Customer Reviews

Maxell BR-LC Blu-ray Lens Cleaner

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

I purchased this item, the Maxell BR-LC Blu-ray Lens Cleaner, and it was delivered on October 27th, 2009 along with other items in a rather medium sized order. I purchased it after having done some research through Google and various electronic/gaming websites for the best lens cleaner to use on a Sony PS3. This item was highly recommended.

Backstory: I have one of the last model backwards compatible PS3s sold new on the market, an 80GB model. The PS3 worked flawlessly throughout the first year and one month of owning the system as I was able to throw just about any media I wished into the slot drive and play it. Shortly after the release of Resident Evil 5 the PS3 started to not read discs correctly. I had purchased Resident Evil 5 one weekend after release date and could not play it as the PS3's drive would not read the disc correctly. I went through all the steps; backup, format, install. Called Sony, called Capcom, each blamed the other. Sony wanted $150 plus shipping to service the unit.

As I am usually inclined to do I found a workaround: if I played a PlayStation2 disc or a DVD in the unit for 30 minutes then all Blu-rays would read just fine after that. Load time was still horrible, anywhere up to five minutes for the disc to show up in the XMB, but it worked. I have been doing this ever since.

Salvation at Hand: I received this item and immediately opened the package. It comes in a nice Blu-ray style case so that it matches the rest of your collection. The instructions are on both the back of the case and under the disc itself. The holes on the disc are a bit smaller than one would expect until you realize that to safely clean and not cause any skip during spin the holes would need to be that size.

My PS3 had been off all night and had not been turned on at all. I hit the PS button on the Sony Bluetooth Remote (not a DualShock 3) and booted the unit. After the XMB came up I inserted the cleaner disc. It mounted very quickly showing that it was indeed a DVD and not a Blu-ray disc. I hit "enter" and away the disc went.

While the visuals that play during the cleaning process are nothing to write home about they also aren't bad. They are something to look at while the disc does the job it is supposed to do. The visuals depict the cleaning of the lens, and how it is accomplished, by using simple computer animated CG workflow. After about four minutes, give or take, the cleaning process was complete.

(There are other standard options on this disc such as audio testing for both 5.1 and 2.0 speakers. They are a welcome inclusion but as stated they are pretty much standard on all lens cleaning discs.)

I ejected the disc and promptly inserted Batman: Arkham Asylum into the PS3. Not more than seven seconds passed before the disc was mounted and ready to launch. The stuttering issues that I had been having during the game, especially when entering a new area that required a disc read, were gone.

Later in the day, around eight hours of shutoff time, I booted the PS3 once again. I inserted a copy of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Again the disc mounted in record time and has played flawlessly. All media I could play when the unit was under one year old now plays again.

The Maxell BR-LC Blu-ray Lens Cleaner does what it is intended to do without any qualms. I paid less than $15.00 for the item here on Amazon, but even if it were to go up to $40 it would be a very wise investment for anyone who owns a PS3 or Blu-ray player. Even those who do not but want to keep the integrity of the lens of their DVD units should purchase and use this item. It works perfectly and does not need to be replaced as there are no brushes to wear down. This should be your first and will be your last Lens Cleaning solution for your electronics.

I have an original 60gb PS3 that was starting to have problems reading discs. I would frequently have to re-insert the disc 3 to 4 times before it would read it. I was worried the laser was going out as that is a common problem with the PS3, but I bought this hoping it was just a dusty laser. After running 1 cleaning cycle my PS3 now reads every disc the first time. I would recommend it to anyone with a PS3, or Blu Ray player.

My PS3 read some games and others not.I was worried because I had to replace the original lens from the PS3 two years ago, however I used this lens cleaner and problems solve. My PS3 lens' wasn't broken, just dirty adn maxell's product solved the inconvenient.

Let me start by saying, like the title says, if you can't play Blu-Ray discs in your PS3, but can play everything else, then this is a must read. Don't bother with this product if you are having this kind of problem, it's a waste of money and doesn't solve anything, and whether or not it actually works is still debatable. It will work in anything that is DVD based, so maybe it works for other players, but for the sake of this review, let's focus on the PS3.

