DVD Duplicator on the cheap

FiddlerMD

FiddlerMD

Well-known member
I have a need to occasionally burn several dozen to a few hundre dvd copies for clients. i looked into dvd duplicators but they seem kinda overpriced. so far i've been going the cheap route of doing it manually 1 by 1.. it's not so bad but it can get annoying (the most i've had to do so far was 125). Anyhow, i thought of doing something like this:

External enclosure with power supply - tehcnically this can be any computer case but i prefer the smaller ones.. i've found one with 3 bays for about $50.

drives - you can get good NEC / LG / Sony / whatever 16x burners for about $30 from newegg

now the tricky part is the interface. i know proper duplicators have controllers and yeah u can buy 1 for about $150 from acard or the likes but i already have a perfectly functional computer and a copy of nero which supports burning to mulriple drives so i'm thinking of using usb to ide converters - they're just little cables and then house a usb hub inside the enclosure..
basically i'd just have a power cable and a usb cable to the enclosure and then split everything out inside. my only concern is whether usb will be able to handle the bandwidth of burning 3 dvd's at 16x simultaneously. I know about the whole "480mbps" but we also all know that that's not a sustained speed and that in real-world conditions you usually dont get that kinda throughput.

have any of you tried running several burners externally at the same time in a similar configuration?
are there better options?

I'm basically going for low cost, and at the prices i found for the parts (assuming i buy new and not used), a 3-drive system would run about $170-$180.

it would be great to do sata sinec it doesnt have the speed limiations of usb but i dont know of anything equivalent of a "hub" for sata
 
2 x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815108103
4 x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106057
1 x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147073
1 x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170014

220 USD, To start up the PSU you will need to wire the PSU's 20Pin connector to the power switch on the front of the case, like so
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/directron/2psfig7large.jpg

Good luck!

PS: your Machine that is running this better be damn fast.
 
I can't get this link to work for me in China now but I trust they are still in business:

http://www.cooldrives.com/usb20cdrwdvd.html

They have all the kinds of stuff you're looking for. I would go eSata personally. I don't trust burning one DVD over USB let alone 3 over one cable. I doubt very seriously that it would work well. I also don't know how reliable the multi-burner capability of Nero is so unless someone else has experience with that here you may be a pioneer.

To do eSata you would use a converter that converts the spare SATA / SATA2 plugs you're not using on your motherboard to eSata connections that are available at the back of the computer. This doesn't have any circuitry on it, its just a physical plug converter from one type to another. Then you run one eSata cable to the external enclosure for each drive. Its a pricey solution for sure with all the small interface hardware and cables plus the enclosure too.
 
well,

if you already have a working computer and want to go really cheap, why not go internal.

Most cases have at least 3 exterior 5.24" bays (I'm assuming yours does as well)

if you have a floppy, take it out and use that bay.
so you can put 3 dvd burners in there (no need to buy a case) and connect them directly to the motherboard.

Hopefully your power supply can handle powering 4 devices. (1 main hard drive and 3 dvd burners)

There you go. Cheap.

3x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136114
the LG ones are getting really good reviews..
 
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I did the same for a while until I figured out that my time is VALUABLE.

Then I bought a Rimage i360 and now go to bed at at a decent hour.

360ilg.jpg
 
Hey Matt, how many does that thing batch at a time? What's quality of the prints?
 
your going to come across 1 big problem ..most dvd burning sofware will only let u control i drive at a time ..u will have to find a software that lets u control all ur drives at the same time .......ur best bet is to go with ....MICROBOARDS ...they are the best and are much cheaper now days
 
mcgeedigital said:
I did the same for a while until I figured out that my time is VALUABLE.

Then I bought a Rimage i360 and now go to bed at at a decent hour.

360ilg.jpg
Click to expand...


In a similar vein, I'd highly recommend the Primera Bravo SE - especially if your space is tight!
 
