An Employee Standard Operating Procedure ( SOP )
For Optical Disc Mediums in Video Rental / Loan Operations

Second Edition, Updated July 11, 2001
DVD Forum Video  (using Quick Shield and Quick Shield ND)

PART 1
 Overview of Sealing your Media.

I. Introduction

Video Rental operations as commercial enterprises & Public Institutions who loan optical media including DVD, CDROM, PS2, XBOX media, & Laserdisc media to a customer base are being confronted with a whole new challenge as the changeover from VHS and game cards to these optical mediums accelerates. This presentation is offered as a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) document and is targeted toward the employees of these commercial and public venues for rental or loan of Optical media.

When you integrate this document into your entities operations manual, these particular goals should be met.;

Combined these goals become cornerstones to the successful transition to optical formats in rental and loan applications. If followed accordingly the utilizing venue should experience fewer problems than would otherwise take place.

These 2 versions of Quick Shield are companion products just like a primer and the paint that goes over it. We strongly recommend that all media be treated with this one two punch as your best defense against the effects of routine handling. Remember that Quick Shield and Quick Shield ND work together. They build up on the surface making every disc treated better. These products are laser neutral, they can't effect the reflectivity of the laser so they are 100% safe in this regard.

II. The NEW OPTICAL Media's DVD, DVD R, XBOX, Playstation X. etal.

The Optical Disc has been around now for many years. Some estimates are that the installed base world wide of all optical mediums is around 10 Billion units. This staggering number is primarily made up of the Compact Disc variety popularized by the Music and computer industries. Lesser numbers of discs in other categories such as Laserdisc, and other more obscure formats of optical which never took hold in the marketplace, make up the balance of the first and second generations of optical media.

With the advent of DVD a whole new ranges of applications are being written. DVD and its variants are the 3rd generation of Optical media. Not only is the momentum for DVD strong in the Computer and video game industries, but the predominate driver of growth is taking place in the Video industry, which up to now has been dominated by VHS tape.

This momentum will accelerate as new game formats such as PS2 and XBOX begin to penetrate the marketplace. Most of planned new game formats are or are scheduled to be DVD compatible, this increases the necessity for a proactive hands on awareness of the handling, protection, storage and repair of the discs themselves.

Every Medium new or old has its unique characteristics. The new media is no different. DVD, PS2 and DVD Writeable to name a few keep an enormous amount of information in the same size space as the old reliable CD’s. This means that the discs themselves are more susceptible to the effects of handling than the older CD’s. The picture below shows a side by side comparison of a typical DVD and a typical CD. 

The Images above clearly demonstrate the huge increase in data written to a DVD format compared to a CD. Take a moment and place your finger on the image of the DVD, note how many of the pits you are covering! Do the same for the CD. 

This little exercise simply demonstrates to you what happens when a surface smudge, scratch or just plain grime from hand oils is laid on the discs surface. It covers more of the data, obstructing the lasers ability to properly reflect and transfer the data. Hence these new media are MORE sensitive to handling than older generations of discs.

Every Scratch on the surface of a disc, splays out minute tears in the polycarbonate, which is what the discs are made from, these splays deflect the lasers return path and many symptoms show up on the viewers screen. Some of the common ones are artifacts or mosaic patterns, Pops and hisses or complete abrupt stops. Each is annoying to the viewer and needs to be minimized.

Every finger Print leaves a residue behind. If the previous renter had dirty fingers the chances of a problem increase for the next renter. Clean Dry hands are good for the media. Dirty or wet soiled hands are bad for the discs. All Handling of a discs surface can cause playback errors to occur. Think of a NEW DISK like an unlaminated restaurant menu!  Truth is they don't last long, handling and the residues left behind make them unappealing and in need of replacement very soon.

 Dropping particles from food, or beverages, or laying a disc down on an unclean counter, table or other place, subjects the disc to whatever is there at the time. None of these things are good for the disc, so do be careful. The difference between one accident or another means sometimes absolutely nothing will be affected, while other times, these accidents can cause total failure. The Margin for error is small, so please be careful.

III. The Best Defense is a good Offense.

Instructions for NEW DISC Protection: CD PLAYRIGHT invented a proprietary formula to seal a discs surface Called Quick Shield Formula ND.   ND will minimize the damage done in the course of Routine handling of the discs, by staff and customers.  Familiarize yourself with these bottles and lets get some protection on the media, before you put it into your rental pool. What you'll need before starting are;

Quick Shield & Quick Shield Formula ND are water based so you do not have to wear protective clothing or gloves. If you spill it, the area could become slippery, so please make sure the cap is screwed on tight and the pump is pointed in the direction you want to spray.

Remove a DVD from its package; some storage boxes require you to push a center release tab, please familiarize the type of packaging that is in the stores, if you are not sure ask your supervisor to show you the ins and outs of the different styles of cases.