Simply put, if your suffering the issues described above, then cleaning the laser won't do anything. The laser diode for the blu-ray component of the laser is dead, and thus the whole laser needs to be replaced. I suppose you could send it to Sony, as long as it's under warranty. But of course, mine wasn't, and believe me, I ain't paying $150 just for them to replace something that, surprisingly, can be easily replaced and is considerably cheaper to do myself. You may need to do research on what type of laser you need and that depends on what model you have (mine's the original 60GB), but there's more than enough information about that elsewhere. eBay is strongly recommended for a good and fair priced laser of the type that you need. There are also plenty of videos on YouTube detailing the process of opening the PS3 and replacing the laser. Also, just a warning for those going through with replacing the laser manually: be careful when putting the blu-ray drive back together, because the outer plastic shell acts as the auto-loader for the drive, and if a certain small piece of the unit is out of alignment, it will not properly read the disc, as well as fail to eject it, meaning you'll have to take out the disc you put in manually (i.e. reopen the drive). There are videos of this problem detailed on YouTube, and I strongly suggest you watch them so you know what to expect.

I hope this was helpful in some regard, I know it's not detail for detail, but basically it's really about knowing what laser you need and how to replace it. And I don't wish to write out every detail that there is about this problem, I mean it's a review, not a tech guide. Overall, don't bother with this cleaning kit if you have the problems I described, and got buy what you really need, a new laser.

As suggested by another Amazon reviewer, I purchased the Maxell Blu-ray Lens Cleaner as a first step to resolving a start-up issue with my BD player. I was experiencing a gradual increase in "Disc Error" messages with rental Blu-ray discs, which the player would then eject. After I upgraded the player's firmware, I would still get the occasional message. When it happened with my own Blu-ray disc that had played earlier with no issue, I decided that my one-year old player needed servicing. However, after a little on-line research, I decided to heed the reviewer's advice. I ran the Maxell Blu-ray Lens Cleaner's Clean Cycle twice and the problem was solved - even with rental discs. The smart thing about the disc cleaner is that it makes no direct contact with the lens avoiding the chance of scratching the lens. The cleaner disc has several features in addition to the Clean Cycle. These are all accessible via the disc's on-screen menu display. It's easy and quick to use. None of this should be a surprise as Maxell is a successful company known for quality products for the recording industry as well as consumer electronics. As the earlier reviewer said, this is an inexpensive first step to servicing your player. RECOMMENDED!

I bought this blu ray cleaner as my Samsung blu ray player was skipping. At first I thought it was my DVDs but brand new DVDs would also skip. Once the disc cleaner came in I immediately placed it into my Samsung player. After abt a minute or two it was done. My player no longer freezes after only one use. Worth every penny. I now use this cleaner on all my other blu ray players and PS3 as preventive maintenance.

This cleaner does a great job at removing foreign particles that might be stuck to your lens. It does that by "blowing them off" with the air flow created by small holes in the disk. It won't fix smudges that might have somehow found their way onto your lens. For that you need a "wet system" and there is anecdotal evidence that those things can cause problems if used incorrectly. It won't fix a misaligned lens. For that you need to have your player fixed or replaced.

Given the alternatives, this is an excellent first step. If it works then you've solved the problem with little cost or risk. If it doesn't then you can escalate to the other solutions available.

(For the few times I've had problems with reading disks, this thing has always worked.)

This system works great and the lack of brushes and chemicals means less chance of damage to your system. There are two different versions of the lens cleaner, this one and Maxell BR-LC Blu-ray Lens Cleaner. The packaging is slightly different, this one has the word blu-ray in larger print. This one also costs more, almost twice as much if you take into account the shipping charges. However, the Maxell part numbers are identical; they are the same thing.

By all means buy this brushless system to clean your blu-ray (or PS2) lens and be sure to search all of Amazon for the best price.

This is my first Blu-ray player which I've had for over a year now. After over a years worth of playing.... picture & sound was still excellent, but I knew that this would not last forever, if I did not keep my Blu-ray player in tip top condition. With my old DVD player I had to clean the lens every couple of months with the old Maxell lens cleaner, with the small brush build into the disk, if i did not want the picture to start freezing up on me !

Intuitively I knew that I should not use my old Maxell lens cleaner on my Blu-ray player ...... so I did some internet research, & glad I did; for I found out, I could knock my Blu- Ray lens out of alignment. I trust Maxell , & did not want to mess around with the other kinds of Blu- ray lens cleaner that involved liquid !

The patented wind tunnel technology made a lot of sense to me, for their is no contact with the delicate sensitive lens. My whole theory is prevention, & upkeep for my Blu-ray player, & I trust Maxell to help me do just that !

All in all Maxell has been around for years . I'm sure most of you remember the breaking glass commercial on television back in the day.A good old American product that has withstood the test of time !!

My Blu Ray DVD was getting a break up and pixels on some rented DVDs. Happened more when the DVD was older. Ran this lens cleaner through the DVD player and it seems to have taken care of the problem (so far). Easy to us and it walks you through the process to clean, but also to align audio. If it seems to do the trick, it was a good value for the price. I was afraid I would have to replace my Blu Ray DVD.