Ritz Camera, CompUSA and Staples are listed on their web site as selling d_skin® Protective Disc Skins®.
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/normal_tin.JPG
The best price online I could find was, a $2.00 for a 5 pack on EBay, Click here (http://froogle.google.com/froogle?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGGL,GGGL:2005-09,GGGL:en&tab=wf&scoring=p&q=d_skin&btnG=Search+Froogle) to find the best prices online
Pros:
- Easy to use
- No noticalbe issues with any type of media
- safe to use on different types of optical and home DVD drives
Cons:
- Cost , but they can be found online for under a buck a piece
[B] FPSadmin.com gives d_skins 9 or of 10
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/thumb_tin.JPG
That's where d_skin® Protective Disc Skins® comes in. They have a new product out that simply snaps onto the bottom of your disc to take all that day to day abuse. This protective layer will sacrifice itself to protect your media. The d_skin®, actually stays on the media disc, while you use it in your optical drive(s).
What actually is a d_skin® Protective Disc Skins®? "d_skin® Protective Disc Skins® are a combination of the latest developments in micro-resin engineering and hi-tech manufacturing. The patent pending laser transparent Skin® and micro-engineered outer ring technology are breakthroughs in disc protection. The ultra-thin Skin® forms a protective barrier around your discs that render them nearly impervious to scratches and the cruelties of an active life. The outer ring is securely fused to the laser transparent Skin® to keep the Skin® firmly attached to your discs at all times, even while they play."
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/tech_illust.gif
Let's go ahead and take a look at how there packaged. d_skin® Protective Disc Skins® come in different quantities. The ones I picked up at my local Staples came in a metal tin that included 5 protectors, for about $5.99 plus tax. They also had a spindle of 50 for $49.99. I've also noticed a 20 pack online at Wal-Mart. More on availability and pricing at the end of this review.
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/thumb_contents.JPG (http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/contents.JPG) http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/thumb_side%20skin%20only.JPG (http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=179&fullsize=1)
click to enlarge
Now that we have the tin can open, lets install one.The first thing you'll want to do is carefully clean the data side of your disc of any surface dust or light scratches. Once clean you simply take a d_skin® and snap it onto the bottom of the disc. Keeping in mind not to put any fingerprints on the inside of the d_skin®. The protector has 8 tabs to secure it to the disc, make sure all 8 tabs are snapped on and in place.
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/thumb_close%20up%20tab.jpg (http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/close%20up%20tab.jpg)
click to enlarge
Not that you have your d_skin® installed, simply place the disc in the drive and get ready to enjoy, scratch free gaming and or movies.
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/normal_close%20up%20disc.JPG
[break=PC game testing]
[B]Let the gaming begin....
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/normal_top%20of%20disc%20with%20skin%20on.JPG
The main reason I purchased the d_skin®, was that I noticed my BF2 DVD had some DVD tray scratches. The ones that are caused by the disc spinning against the bottom of the DVD tray when the drive spins down. I've never taken this disc out as I have 2 DVD-RW drives in my gaming box. This is what lead me to want to protect my media.
I simply cleaned any dust or dirt from the bottom of the BF2 DVD and carefully snapped the d_skin® onto the bottom of the disc. I made sure all 8 tabs we securely fastened to the disc. I placed the newly skinned disc into the drive and fired up BF2 v1.03.
At first I was concerned with the hi speed of the DVD player. I had thoughts of the protector coming off and destroying the internal workings of my LITE-ON 1773S drive. However this never happened. I did not notice any difference in game loading, playability or any ill effect with the d_skin® installed. I've been playing with the skin installed now for about a week. The only difference is, I'm not worried about scratching my BF2 DVD anymore.
[B]Let the fat lady sing. Next test was to see how they perform in my home CD player. This is an older Carver tray loading CD player. I grabbed one of my thirteen year old daughter's CDs (one that was not already scratched) and again following d_skin® installation recommendations, cleaned the disc and applied the skin. I popped the disc into the CD player and did not notice any difference in the way the disc sounded or any increase in loading times.
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/normal_compare.JPG
Compared with and without d_skins
Next, I then give my truck radio a test spin <- no pun intended. The radio in my truck is a CD/DVD Navigation system, IVA-D900 by Alpine . This is a slot loading CD/DVD in dash drive. This time I used a CD-R with some of my I Tunes music burned onto the disc. I applied the skin to the CD-R and began to listen to some of my music music. This time I did notice it taking a second or two to start read the disc. After reading the disc, it played and I was able to pause, skip back and forth between tracks as well as eject the disc over and over without any noticeable changes in the audio.
[B] It's show time.. Onto what I think is one of the best area's for this product, DVD movies. DVD movies are usually one of the hardest things for kids to return to their rightful place, their DVD cases. Especially if you have kids under 12. If they are like my kids, then you have a stack of movies on top of the DVD player and a bunch of empty DVD cases in the corner.
Again, applying a skin to one of my unscratched DVD movies resulted in no noticeable change in loading times or a decrease in movie quality.
Do you Want to Play a GAME... The last test was using the d_skin® on both an Xbox and PS2 game. Both game boxes seems to take a couple seconds longer to load but again no noticeable difference in gaming on a console.
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/normal_disc%20skin%20bottom.JPG
So far everything I could throw at it worked without any noticeable difference or any compatibility issues. While looking for some online pricing I did notice a couple minor complaints from customer reviews at Circuitcity.com (http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetailReview.do?oid=111099&com.broadvision.session.new=Yes&BV_SessionID=@@@@1862209741.1129383493@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccladdfmgfgidfcfngcfkmdffhdfki.0) .
One individual complained about his XBox games not working or freezing up, while another said, that they scratched his GTA disc so bad the game freezes constantly. If you follow the directions and clean the disc, you should have no problems.
The protector is is designed to sacrifice itself to protect your media. If the protector gets scratched you remove it and replace it with a new one. It's a small price to pay to keep your games/movies/music and software discs safe.
Most stores that sell recordable media have them, Gamestop, BestBuy, Buy it now, Radio Shack, EB games, Target, Borders, Wall Mart, Media Play, Sam Goody, ShopKO, Pamida, Game Crazy, Ritz Camera, CompUSA and Staples are listed on their web site as selling d_skin® Protective Disc Skins®.
http://www.fpsadmin.com/gallery/albums/userpics/normal_tin.JPG
The best price online I could find was, a $2.00 for a 5 pack on EBay, Click here (http://froogle.google.com/froogle?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGGL,GGGL:2005-09,GGGL:en&tab=wf&scoring=p&q=d_skin&btnG=Search+Froogle) to find the best prices online
Pros:
- Easy to use
- No noticalbe issues with any type of media
- safe to use on different types of optical and home DVD drives
Cons:
- Cost , but they can be found online for under a buck a piece
[B] FPSadmin.com gives d_skins 9 or of 10