tongyun

divxhacker

CD/DVD player cleaning disc by ZMAX, found in dollar stores, works great for me. It's a VCD disc with two 1-row brushes embedded in it, it comes in its own small CD case to keep it clean. No need to any chemicals - it gently brushes off any dust away from the lens. The only time you'd need a chemical is for those portable players or ultra-slimline CD/DVD players that pop the lens array out, inside the drawer. Those tend to get more dirtier than with just dust.

The disc has a couple of generic videos as well as some karaoke songs, some with odd zoo videos accompanying the songs, like "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep," with video of horses. Oh, and this somewhat romantic karaoke song, which I've never seen anywhere at all: YouTube - Boy and Girl Karaoke Song

Canned air (trichlorofluoroethane) with the nozzle pointing at the lens array, in short puff bursts, also helps. DO NOT USE LONG BURSTS AS LIQUID GAS WOULD CAUSE CONDENSATION RESIDUE ON THE LENS - you'll wreck the player that way!!!

O-O

This always works for me with any electronic piece of equipment. Come to think of it, I use this stuff everywhere, in my car's air conditioning ducts, crevasses between my apartment furniture, and even my counter tops too.

Orrymain

I love canned air, but I don't know how to see the lens. I think the disk you mentioned is best for me. Do you happen to know if this is sold online anywhere?

divxhacker

Yup, here on eBay: NEW LASER LENS CLEANER GAME PLAYER X-BOX CD-ROM DVD VCD - eBay (item 400025833496 end time Jun-18-09 20:05:30 PDT) Under $6, from a U.S. seller, too!

If that's gone, look for one from a U.S. seller in this search: VCD lens cleaner, Electronics, Computers Networking items on eBay.com

(Links will be edited as old ones expire. Bother me about it, please!)

CptlA

Buyer beware of cheap lens cleaning kits!

Orrymain

Thanks mucho for the information!

divxhacker

Right, you have to make sure they're not just brushes taped on a disk - they have to be rooted in the disk.

I've tried the cheap ones, they work for a very short time. Then they develop hazardous problems. I lost a good CD-recorder that way.

CadDad

Great info. I've used a few of the cheap lens cleaning kits before, and they've worked just fine for me, but I guess it all depends on which brand you choose.

feuan

this is a great information.