kinect problem | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Sun, 17 Jul 2011 08:14:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png kinect problem | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 XBox 360 Disc Scratches – Repaired! https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jules/xbox-360-disc-scratches-repaired/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jules/xbox-360-disc-scratches-repaired/#comments Sun, 17 Jul 2011 07:45:04 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=53370 Do Microsoft XBox 360 consoles scratch discs?  Some of our readers say yes, Microsoft themselves say no. Who to believe?  Well, KitGuru's favourite expression is ‘follow the money'. If there's a problem, then you will find a business. So we did. And we did. Anthony Taylor runs a business called Disks Like New. If Microsoft …

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Do Microsoft XBox 360 consoles scratch discs?  Some of our readers say yes, Microsoft themselves say no. Who to believe?  Well, KitGuru's favourite expression is ‘follow the money'. If there's a problem, then you will find a business. So we did. And we did.

Anthony Taylor runs a business called Disks Like New. If Microsoft hardware doesn't scratch discs, then poor Anthony has no job. But he does. Draw your own conclusions.

Cost wise, it varies on the number of discs you send to be repaired. For example, a single disc can cost £4 whereas 5 discs is only £10 – or £2 each. Compared to buying a brand new replacement disc from your high street stockist – either of these prices is a bargain.

If you were expecting little old men with polishing clothes - then you'd be disappointed

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We asked Anthony what kind of situation calls for Discs Like New?

“If your Black Ops is broken, your FIFA 2011 is freezing or you suffer from hanging Halo, then it's no problem”, says Anthony. “Our state of the art disc repair machines can remove even the heaviest scratches from your XBox 360 game disc, restoring full playback once again and for a fraction of a cost of buying a replacement”.

Here's the money shot: Machines on standby, waiting to say 'Hi', with their flaps wide open

Is it just the XBox 360 that's affected and what causes the problem?

XBox 360 game discs are far more susceptible to damage than other platforms such as the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii”, said Anthony. “This is due to the consoles tendency to damage a disc if it is moved when it is switched on or subjected to strong vibrations, such as putting down a book near the machine. The actual damage caused to the disc nearly renders it completely unusable as the disc typically freezes or crashes within seconds. This is because the scratches are circular and cover the entire disc, making it impossible for the laser to read the discs data”.

“Many XBox 360 owners use the term ‘laser burn’ to describe the problem. This isn’t technically accurate as the laser doesn’t burn the disc at all, it is in fact the lens of the laser physically grinding against the disc when the console is moved, creating radial or ‘ring scratches’”, he explained.

Assuming no magic pixie dust is used, what is Anthony's preferred technology?

“Our machines work by grinding away a very precise layer of the shiny plastic side of your disc, removing any scratches and ‘laser burn’ in the process”, he said. “By removing the damage, you are effectively removing any obstacles to your games console laser reading the data on your disc. This is also 100% safe for your disc as the data is safely hidden under a thick plastic coating and this is what we remove”.

Anthony loves a smooth bottom - and he has the equipment to make it happen for you

KitGuru has seen, first hand, the way that using a Kinect on a hard floor can generate enough vibration to cause a disc-scrape. That there is a solid, reliable repair facility available to rescue your £40 games – is good news indeed.

You can find out more about Discs Like New by clicking here.

To see Anthony's devices in action, here's a video.

KitGuru says: The Discs Like New team seem like nice guys, with simple/proven technology that repairs a genuine issue with XBox 360 discs. More power to them – that's what we say!


Comment below or in the KitGuru forums – especially if you have used Discs Like New's services and have an opinion.

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Geek.com investigates XBox disk scratching, Microsoft prepares response https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/console-desktop-pc/faith/geek-com-investigates-xbox-disk-scratching-microsoft-prepares-response/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/console-desktop-pc/faith/geek-com-investigates-xbox-disk-scratching-microsoft-prepares-response/#respond Wed, 05 Jan 2011 00:02:52 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=28526 KitGuru's earlier story about XBox 360 disk scratching being reported by customers seems to have resonated with press and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. Uber tech site Geek.com has now taken an interest. Here's a quick update from KitGuru. When you consider what you get, what it does and how little you pay …

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KitGuru's earlier story about XBox 360 disk scratching being reported by customers seems to have resonated with press and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. Uber tech site Geek.com has now taken an interest. Here's a quick update from KitGuru.

When you consider what you get, what it does and how little you pay for it, the modern console is a bit of a miracle. Issues to one side, you can't really spend £150 on a PC that will give you as much as you can get from a 4GB Xbox 360 s. It really is good value.

Unfortunately, issues can occur (with any product) and they need to be dealt with. Issues which can destroy game disks costing up to £40 a time need to be nailed and eradicated, fast.

When going live with our initial report, we also contacted the appropriate people at Microsoft. We followed up again when we saw (a) how many people were posting similar stories from the KitGuru community – and (b) how the same story seems to have been repeated across many other sites.

KitGuru has now been assured that Microsoft is investigating and will come back to us shortly to clarify the situation.

We had been worried that the reported issue would be ignored, but it seems that Microsoft loves its customers a little bit more than many give them credit for and is happy to respond.

Just to be clear, things can go wrong at any time – batches can experience issues etc. What KitGuru is interested in most is the situation where someone buys a brand new XBox 360 and a Kinect device. Then, while using it properly (i.e. bouncing around like a lunatic – following Microsoft's advice to ‘jump to it') the vibrations seem to help cause disk scratching. If that happens, who is responsible for replacement media?

We feel fairly safe in calling ‘normal use leading to chewed disks' a hardware issue. So it's not the fault of the game manufacturer. It also seems unfair that the store who sold you the XBox 360 console should replace a game disk which you could have bought from another store.

Right now, it seems that the customer is being asked to foot the bill, but it's not user error either. We've seen this exact question posted on the official XBox 360 forums and there seem to be quite a lot of other Kinect owners posting with similar problems. Surely that can't be right?

With the cost of a replacement disk so high, Brett James from Geek.com is also keeping an eye on this story and how it appears to affect Kinect owners on both sides of the pond

If a similar number of disk scratching issues were found on the web regarding PCs, PlayStations or Nintendo Wii consoles, that would be one thing. But it doesn't seem to be that uniformly experienced by customers.

KitGuru says: We have been given an assurance that a repsonse will be forthcoming shortly. We have also asked about the Wikipedia entry which seems to show that the European Commission asked Microsoft for a policy statement on this back in 2007, but no one has updated Wikipedia to way what that response was (if it was, indeed, given).

Comments below please.

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