Setup of the CD Dimensions DVD Duplicator Tower

video showing the removal of the unit from the double boxed shipping carton and removal of plastic bag covering unit.  Save your box!

Operation of the CD Dimensions DVD Duplicator Tower

The actual operation of the DVD duplicator on video.   Two cycles disc to disc.  A very easy and simple DVD duplicator unit to operate.

Features of the CD Dimensions DVD Duplicator Tower

We built in features for professional  production duplication of CD-R and DVD-R/DVD+R

Does speed matter in a DVD Duplicator?

A DVD duplicator that can burn at up to 24x needs recordable DVDs that can maintain that speed, even if it is the last Gig of the disc. We have seen the increase in drive speeds independent of recordable disc technology.  It is possible to burn a DVD at a higher speed then the recordable DVD is certified for but it can go only so far.  We have seen an increase from the maximum recording speed of 16x to 18x, 20x,22x and now 24x. It serves little purpose to the end user unless they want to say ‘it goes to eleven’.

Epson Discproducer

Epson, late to the game in the realm of CD and DVD duplication introduced the Discproducer PP-100 back in 2008. The PP-100 followed several other manufacturers offering of a high performance disc printer engine however Epson put a twist on it by using its own technology instead of the “other” printer manufacturer, HP. Epson introduced their ‘MicroPiezo’ technology which uses a piezo (think of a “joy buzzer”, that is a Piezoelectric device) electronic device to vibrate the ink through the print head nozzles to spray a carefully calibrated amount of ink onto the disc. Unlike other CD printer technologies Epson does not use heat (thermal inkjet) so the ink droplet size is very uniform. Another innovation was the introduction of the AcuGrip technology that like other robotics uses three ‘fingers’ or grips to grasp the CD or DVD recordable disc in the center and separate any discs sticking together. As consumers have demanded cheaper blank DVDs the quality has decreased with the net effect of CD and DVD discs sticking together (the lacquer is not fully cured because the production line is moving too fast). Although the Epson PP-100 only burns CDs at a maximum of 40X it can burn DVDs at 12x. These numbers may seem lower then “rated” drives but Epson is giving you a real life scenario and not drive maker ‘spin’. Another first for Epson was the support of Microsoft Vista. Total Disc Bridge Software tools are available for developers and integrators.

Epson Discproducer PP-100N Automated CD DVD Duplicator

Epson’s new introduction is like a breath of fresh air. Network attached DVD duplicator auto-loaders are an extremely useful appliance to have in the work group. The Epson Discproducer PP-100N can be plugged into a local area network as a server and be sent jobs from client work stations on the network. Having all the features of the original PC connect the PP-100N has an embedded processor, hard drive, LCD display and a locking cabinet to restrict access.

Epson Discproducer PP-100N Security Automated CD DVD Duplicator

The Epson Discproducer PP-100N Security model builds on the network version by adding hard drive disc encryption, limited access control to finished discs and a security mode that requires each job be approved by a assigned password protected administrator before it can go to publishing. This provides an excellent means of protecting data and keeping confidential information secure. The PP-100N Security is an excellent compliment to any HIPPA compliance program within the healthcare industry.

Original article is by Kris Fong, Macworld.com   Macworld Buying Guide: Optical drives

small quote on this “..To see which formats are supported by the optical drive in your Mac, click on the Apple menu and select About This Mac. Click More Info, which opens System Profiler, and in the left Contents column under Hardware, select Disc Burning. The right pane displays all formats your Mac can read and write. Pay attention to the “write” formats, noting the “+” and/or “-” stats, and purchase discs that bear this info.”

Macs have been tricky with the orginal superdrive which was DVD-R only.

This is the final chapter with the DVD Duplicator doing what it’s supposed to do: record and print discs automatically.

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Sans Digital RAID Video array

It’s an interesting process to put together a video for DVD recordable.  First you have to have a camcorder that records Digital Video or “DV”.  MiniDV is the most popular and what I use.  Recording can proceed in any order you like.  This can all be edited later into clips and rearranged  so it a matter of convenience.   After you have recorded enough material for your DVD movie then you are ready to load it up into your hard drive for editing.   It’s important to have editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro and a scratch drive like the Sans Digital MOBILESTOR 2UT which works great for editing.  It has two SATA hard drives running in RAID 1 (mirrored drives).  This gives great performance and with the FireWire connection high speed with video.  The MOBILSTOR 2UT provides a USB 2.0 connection (very useful for formatting the drives) and a FireWire 800 connection that can be used with the 1394A standard  FireWire400.   FireWire is faster in video applications then USB 2.o    USB 2.0 works fine in a lot of applications (slow in transfer but it works) so I’m not telling anyone to go run out and buy FireWire unless you are editing video. I transfer the MiniDV tape contents to the scratch drive and then import the file into Adobe Premiere pro.  Then I cut up my video and arrange it into some kind of sequence (a script would be nice)  Bring in my audio clips and then it can be encoded for DVD or various player formats.

