Change bitsetting on DVD Duplicators?

[wetcamelfood]

Hi, couldn't find a section @ VH on DVD Duplicators so thought I'd ask here:

All I want is a low cost but reliable 1 target duplicator to make copies from DVD+RW to DVD+R. Can anyone here recommend me a DVD Duplicator that will do this?

If possible, do you know if it's possible to have the bitsetting on the DVD+R discs I make on one to DVD-ROM (to ensure the DVD+R discs I make will play back on my stand alone DVD player hooked up to my TV)? Neither my stand alone DVD player/recorder or the drive I use to burn the DVD+RW's are hackable in this way (I had been using a Cyberhome drive that used to record on DVD+R's too but will now apparently only record on DVD+RW's this is why I'm in the position I'm in now).

I'd prefer a duplicator that is stand alone but aside from that anything goes, 1 to 1 is all I need, don't want an NEC (had bad luck with them before but am open to any other brands) I don't care how loud it is, how long it takes, what color it is, don't want to print labels, etc. as long as it does the above.

Looking forward to hearing from some of you here soon, thanks in advance fo the replies.

[wtsinnc]

If you have a PC, why not just use that ? Bitsetting is a function supported by some burners but not all; research available choices on this website and others. Keep in mind that (to the best of my knowledge), all consumer duplicators utilize proprietary copying software which doesn't support duplication of copy-protected material.

[wetcamelfood]

Thanks but as said, the burner in my PC doesn't allow bitsetting change.

Yeah I know a duplicator won't copy copy-protected discs, I get arond the copy protection when I get the movie to my PC, then burn it to DVD+RW.

Since the RW's are more expensive than the R's, I can't afford to just keep buying RW's to use as originals, so I use an RW to make an "original" then would make a copy to an R to use as my original (yeah I know, "extra copy = less quality", but the quality I've been getting from that method works just fine for me) by putting the RW I used in to my DVD reading drive and the R into my writing drive.

But again, my burner drive, for whatever reason, just stopped letting my burn R's and will now only burn RW's. So I thought getting a duplicator would be a good way around that as it would also free up my PC so I can do other things while the duplicator is running since I'd get a standalone.

Though the bitsetting would be nice (as it'd allow me to watch all my copies on all my players) it's not the priority since I can still watch the movies on my newer player, so if no duplicators allow that kind of change on the burning drive that's OK.

I'd still be interested to hear any recommendations on low cost but reliable duplicators since I couldn't find anything about duplicators on this site about that (like we can the drives/players/recorders/media etc.

As I say I don't care if it's loud and slow as long as it'll do the +RW to +R copies I need it to do & will last, so thanks in advance for any suggestions on that.

[jman98]

Just some things for you to think about...

New burners cost less than $30 US. Do you really and truly believe that it is cost effective to buy a duplicator to copy one disc at a time? Aren't duplicators hundreds of dollars?

As far as bitsetting goes, any DVD players you have old enough to require this are probably not going to last much longer anyway. I never worry about bitsetting because newer players don't need it.

Unless you are doing something weird when copying, extra copy does NOT = less quality. You can perfectly copy a DVD to a blank disc of the same size with no loss of any kind, which is why the MPAA is so concerned about piracy.

[minidv2dvd]

why don't you just buy a new dvdr drive for $30 and replace the one in the computer.

[wtsinnc]

Some basic research found no stand-alone dvd duplicators advertising a bitsetting option. If you really prefer to use a duplicator, I suggest you purchase a barebones 1-1 duplicator with the case, controller, and optional hard drive and/or USB capability if desired. Also purchase a burner which supports bitsetting; I found a number of Lite-On and LG burners which have this capability and I believe some Sony models feature this as well. Temporarily install the burner in your computer and set it as desired, then remove the burner and install it in your new duplicator. I have very limited experience with duplicators and none of it is recent but it seems that Acard or Wytron controllers offer the best price/performance ratio.

Good luck !

[wetcamelfood]

OK thanks everyone, I did think about just getting a new drive but being a newbie to this stuff I must admit I don't know how to take the old one out and install a new one, so since I've had to pay GeekSquad to do that stuff (like then putting the old one in) then it seemed a duplicator WAS more cost effective to me and it would free up my computer so I could do other things while it was copying, but you're probably right I should just get the new drive. Thanks again.

[CogoSWSDS]

Changing out a burner is as simple as opening the case, undoing a couple screws, unplugging a couple cables, slide the old drive out and the new one in, then reconnect the cables and put the screws back in. If you are uncomfortable with this and have a friend that is computer hardware savvy, he (or she) could do this for you in under 1/2 hour. Heck, tell your friend you'll feed 'em supper instead of paying geek squad... Lots of people I know would go for that.

CogoSWSDS