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.
So now you know a little bit more about what to look out for but are probably asking yourself (and me) how the recording process works and what choices are available to you. There are two ways to duplicate a DVD or CD:
* Manual DVD Copying
* Automatic DVD Copying
You will need to decide which duplicator type best suits your production demands.
How They Work
Manual DVD Duplicators
If you choose to duplicate a DVD or CD manually you just place your DVD or CD manually into a drive/s in your pc or multi-drive tower. The duplicator then makes a copy or copies of the original disc. Manual duplicators offer a speedy solution because they allow several DVDs or CDs to be copied simultaneously.
The only real downside is that they do require some stand-by labor to re-feed the drives during the copying process. There are manual towers which feature auto-loading compatibility but these are far more expensive that standard manual duplicators.
Auto-loading Duplicators
If you need high volume duplication with virtually no physical operation then an auto-loading tower may be a better choice. All you need to do is put a pile of plank DVS or CDS into the hopper and hit the go button. This type of duplicator has space for between fifty or eighty discs on each recording run. This type of duplicator can stand alone or be PC based.
Brand Names to Look Out For – Which One to Buy
Look out for the top names in duplicator technology like U.S. Digital Media, Rimage, Media Technics, Microboards and Primera with drive technology from Pioneer and NEC. All CD and DVD Duplicators feature a standard equipment manufacturer warranty and in some cases extra warranty benefits with certain models or retailers.
Retailers are offering DVD or CD duplicators at pretty affordable prices these days so if you want to get on the band wagon, now is the time. It isn’t hard to duplicate a DVD or CD, in fact, these little wonders make it child’s play. Your reasons for wanting to duplicate DVD or CD may be very basic or business oriented but your duplicator should make things easier for you. Keep this is mind, and select one that acts as a digital assistant!