Sanwa's CD-RE1AT repairs beat up discs

We understand that not everyone practices safe spinning, so for those of you who've been burned by neglecting those disc condoms, Sanwa's cranked out what amounts to your morning after pill. The CD-RE1AT actually looks like a Sony Discman circa 1986, but instead of playing back your favorite Gin Blossoms jams, it spends its time removing scratches and repairing discs. Seems a pretty simple solution if it actually works, but we're not going to be the first to drop our ¥7,350 ($70) in order to find out.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

[Chris @ Jul 1st 2008 7:02PM]

I was just thinking about my old discman the other day- it had two clasps on each side and was anti-skip for 40 seconds. I always tried to make it skip just for the hell of it. Good times.

[GatgetMan @ Jul 1st 2008 10:36PM]

This is the core technology Toshiba licensed to get your DVDs "Looking Better Than Ever" And we all thought they were talking about picture quality...

[Ray @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:10AM]

For the price of one of these you could buy like 15 cans of Brasso, which was proven to work just as well as the priciest "disc fixers". It fixed all my old PS1 games and Guitar Hero II when my PS2 fell over and gashed it.

[OneLove @ Jul 2nd 2008 10:53AM]

anything to fix broken mp3 downloads?

[Saad Rabia @ Jul 1st 2008 7:07PM]

Holly falling bricks! I thought that was a discman, god forbid.

Discman: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discman

[Wormbolt @ Jul 1st 2008 7:34PM]

Someday you'll be making the same post about an iPod.

[Flashpoint @ Jul 1st 2008 7:46PM]

SEGA CD

[Eric @ Jul 2nd 2008 10:09AM]

@Flashpoint: Sega CDX, surely: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_cdx

=)

[ddub @ Jul 1st 2008 7:09PM]

Umm I would have killed for a cd player that looked like this in 1986. My first portable cd player I got in 1992 cost $200, no skip protect, and got a good 3 hours of battery life.

[Chuckles McGee @ Jul 1st 2008 7:43PM]

Yeah...did the author mean 1996?

[SPL @ Jul 1st 2008 7:10PM]

Not sure why this is news. I've used similar products from both Disk Doctor and Memorex brands for years (I have kids) with a 90% success rate on CDs and DVDs. In fact this looks eerily like my Memorex unit.

[Christian Walters @ Jul 1st 2008 7:16PM]

aye, right you are friend, I was thinking the exact same thing!

[Artie Lange @ Jul 1st 2008 7:25PM]

Yup, I have had a unit that looks identical to the one pictured. It has never worked for me. I bought it over two years ago.

[AndrewP @ Jul 1st 2008 10:23PM]

Yeah, and the Memorex one is only $20 at Wal-Mart.

[blarvh @ Jul 1st 2008 7:15PM]

Sure it isn't a disc rewinder? They look so similar.

[Fernando @ Jul 1st 2008 7:24PM]

haha, my first thought, +1

[letstakeawalk @ Jul 1st 2008 7:25PM]

It does look like a disc rewinder - I thought it looked familiar. (walks into next room) I've one, and I keep it with my disc demagnetizer!

http://www.musicdirect.com/product/72947

(all situations imagined for silliness' sake)

[Wormbolt @ Jul 1st 2008 7:48PM]

@letstakawalk

I'm speechless, particularly at the price.

[ddub @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:27AM]

I added the disc demagnetizer to my wishlist; ya know, just in case one of you guys are feeling generous.

[Alex @ Jul 1st 2008 7:36PM]

What's a disc?

:P

[Keith @ Jul 1st 2008 7:44PM]

Haha yes, we're not quite there *yet*. Nice try tho. :p

[Wormbolt @ Jul 1st 2008 7:54PM]

It's what everyone used before they got Zunes.

[Sime @ Jul 1st 2008 9:33PM]

@wormbolt.

whats a zune?

[Appdirect @ Jul 1st 2008 8:08PM]

It looks like a dreamcast.

[Mr. Vage @ Jul 1st 2008 8:35PM]

I've had this one for a few years:

http://www.amazon.com/Disc-Repair-Pro-Cleaning-System/dp/B00008AJSQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1214958765&sr=1-2

It's the exact same thing, but a lot cheaper.

It actually works really well for removing scratches. It doesn't destroy the disc like a lot of others do.

[cromas @ Jul 1st 2008 8:45PM]

Holy bad taste, batman! I generally love Engadget's sense of humor, but making a morning-after-pill metaphor is a bit distasteful for a disc repairer, no?

[phanbouy @ Jul 1st 2008 9:25PM]

Now, nobody likes a good laugh more than I do... except, perhaps my wife... and some of her friends. Oh, yes, and Captain Johnson. Come to think of it, most people like a good laugh more than I do, but that's beside the point! I'm warning this blog NOT to get SILLY again! Right!

[CBrowne @ Jul 2nd 2008 5:31AM]

@phanbouy:

Now, let's see some good clean military drilling!

[Grant @ Jul 1st 2008 8:57PM]

Finally, the infamous CD rewinder has come into fruition.
I'll take six!!!

[yuppicide @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:30AM]

This is kind of old news. These type of units have been out for awhile and why would I need to get one from overseas when you can get them right in the US?

I only wish I would have invested in one before throwing some old CD's away that had data on them. I probably could have saved some good stuff.

$36.95 for a normal unit or $489 for commercial grade.. same company. The $36.95 one got good reviews on Amazon:

http://www.adorama.com/Search-Results.tpl?page=searchresults&searchinfo=cd%20repair

[Karf @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:46AM]

At least you know that the buttons will last for over ten million pushes, while also being ultra responsive.

[J5892 @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:10AM]

Damn. You know you're getting old when you read nostalgic references to the past, and they include bands you loved as a kid.

[Skor @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:56AM]

Why pay $70 for anew product rather than buying a little disk doctor for $25? It worked well enough for me, with a 100% success rate(after a few runs through).

[ShadowKain @ Jul 2nd 2008 10:43AM]

Will it play my old NES games too? On the product side, why pay $70 when there are cheaper alternatives to getting it good enough to BURN ANOTHER DISC, WHEN THEY COST NOTHING THESE DAYS.

All you need is some cheap wipes or that disk doctor that is cheaper. Fix it...put in in your tray...and BURN another disc... not too hard guys.

[01 @ Jul 2nd 2008 4:30PM]

If you're not spinning with viynl, you're not really spinning.