MF Digital Live Event Recorder 5606

MF Digital Live Event Recorder has evolved from the early days of Live CD recording to DVD recordable format support. MF Digital recently announced Live Video support for the Live Event Recorder  and a new model number Live Video Event Recorder 5606.   Release date: February,2009 This device allows the user to capture live video, then automatically authors a professional looking DVD from a choice of themes, and finally duplicates the disc to 6 or more drives simultaneously. This is a just-in-time solution with discs produced within ten minutes of the end of video capture.

As the MF Digital Live Video Event Recorder has Gig bit network capabilities also many exotic configurations can be utilized with this type of system.  The Live Event Recorders rely on Windows XP home for non-network applications (non-domain) or XP Pro for domain based networks.  The 5505 and 5606 are referred to by MF Digital as KVM models which means they use a monitor, keyboard and mouse for operator operation (purchased separately).  As I get more technical data I will post here.

CD/DVD duplicators are the workhorse of many industries including independent music groups, Church and Ministry, sports organizations, marketing groups, Videographers,   Education and software development and distribution.  they are not used for some kind of nefarious production of pirated discs.  In reality the business of pirated discs is done on the very same production lines that create the valid copies of software, just at night when the factory is supposed to be closed.  The Chinese government has been cracking down these operations but they are the true face of piracy.   It’s not China: it just happens to be China this time around. It happens  all over the world.

DVD duplicators, DVD Publishers and DVD Copiers come in several distinct groups. The terms are somewhat loose in meaning and in the case of DVD Copier it is used for both software copying (Usually illegal, at least in the US) and hardware DVD copiers which can not circumvent copy protection.

DVD Copier: DVD Duplicator Tower Rackmount DVD Duplicator

DVD Duplicator Tower

This type of disc duplication equipment is a bunch of recording drives connected via a controller which manages all the recording functions.  The duplicator can have a hard drive for storing disc images temporarily or long-term.   These systems are manually loaded and unloaded.  Each disc requires a person to insert a disc and remove a disc.  No printing is done with this type of system with the exception of  light Scribe drive equipped duplicators.  Microboards Technology carries a line of this type of  DVD copier (and in a sense a DVD Publisher).  Light Scribe prints in black and white in high resolution.  It’s major disadvantage is speed.  Although with optimized  labels it can be done quickly the unit still requires an operator to flip the discs over so that the laser can “etch” the image on the label side.  DVD copiers can record CDs and DVDs as long as they are not copy-protected.  DVD copiers are also called DVD Tower Duplicator or Rackmount DVD Duplicator depending on the enclosure configuration.  As I had mentioned earlier there is some confusion in the market between what a DVD Copier does and is.  Leave it to the masses that it at least in a search engines database it is for illegally breaking encryption and not the hardware version that shows up lower in search which can not break encryption.  One turns the DVD copier on, waits for the controller to “boot up” and you then you are ready to load your CD-R discs or DVD-R and DVD+R,  DVD+R DL blanks and master disc.   The master disc (the disc you want to copy) can be loaded into the hard drive as an ISO image or the disc can be copied on the fly. If you are trying to copy a disc you got over at your local rental store it will not work.  The units will not copy  discs with copy protection, CD or DVD.  One would have to look elsewhere for that capability.  Some DVD duplicator towers and rackmount DVD duplicator units are equipped with Daisy chain connections. this allows one unit to share the disc image with all the other connected towers so you can take one master and produce 2000 copies at one time.  200 ten bay towers would do the trick.  DVD copiers are the fastest method of producing recorded DVD discs.  Their cousins the automated DVD duplicator and DVD publisher are slower but do not get tired or have to be paid.  They can run through the night using robotics and gravity to move the disc from a input spindle to a recording drive and then to a printer if it’s a publisher or to the output spindle if it’s just a duplicator.

DVD Duplicator: Automated DVD Duplicator, Auto Duplicator, Disc Duplicator

R-Quest TCA-1800 Autoloader

DVD duplicators have many of the same attributes that DVD copiers have with the difference that A DVD duplicator autoloader is equipped with robotics or some kind of singulator: a device that drops discs using gravity and a circular aperture that allows one disc to drop at a time.  The Auto  DVD duplicator can run unattended for a long time and that is it’s primary advantage.  It’s “lights out” limit is based around the amount of discs it can hold in the input and output spindles.  Discs can be pre-printed to speed up the process of duplication.

DVD Publisher: Automated DVD Duplicator Publisher,  Auto Publisher, Disc Publisher, Printer Disc Duplicator

R-Quest Disc Publisher

DVD Publishers differ from DVD duplicator autoloaders in that they combine a DVD printer and DVD duplicator so the discs can be burned and printed.  Printing technologies include inkjet, thermal and thermal re-transfer dye sublimation.  The requirements of a autoloading DVD Duplicator and a DVD Publisher are about the same except for additional label software that is needed for the label design and layout.  Adding printing to the process is convenient but can slow down the duplication process depending on graphics and burn times of the recordable discs.  It’s key feature like the DVD Duplicator auto-loader is unattended operation.

Happy New Year!