FiddlerMD said:
i looked into dvd duplicators but they seem kinda overpriced. so far i've been going the cheap route of doing it manually 1 by 1.. it's not so bad but it can get annoying (the most i've had to do so far was 125).
Click to expand...


what program were you using when you were doing them 1 by 1?

im in the process of doing 30 copies liek that and i want to make sure they are reliable and work

im using dvd studio pro
 
Also do most home DVD players support Dual Layer DVD +R? and what is a good duplicating machine that supports dual layer?
I've tried burning a bunch of dual layer dvd and they won't play on my old xbox and my old dvd player. I wonder if the new dvd players for home use can read dual layer dvd now?
 
i use Nero 7 and havent had a single coaster yet. the drive i use is an NEC 3520 in a firewire enclosure. I use Verbatim DVD-R printables.

as far as compatibility goes, DVD-R is the safest route for older players - dont' know about dual layer - never tried
 
siniarch said:
Also do most home DVD players support Dual Layer DVD +R? and what is a good duplicating machine that supports dual layer?
I've tried burning a bunch of dual layer dvd and they won't play on my old xbox and my old dvd player. I wonder if the new dvd players for home use can read dual layer dvd now?
Click to expand...


I wouldn't use dual-layer recordables for any important distribution... playback is pretty touch-and-go.
 
mcgeedigital said:
I did the same for a while until I figured out that my time is VALUABLE.

Then I bought a Rimage i360 and now go to bed at at a decent hour.

360ilg.jpg
Click to expand...

After reading many reviews here, on other videographer forums, and on general consumer review boards, I went with this machine. It may be that I just got a lemon, but it has been a nightmare! I purchased it new from B&H in Nov 2007, and after perfectly publishing about 20 discs, it began to exhibit the following problems. The following is an excerpt from my recent email to a Rimage rep:

Now that I have print cartridges I am able to test this machine. Again, with my projects being severely delayed, the machine is doing the exact same thing it was doing prior to my sending it for repair. When I called to check the status of the machine, the tech told me that the machine had been repaired, certain parts replaced, and it had been tested by printing 100 discs. Well, again, it seems unable to take a disc out of the input bin and get it into the drive consistently. I have to do that manually for about 1/2 of the discs being published. Once the burning is done, the machine cannot take the disc out of the drive without dropping it. I opened the front cover to see what was preventing this, and it appears the robotic arm pulls the disc against the side of the drive and causes it to fall back into the drive. This happens to about 9/10 of discs being published.

I should add that I use Taiyo-Yuden DVD-R discs. I tested it again using RiDATA DVD-R discs and both problems occur less frequently, but still do occur. There is no mention in Rimage's advertising or the instructional manual of specific manufacturers' discs being needed for this machine to function properly.


I sent the machine in for repair on 15 Dec. After absolutely no courtesy emails to tell me repair status, return status, etc., I called and they informed me it would be delivered during the week of 14 Jan. They returned it, WITHOUT PRINT CARTRIDGES. After I sent them a nasty-gram informing them of this, they overnighted the cartridges. Well, the above is an email I sent today (after the repair).

I am totally unsatisfied with this machine, and utterly flabbergasted by Rimage's poor customer service. At no point in the processing of the tech service did any rep apologise for or even acknowledge the inconvenience of dealing with a busted machine that was supposed to ease my productivity during the busiest season of my work. I do all the fine arts performances for a local school district--5 projects total were delayed because of this. And since my primary priority now is to complete this final project, I am currently babysitting the Rimage 360i, waiting for the error beep so I can slightly move the robotic arm to the side each time it takes a disc out of the drive in order to print it--because otherwise it will drop the disc. The whole babysitting deal was supposed to be removed by purchasing an automatic disc publisher. :furious3:

Anyway, I'll stop ranting.
 
Can you not daisy chain the drives together so the computer thinks theres only one but four drives do the same thing....
 
Bummer Vaughn, but thanks for the heads up. I'm still doing them one at a time the good old fashioned way.
 
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