If you've decided to make copies of your favorite DVDs and CDs (just in case) or to give to friends and family who are always borrowing them and driving you crazy, help is at hand. On the other hand you may be doing business that requires you to duplicate large volumes of DVD or CD disks.
If you want to duplicate a DVD or CD there are a number of duplicators to choose from, from 1:1 duplicators for home use to larger 9 bay duplicators suitable for your business needs.
In order to buy the right technology to duplicate a DVD or CD you first need to determine what you needs are in terms of duplicator speed, formats, throughput and many other considerations.
So what features should you look for before you buy?
* Duplicator Drive Speed
DVD and CD duplicators feature drives that record at different speeds. A 1x duplicator speed indicates that data will be copied at one times the speed of playback and a speed of 4x means it is copied at four times the speed and so on.
The higher the duplication speed, the faster the CD or DVD will record. If you will be dealing with high volumes of time-sensitive data choose a duplicator with the highest recording speed you can afford.
* CD and DVD Format
At present there are two formats of recordable CD or DVD that are compatible with CD and DVD duplicators. These are CD/DVD-R and CD/DVD+R. There has been much debating at to which is a better format and consequently most drive manufacturers make a dual drive that can support either one. I really is a personal choice.
* Throughput
Consider how fast you need to duplicate your DVD or CD discs. If you use a 1:1 duplicator it may only have a throughput of a couple of DVDs each hour. A higher capacity 9 bay tower can duplicate in excess of a hundred DVDs per hour.
