How do I pick a good Duplicator?
StorDigital Systems and associates have compiled this document to outline the principles to be considered when buying a CD or DVD/CD Duplicator.:
When deciding on purchasing a duplicator, there are a number of key elements to consider when determining which unit and brand would fit your needs the best. Even though price is a strong determining factor, keep in mind what you're getting for the price; will the unit perform as needed? Will the unit grow as your needs grow? Will the company stand behind the product and provide the support you need when you need it? Is the company looking out for your best interest or their own? Most importantly, will the company be around in the future or will they disappear as soon as you need them?
Just like purchasing a computer, home appliance, or even a car, pricing varies depending on performance, reliability, brand name, and manufacturer support. So when you're selecting a duplicator, don't just consider the price, but pay particular attention to these 3 key elements:
- Design & Component material
- Manufacturing, Testing, and Shipping procedures
- Customer Service and Technical Support
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Design & Component material
When you look at the ProBurner duplicator from StorDigital, the first thing you notice is the unique look and design. This attractive design not only differentiates itself through its appearance, but through the use of higher quality and more effective components and parts. It's those parts that ensure a better performing and longer lasting duplicator. There are a number of duplicator providers who just throw components together without taking into consideration quality or effectiveness. The ProBurner is not assembled with the standard parts and low cost components others use; the ProBurner is designed to answers to a higher calling, yours! The following components show the added value of the ProBurner over the competition:
Manufacturing, Testing and Shipping procedures For Duplicator
Even if you use the best components and materials to build the duplicator, if the proper care and knowledge to assemble them is not performed, then you will not have an optimized unit. The ProBurner is assembled by the most knowledgeable and skilled technicians and every duplicator has to pass a 72 hour continuous burn-in test before it's ever released to the public. The ProBurner is assembled under the strictest Quality Control conditions to ensure every unit sold meets the highest standards in quality and performance.
Customer Service and Technical Support For Duplicators
Our relationship with the customer does not end after the unit has been sold. The ability to speak to a technician whom is knowledgeable and available when you have questions is a key component when deciding on a duplicator to purchase. Every ProBurner sold has the full backing and support of StorDigital. Our Tech Support will be available to assist you with any question or difficulty the customer may experience for the life of the product. Even though every ProBurner has a full one year parts and labor warranty, our technicians will be available to walk you through any problem or questions you may have from the first day to the last as long as you own the ProBurner duplicator. Our technicians work with you directly and actually have technical training and knowledge of every single duplicator to ensure you get prompt and accurate answers and service. Unlike some fly by night companies looking to make a quick buck who are never available or capable of providing answers or service, we stand behind the products we sell and the customers who buy them.
If a duplicator uses the same number and brand of drives, why would I spend more for one brand of duplicator over another?
Even though the drives are an integral part of a duplicator, they are still just one determinant in a sum of parts that generate an optimal duplicated disc. Take a car for example. Two cars could use the same engine, but the mechanics to make the engine work will determine the type of performance the car will get from the engine. Those added components have varying costs and when you use better quality parts as stated above, it will slightly increase the costs. The price for some of the most important components that dramatically affect the performance of a duplicator can vary by a lot. Take the controller for instance, the price can vary from $10 to over $100. The power supply can differ between $30 ~ $80. This specially designed 500Watt** power supply provides the most reliable and stable voltage for the duplicator ensuring the unit will not die prematurely. The standard steel case compared with an aluminum case can differ between $40 ~ $80. All of these elements are necessary to get the best performance out of the duplicator.
**power supply wattage depends on the size of the duplicator and the number of drives. Will two different brands of duplicator perform the same if they are using the same brand and model of drives?
The answer is No. Two separate duplicators using the same drives will not perform the same if other components differ. The part that has the most dramatic affect on the duplication quality is the controller and the internal temperature of the duplicator. A controller is like the brain of the duplicator which controls all of the signals and commands going directly to the drives. A good controller not only has a larger capacity memory, but also the type of operation system programmed inside is extremely important. While others may use cheap generic controllers, the manufacture of the ProBurner devoted a lot of time and effort into developing their own highly optimized and advanced controller. The controller for the ProBurner ensures a more stable duplication with dramatically enhanced compatibility for the drives used.
How does the ProBurner extend the lifespan of the drives/burners?
The 2 most dangerous elements for any drive are heat and dust. While the drives are in use, they generate a significant amount of heat. In order to prevent the drives from overheating and burning out, a fan is needed to pull the hot air out and suck in fresh air to cool the drives down. The fans built inside of a ProBurner use a ball barring system, instead of the cheaper plastic solid fans used by many other duplicators, to ensure stable and continuous ventilation. The problem is, the fresh air has no means to enter the duplicator other than through the front of the unit going directly through the front of the drives. This causes the second major threat to a drive, the culmination of dust on the laser head. Unless you're working in a completely dust free environment, there will be dust particles in the air. As the air is sucked through the front of the duplicator those dust particles will collect inside the drives and cloud the laser head. The laser head is the optical nerve center of the drives and conducts the process of burning onto the discs. Just as if your eye glasses developed a built up layer of film and dust on the lenses it would be harder to see through them, the same is true for the laser head. As the dust accumulates it makes it harder for the laser to perform forcing the drive to work that much harder and reducing the lifespan of the drive. The ProBurner is specially designed with a special “gill” venting system on each side of the case to allow the air flow into the machine without passing through the drive face. This eliminates approx. 80% of the harmful dust from entering into the drive itself and landing on the laser head.
Should you have a hard drive installed in a DVD duplicator?
A hard drive is highly recommended for any DVD duplicator. Even though a DVD has the same physical dimensions as a CD, DVD's contain 6 times more information within the disc compared to CDs. That means the density of a DVD disc is significantly higher than a CD.
What affect does blank media have on the quality of the copy from the duplicator?
The type and quality of the blank media is one of the most important factors concerning the duplication quality.
If you use the same blank media, will you get the same results no matter which duplicator you use?
No. Even if you use the same media, the duplicator itself will have far different outcomes depending on the brand used. In order to prove this, there is a scale called P.I.P.O which is used for testing the burn/copy quality of a duplicated disc. The quality is determined by the compatibility between the drive and the disc. Using this analyzing procedure, even using the same disc, when you duplicate with different burners the P.I.P.O will come out different. The ProBurner utilizes special software in the controller to run the drives which are specially designed specifically for multi-drive duplication.
