Produplicator 1 to 7 24X Burner CD DVD Duplicator - Standalone Copier Duplication Tower

Very good product. I have been using an older automatic duplicator but it started acting up so I went back to burning one-at-a-time using my computer's drive. I could get about 4-5 per hour that way. I recently had and order for 150+ discs of a video I recorded for a school show. I didn't look forward to the prospect of spending close to 40 hours just feeding discs. So I started researching duplicators and found the Produplicator line of products. The 1-5 unit fit my budget. I chose the M-Disc unit simply because I wanted to see what that format is like. My current need doesn't require it, but it was a nice bonus. I haven't had a chance to play with that yet though. The unit arrived well packed and from the outside it looks like a small to midsize tower PC. The instructions were very straightforward and complete. I normally like to just fire equipment up and try things out without the instructions. For me, if the interface isn't intuitive out of the gate I know I will be having to consult the manual every time I use it because I will have forgotten something. The interface on the this Produplicator is pretty simple and the unit boots very quickly which is nice since I only power it when I have some duplicating to do so being able to get going quickly is a big plus. I'd rate the out-of-the-box-no-instruction operation at a 7 on a scale of 1-10. Because the LCD is just a couple of lines, there isn't a lot of clues as to how to get going, but since this isn't meant for a pure novice that's okay. Without consulting the manual I was able to put in a master and fire off copies in about 10 minutes of looking around the hierarchical menus. I have subsequently taken time to look over the manual and have since setup some options. I've come back to the unit a couple of times now after long (days) breaks and had no trouble remembering the simple stuff. One aspect of this unit that I didn't care for was where in the tower the control panel is placed. The master drive is on top with two duplicator drives below it followed by the control panel and 3 more duplicator drives below that. With drives 2 & 3 open the controls are sandwiched in between and it's hard to see the display or reach the controls. Although I probably voided some warranty, I opened up the case. As you can imagine it's pretty straightforward. A bunch of power and SATA cables connecting the drives to the control board. Power supply is on the bottom which lends some weight to the unit and it feels rock solid (as opposed to having it mounted up high where these things sometimes feel like tip hazards). I took the liberty to move the control panel to the top, with the master drive just below it, followed by the 5 duplicator drives. That is a much easier configuration for me. Performance wise this unit is great. I can knock out 5 copies in about 8-9 minutes, so that works out to about 25-30 and hour which for my previous order, meant I only needed 5 hours to get the job done. I really like the status indicator showing how much burning is left, both in bytes and %. I could fire this up, turn around do some work on the computer and glance occasionally to see how it was going. I did have one bad disk and the unit did a good job of telling me and popping the disc out. I've used the unit now to fulfill several orders and it's been a breeze. My prior unit was nice in that I could load up a stack of 100+ discs and walk away, but it would take many hours of two burns at a time (4-8x) to complete. I was a little leary of having to feed this unit, but like I said it fit right in with other things I was doing and really didn't require a lot of time to tend to. My unit appears to be able to have a HD installed, allowing for images to be stored from the master disc. The manual has instructions for how to do this via menus and I may try it at some point. There isn't much information however about any special needs for the drive (format, capacity, etc.), but then again the unit didn't come advertised with one so I understand not everything will be laid out. Overall, very happy.

I am very happy with the duplicator. It works fast and is easy. I had one before that I sent back that did not have a display as this one does and it helps tremendously to know what is going on. It shows how much has been copied and then if there is a reason it won't copy or finish it comes up with an error message. The other one I was supposed to auto eject when done but then after an hour of no ejecting I would just have to assume that something had went wrong and power and turn it off and back on to get the tray to open and get the cd out. This one does not go into great detail about why it won't burn but at least I know that it won't. Instructions are not the best either but I still must give it a 5 because it worked so much better than my other one. So far I have copied 30 DVD's each one 3 different times (for family members), I used it for hours without stopping and had no problems. I bought it specifically to copy family home movies for my kids to have copies and have used it for 2 weeks and now it sits waiting for me to use again next year, hopefully it will still work then.

This is a great duplicator and couldn't be easier to use. Simply put the original disc in the top drawer, and 1-3 blanks in the bottom trays. It automatically determines the disc type and takes it from there. Once you hit 'enter' to begin the burn, you can walk away and let the machine do all the work. One thing I noticed is that it burns the copies at the same time instead of in sequence, which is a real time saver. About burning speed: it burns at a rate of 16X, which is a decent speed without compromising on reliability. Keep in mind that the higher the burn rate, the more chance of burn errors. I've burned many coasters at 52X. Given that you don't need to baby sit the machine as it works, 16X is a good burn speed. It took approximately three minutes to burn 3 copies of a CD I duplicated for demo/promotion. I've had it a little over a week now, and it seems to be a good, solid, reliable machine.