Never Pull a disc out of its case from the center hub, it stresses the bond between the two sides, if this is done often enough the center hub can crack making the disc susceptible to all sorts of problems you do not need or want. Be careful, take the time to be familiar with packaging, and if you are at all confused, ASK someone, tell them this manual says ASK, before risking damage.

Assuming you've successfully removed your new discs from their cases;

To see a Video Demonstration of this click here!

Some stores have implemented a team approach where a couple of your shift partners will team up together spritzing and drying, moving right through a whole bunch of media in a short period of time. Kind of reminds a lot of us 40 something's of what we did at home before they invented dishwashers. The key is to focus on what you are doing, its important to the business and the customers that rent or use the discs. These times should be taken seriously. Everyone down the line will appreciate your attention to these details.

Lastly, keep an orderly work space. Even if your work area is a stack of boxes covered in towels, do not forget to put all your materials in a storage area according to the system your store has decided upon. Clean up any spills, place the towels you are using in a plastic baggy with a sealable top, and be proud of the job you just did.

On GOING CARE Routine Maintenance

Since we just covered the practice of sealing New Discs, your experience now should help you with the practice of using 4 oz Quick Shield Part # 524 at the sales counter to keep your media in great shape every time it goes out the door.

Your Stores check in / out area is alive with activity, so getting in the habit of providing routine maintenance of discs coming in or going out of the shop is an on the fly job. Hence to be prepared a team approach during busy times is the best practice to keep the customer flow from being interrupted. This requires just a few things;

1. The Cloth you put in the baggy after finishing the check in and treatment of new discs, should be at the register ready to quickly wipe down outgoing or incoming rental discs. Doing this gives you a moment to do a quick inspection of the disc, helping you identify problem customers. Some people couldn't care less if they damage the disc, it's always easy to blame someone else who handled it before them.

This SOP helps you standardize a procedure and a practice for checking and maintaining your stores discs. When there are lines, its important to Quick Check the media, so simply hold the disc up and wipe it with your cloth. Putting it right back into its case unless you detected heavy scratching, dirt or something that tells you that this disc might be bad.

Telltale signs of a bad disc include;
1. Deep Scratches clearly visible on the surface.
2. Many light scratches visible on the surface
3. A Disc that is full of grime, dirt, dust, food or any other foreign substance.
4. Excessive finger prints that look grimy.

The Red and Yellow lines show where the data is encoded at the time of manufacture. CD data is twice as deep and the number of data points encoded are substantially less. Hence a scratch on a DVD is far more likely to cause playback errors than CD Discs.

Take all scratched media which customers have complained about, and set these aside.

You may be able to use Quick Shield to correct the problem, especially if the scratches are very light and not very deep.  

A Greater number of scratches and deeper scratches must be resurfaced. CD DVD PLAYRIGHT has provided your business with Repair Materials to correct the damage of these discs. Set these discs aside and alert management to the problem. Management will assign staff to begin the repair process. Ask before proceeding on your own to try to repair a disc.

Training to Use the Repair Procedure.

The Most effective repairs are done by people who have practiced the procedure and read all of the Instructions. Management can do tests with employees with a strong aptitude for detail by providing an AOL disc or other disc received in the mail. These discs can be used for testing an employees ability to follow instructions, and complete a successful repair.

Time is of the essence, and practice makes perfect. Please experiment before beginning this process.

Storage Cases and Mailing DVD’s

An often overlooked component of a successful DVD care and maintenance program gives consideration to the way DVD’s are stored and the effects of the actual storage device on the disc itself.

CD / DVD PLAYRIGHT Recommends that DVD’s treated with Quick Shield and Quick Shield ND should only be stored in cases which lock the center hub in place. Much of the damage which occurs in non locking cases such as paper or cases without a locking center hub occurs when the disc itself contacts the paper or plastic as it moves around in its packaging. Therefore abrasive stock should be avoided as a storage medium.

You can easily tests the various paper options available on the market by securing samples and then proceed to take the following steps.

1. Take an unblemished CD or CDR and place the disc inside the paper sleeve under consideration.

2. Place your hand under one side of the CD so that you have control it and bring the CD into contact with the paper sleeve rubbing it against the paper. Do this for 10 to 20 seconds.

3. Remove the CD and look closely at the surface. Is it scratched from the contact?

4. If the answer is yes, that paper stock should not be used to store your media.

Certain paper mailers in use will damage the discs, therefore you should always use a plastic case or even a jewel case for shipment and those cases should be equipped with a locking center hub.

Taking these steps will reduce problems with any disc being stored and or transported therein.

The Repair Procedure will be talked about in detail as Part 2 of this SOP.
Please check back before Proceeding