Is something different about duplicator towers?

[sdsumike619]

I'm looking at this product:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00DYAT1WQ/ezvid02-20

and some people say it's really "fast." Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only difference between the DVD burner in a duplicator tower vs the one in my desktop computer is that there's just more of them in the tower, yes?? There's nothing special about burners in duplicator towers, they don't burn faster or do anything different than a regular DVD drive.

[filmboss80]

I have one DVD burner in my computer and 10 DVD burners in my duplication tower. In the amount of time it takes to burn one single DVD in my computer, I can burn 10 DVDs in the duplication tower. No, the burners don't run faster; the simultaneously running of many burners at one time is what makes the difference. It would simply take tenfold the amount of time needed to burn 10 DVDs on my computer. Volume runs are where the time efficiency matter comes into play.

The duplication tower does not have a computer motherboard, but rather a controller card that runs many burners at one time. It does that job very well.

[sdsumike619]

Ok that's what I thought, thanks for confirming.. I wonder if it's cheaper to build a duplicator tower or buy one that's already built?

[filmboss80]

It CAN be far cheaper to build your own, but you have to know what you're doing, and you must have the right parts. For example, the case and power supply for a duplicator tower are not the same as those made for computers. Unlike a computer case, a duplicator case has internal slots for the drives and controller from top to bottom, and there is no motherboard mount. Likewise, a computer power supply, which is designed to be powered on an off by a motherboard, is going to be problematic in a duplication tower. That's just for starters.

I don't know your abilities or budget resources well enough to offer a recommendation, one way or the other.

[Brainiac]

Agree with all that has been said. I have a duplicator tower and 2 drives in my computer. The time savings with the tower is the major benefit.
One peculiarity with the tower is that all of the dvds have to have the same media code in order to burn.

Brainiac

[sdsumike619]

I researched a bit and have to disagree about it being cheaper to build your own. Unless you already have the parts laying around:

For a 1 to 5 duplicator:

6 best rated at Newegg Samsung burner drives @ $19.99 each
1 duplicator case w/ power supply @ $75
1 Acard or similar controller ~$85
That comes to $280 without any SATA cables.

You can buy an already built one from Amazon for $258 and free shipping.

[filmboss80]

Indeed, you researched only "a bit," but if you think all DVD burners perform the same and all power supplies have equal reliability, then by all means buy that inexpensive Amazon device. It does not look like that particular tower will copy from hard drive or USB; just from discs.

[sdsumike619]

The highest rated burner on Newegg, with over 5400 reviews is an ASUS at $19.99, how much better can you get? It's actually the same burner I have in my computer right now, never had a problem with it. What burner would you recommend anyways? Copying from the hard drive is a PITA I learned with standalone duplicator towers because you can't just load the hard drive with a bunch of ISOs on it. The duplicator has to make the ISO from the DVD, then you have to name it. And from what I learned, it's not any faster to use a hard drive than it is to read from the source DVD.

[filmboss80]

Are those ASUS drives inside that el cheapo duplicator on Amazon? I don't think so. You're just making my point for me. The reason you build your own is that you can customize it with the reliable components of your choice, for the best price in terms of quality. And if you shop around and get on the vendor's e-mail list, you can buy bulk for greatly reduced prices. (BTW: Did you read all the reviews on that Amazon duplicator? The ones who just make CDs may rave about it, but there are reports of high failure rates among some of the DVD people.) Are you looking for cheap or reliable? And if reliable, are you seeking the best bang for the buck?

The hard drive preference is to ensure persistently reliable quality from your source; never worries about reloading a damaged or worn-out source disk. Acard controllers partion the HDD for each DVD title and access the source quicker than a disc can spin up. (And my outfit masters to the DVD standard VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folder structures, so I can't answer about .iso structures, though I don't think it would be any different.)

Look, do what you wish to do; it is no sweat off my fanny. You came to this forum seeking EXPERIENCED advice, and I tried to offer my insight. If you're just looking to argue, I'm not going to waste my time. It seems your decision was already made before you came here.

[smitbret]

The highest rated burner on Newegg, with over 5400 reviews is an ASUS at $19.99, how much better can you get? It's actually the same burner I have in my computer right now, never had a problem with it. What burner would you recommend anyways? Copying from the hard drive is a PITA I learned with standalone duplicator towers because you can't just load the hard drive with a bunch of ISOs on it. The duplicator has to make the ISO from the DVD, then you have to name it. And from what I learned, it's not any faster to use a hard drive than it is to read from the source DVD.

I'm pretty sure that his point was that the cheap tower would not have DVD Burners that were the same quality as the Asus.

[sdsumike619]

No I'm not looking to argue. It looks like that duplicator has Samsung drives in it, so if anything, I'd get the barebones kit and add my own drives as you mentioned. The cost would be only a few dollars more. Do you like Acard controllers the best based on your experience?