Produplicator 1 to 5 24X Burner M-Disc Support CD DVD Duplicator --------------- Pros: * Very easy to use * Three cooling fans assure the unit can be run continuously for long periods of time, without interruption. * Fast duplication and comparison check. At the recommended optimum speeds, you can make 5 copies with full comparison/verification in about 5 minutes -- 3 minutes if you skip the comparison step. And if your master is in good shape you can use higher speeds, and cut this time in half. * Any drive can be designated as the "source". * Any or all drives can be used for a run -- you can make from 1-5 copies, at will. * Works flawlessly with multiple brands and types of CDs (I did not try any DVDs) * With the hard drive option (see below, under "cons), you can store a disk image on the HD, and then all six drives become available for making copies -- that is, you can make six copies at once. * Reproductive accuracy is great. I produced over 100 error-free copies of both data and audio CDs without any (0) errors. Neutral: * Setup from the system menu is a little tedious, since there are only four buttons, but this was expected. * Note that the default setup does not copy CD text, and sets all gaps between audio tracks to 2 seconds. You can copy text and preserve gaps of other lengths, but you need to turn these features ON in the setup. On the plus side, you only have to do this setup once, and it is remembered for future sessions. * The location of the control module in the middle of the unit is an odd choice. When CD drives above the control section are open, it's hard to see the status screen or reach the control buttons. I fixed this by relocating the control unit to the top drive bay, and shifting the top couple of drives down one bay each. Cons: * The biggest con is that there are useful options available for this unit which are NOT listed on the Amazon page. - An optional 1 Tb hard drive, which lets you copy ISO files from a computer to the duplicator HDD via USB vable -- this is easy enough to add yourself; all you need is any 3.5" SATA drive (between 500 Gb and 1 Tb), a SATA cable, and four screws. - There is also an unlisted USB option, but if you don't get this when you order the unit you can't add it later on, without shipping your unit back to Produplicator. The option only costs $30, but YOU pay shipping, which can come to $100 or more. Without the USB option, the only way to get ISO files from your computer onto the unit's hard drive, is to burn them onto a CD in your computer, and then use that CD to put them on the duplicator's hard drive. Very inefficient. * Tech support responds to inquiries quickly, but it was like pulling teeth to get them to work out a way form me to add the USB option after-market. In the end they did come through for me, sending me the USB board for free (as $75 value) so I could install it myself, so I'm upgrading their tech support, and giving this review another star. Bottom line: If you need an easy, full-proof way to duplicate a bunch of CDs, without bells and whistles, this unit is a good choice. But be careful -- if you're going to need USB or hard drive options, don't buy this from Amazon -- go directly to Produplicator and get the options; you'll be glad you did.

I think they've designed the fan cooling incorrectly. Not made in Communist China. (Made in the USA.) I have a certain amount of experience with fan cooling. My unit has two fans. One above for general cooling purposes, the other below for cooling the power supply. The problem is, both fans are blowing air out, and there is only a very small way for the air to come into the enclosure. There are just a few small holes in the bottom of the unit. The fan above is stronger than the fan below. So even though the lower fan is trying to blow out, the air flow there is turbulent, with some air going back in. Once this unit is out of warranty I will open it up and see if this can be improved. These two fans are quite noisy. I would suspect that if they were not fighting each other much lower RPMs could be employed for more efficient, (and almost silent) cooling of the unit. As far as a duplicator is concerned, this unit is performing flawlessly. Naturally, I'm only using M-DISCs to get the 1000 year lifespan. ( VERY happy with M-DISC. ) They include a copy of Nero 12 although there is no way to use it with this device. (Our organization has switched to Mac, so Nero 12 is of little use to us) This is a standalone duplicator whose only connection to the outside world is a power cord. I like the fact that I can adjust burn speeds. I typically burn discs at 1/2 of the discs rated speed. M-DISCs Burn slower, (4X) so I have this unit set to burn at 2X. I always do burn, and confirm. Zero errors so far using M-DISCs. Surprisingly, I could not find the manual online. A printed manual is included.

I absolutely love this machine. Compact, efficient and works like a charm, once you get the hang of it. The how-to video attached to this machine was extremely valuable. I had to watch the video in slow motion to catch all of the required steps and take notes. I am very happy with this purchase. Thank you so much. Worth every penny.

This duplicator is absolutely WONDERFUL!!! No mater what media I use...never had a bad disc yet!!! I prefer using Verbatium most of all; but, I had great luck with Phillips, HP Lightscribe, Maxell, and Memorex. This is very easy to use. Just follow the brief booklet you get upon purchase, if you have any questions. Just have it turned on...the technology in this duplicator is great!!!! It almost thinks for you. The window that gives you counter information, will tell you if your discs passed or failed...it is a wonderful product...I'm glad I made this purchase. **You will receive a paper with information on it. Keep this in a safe place. There is a reference booklet you can use if you think you'll need some advice or help...this is good to know so keep it safe. Enjoy. There are many possibilities for creating your family Cd's and Dvd's all sorts of things are available to you....save those precious pictures to a disc, save your files...the possibilites are almost endless. Just love it and enjoy it!!! If you belong to a committee or Church organization that usually needs fliers...this will come in handy instead of making paper copies of the info, get it on a disc and give it to those in your club or group. I save my best recipies that are from long ago; NOW, on the discs I made, and separate by catagory like meats, fish, pasta etc.

Purchased through Amazon.com. Price was great and the piece of equipment does very well. I am only using it for duplicating CDs that I have produced in my Home Recording Studio - Hartkop Productions. The first problem was programming it. The play cd unit if I recall was designated as "Drive 0" and the record cd were labeled drives 1 - 7. Once I got it programmed it works perfect. It takes about 2 mins for a full CD! I will also try to duplicate some DVDs of video I produced years ago for TV. I have a rack of gear for transfer from 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch video tape to DVDs. Then I can tell the time. The unit has only been used to duplicate a few hundred CDs and has worked flawlessly. I would highly recommend this piece of gear. I wish I could plug a hard drive into the back or put one inside for archival purposes for future CDs. I wonder if I could then burn 8 CDs or DVDs at once? I have already had one friend buy a similar unit from Amazon.com after he saw mine. He had some problems programming at first but remember Drive 0 is the play drive! Tom

Built like a tank, very fast duplication time, and reliable copies. Only dislike is the control panel placement - should be on top instead of in the center.

Super