Burn 3 DVDs at a time

[Dimava]

Hi guys, I know that this is a video-centric website but some of you may know of a solution.

At work we create backups nightly and we are supposed to burn a one-day snapshot of them once a week. A full backup set is typically 4 DVDs (we use winrar to span them), and we need to make 3 copies of each. One copy stays in the office safe and two copies go home with various executives for additional redundancy.

Is there any solution which will allow us to burn 3 DVDs of the same file at a time? I was looking into the DVD Duplicators, but those need a source DVD, which almost defeats the purpose of investing into one for our needs.

Are there any USB duplicators or something of that nature that would allow me to burn 3 copies of the same rar file at a time?

thanks,
Dimava

[aedipuss]

i know alcohol 120% can make use of more than one dvd writer at a time. all drives all have to be the same make/model/firmware iirc. there is other software that can do it also but i can't remember which.

[redwudz]

Nero Burning ROM can do that using multiple burners fairly easily. Not that hard if they are all the same files.

[Dimava]

Thanks for the reply, I know Nero does it too, but what kind of system specs would I need to do it? I have burned 2 at a time in the past and it seemed to really hammer on at-the-time fast CPU

[redwudz]

Not so much a problem with the CPU/RAM speeds, but may be a fair load on the IDE interface. With XP, I would use 1GB RAM, a CPU in the 2Ghz or more region and put the files on other than the boot drive and it shouldn't be a big problem. Most any new computer should handle it fairly well. Also watch out for background virus scanners or other programs running that may be dragging down the system.

[Dimava]

Do you think that one 7200 rpm drive should be able to support all three to be burned at the same time? I just spec'ed out a system using all SATA connectors, but only using one 7200 rpm drive

[videobread]

I burn to multiple drives using Instant Copy 7. The content is not protected. It is my own. Drives need to all be the same with the same firmware version to work.

[redwudz]

Having a hard drive separate from the boot drive can often make a big difference. You don't need a super fast hard drive. Optical drives are slow devices in comparison. Even using SATA connections. Nero and similar burning programs buffer (cache) the contents of your burn data to a hard drive, so a separate drive can help considerably with most setups. You can set the cache location in Nero in 'Preferences'.

As mentioned, the best performance from multiple optical drives is when all drives are exactly the same, including firmware.

[Richard_G]

Duplicators can be had which include a hard drive and USB connection.
http://www.edgedupe.com/05_edgedupe/...s_13_n551.html
or http://www.acard.com/english/fb0101.jsp?type1_idno=4

[seadoxpl]

Why not just get 3 seperate usb hard drive setups and set up auto backups then take them to their off site locations nightly?

Probably even costs less then dealing with all of the duplicator price and hassle.

[dun4cheap]

Buy some external firewire case and put the drives in them. The firewire bus does not utilize the processor so it does not tax the system. I have burned to 4 at a time using this method. I have since moved to a duplicator but still the other method worked well.

[sandralink]

I would opt to an external firewire drives or dvd duplicator
1-to-3 should be fairly inexpensive, for example
http://www.editordirect.com/Editor-D...B000WEDEGG.htm
or search on amazon.

[obs]

Psst ... eSATA, not 1394.

I've written three discs at the same time (1 SATA, 1 IDE, 1 USB), but only at 4x (I prefer writing at CLV speeds), using Nero 7. I don't think 8x would have been a problem, though.

[filmboss80]

I built my own 1-to-3 dvd duplicator for cheap. Check out this site: http://www.ocie.com.

[danielheldman]

I found one for $509 using Sony drive
http://www.musiciansbuy.com/Ezdupe-1...-EZD3TDSO.html
Another one for $354 using Pioneer
http://www.timelinedigitalinc.com/st...gets-p-48.html

I guess there is no difference between Sony and Pioneer.
Can anyone tell?

[Richard_G]

Most Sony writers are rebadged other manufacturers and not particularly good either. Pioneer writers are widely regarded as one of, if not, the best you can get. Pay less money for a better product and an 80GB hard drive too.

I can tell the difference, about $145.....

[danielheldman]

My Sony DVD reader can not read most of my backup DVDs and after I switch to Acer, there is no problem at all.
What about the burner compatibilities with cheap DVD media?

[[_chef_]]

My Sony DVD reader can not read most of my backup DVDs and after I switch to Acer, there is no problem at all.
What about the burner compatibilities with cheap DVD media?

Has really nothing to do with that, the most important thing is the used burner / media combination.

[danielheldman]

Any suggestions on the media?

[[_chef_]]

Verbatim and TY.

[classfour]

I've burned to three differently branded/speed drives with Alcohol without issue. I wouldn't brave that with Nero. Media is always TY or Verbatim.

I built my latest 1 to 3 duplicator unit using a barebones system from copystars.com and three NEC and an Asus drive that I had laying about. Have about $300 in it.

[danielheldman]

NEC burner!!!! I got bad luck with NEC in the past.

[classfour]

NEC: The only issue that I've seen with any thus far was a stuck drive - the tray wouldn't eject: Which I fixed in very short order without a disassembly. Burn quality has been good, no coasters. The one criteria that I have adhered to is to not max out the drive: I will burn media below the rated speed, and have never exceeded 8X with any drive. To date: I have yet to have a DVD burner fail, from the likes of NEC, Panasonic, Plextor, LiteOn and Sony.

BTW: The burners in the duplicator are all identical NEC 3520A's, so maybe that is why I haven't any problems with that particular device. But with the one exception that I mentioned, I haven't had a problem with an NEC.

I did have problems with a Benq drive that I installed a couple years back, but it was crap right out of the box - a firmware update cured that.

[brucejackson]

I found one for $509 using Sony drive
http://www.musiciansbuy.com/Ezdupe-1...or-3-Target-So ... 3TDSO.html
Another one for $354 using Pioneer
http://www.timelinedigitalinc.com/st...r-duplicator-t ... -p-48.html

Check again, timelinedigital is selling $319 not $354, where di you get the number from?

[harrisonford]

Do not use celron, they have issues over time with alcohol 120, another program that works is discjuggler.

Have at least 512 meg of main memroy unshared, 1 gig will work better, duo CPU will make using IDE 4 burners more stable.

CPU with at least 512k of L2 Cache, One meg and 2 meg are better.

Of course most important is .... having no programs running in the back ground.

Japanese made disk are best, second Ridata as long as you don't run the last 400 meg, the edge does not play well on alot of dvd players, Sony RCA Toshbia Panasonic tend to be the worst type of DVD players.

[brucejackson]

Japanese made disk are best, second Ridata as long as you don't run the last 400 meg, the edge does not play well on alot of dvd players, Sony RCA Toshbia Panasonic tend to be the worst type of DVD players. <<<<<<<<
What about OptoDisk? I heard they do OEM for SONY.

[lordsmurf]

Ridata is not great.
Verbatim and Taiyo Yuden are the best two discs.
Daxon OEM's for Sony, to Sony's specs with SONY codes.

[brucejackson]

What about white inkjet printable media?
I use a bulk ink system for epson and don't know if Taiyo yuden media works out well or not.
It is about 47 cents each.. OUCH!!!!

[obs]

Verbatim makes hub inkjet printables that you can find in big box stores. Wait for sales . Might have to wait awhile, though ...

[lordsmurf]

It is about 47 cents each.. OUCH!!!!

Ouch? I hope you're joking.
Compared to all other forms of media (CD, VHS ... paper, ever), 47 cents per piece is super cheap.