Quantum DLT VS160

[Dominic Osborne]

When I was first looking at drives, I was looking at the VS80 I believe (trying to look ahead to the next gen of optical media, and handling those capacities). I was told at the time it ‘may’ work with the software but there’s no guarantee. You’d have to try it, and then see if your replicator can take this kind of tape.

I do know that with DLT IV, the tapes are written to in 2056kb blocks as opposed to 2048 (i think thise numbers are right) which is what enables you to turn on extra settings like macrovision and other copy protection which can’t be enabled in a DVD-R burn… whether a VS160 writes to tape in the same size chunks allowing this kind of extra data, I do not know…

Dominic Osborne
—————
Director & Head of Visuals
Eight Eyed Sea Bass Ltd
http://www.eighteyedseabass.com

[Jeffrey Gould]

I appreciate your reply Dominic. I don’t have the drive yet, I’m actually buying it to back up clients projects and footage, but a bonus would be to use with Encore 2.0. I’ll ask my replicator and hopefully someone can add something here based on experience. Thank you.

Jeffrey S. Gould
Action Media Productions

[Oscarin]

You would be better off finding a DLT4000 or DLT8000 from ebay. As these have been tested by adobe for Encore DVD 1.5. https://www.adobe.com/products/encore/pdfs/encore_dvd_burners.pdf
These have been used by major DVD replicator. If you’re looking for encryption (CSS 1, CSS 3), these drives will write each sector at 2054 bytes, or no encryption is at 2048 bytes. As for tapes, replicator prefer DLT I, II, III, maybe IV. Plus, data has to be written uncompressed. If you want a DVD-9 replica, you need to send 2 DLT tapes (1 for each layer). If you need a DVD-5, then I would just send a DVD-R. I have a DLT4000 at work, which is connected to a Eclipse imageencoder. This eclipse sends an EFM (Eight to Fourteen Modulation) signal to the LBR (Laser Beam Recorder), which the LBR uses to turn on and off the Laser to expose the Laser to the Photoresist and create pits.

Here you will find drives that most replicator use and are supported by Eclipse:
https://www.eclipsedata.com/products/peripherals/matrix.htm

LBR info: (if you have $2 million to spare)
https://www.optical-disc.com/prod_nimbus_masteringsystems.htm
https://www.optical-disc.com/prod_odc_laserwaveII.htm

Oscar Ramirez

[Jeffrey Gould]

Boy you are a wealth of information. Thanks a lot.

Jeffrey S. Gould
Action Media Productions

[Jeffrey Gould]

Actually the drive I asked about is listed in the database you supplied the link for: DLT VS160 3.0 Both Yes Yes Yes Yes

so what does that mean?

Jeffrey S. Gould
Action Media Productions

[Dave Friend]

[Jeffrey Gould] “Does anyone know if the Quantum DLT VS160 is compatible with Encore and DLT Mastering in general.”

It should be seen by Encore as a tape drive, which is all it really cares about. The bigger issue is if the replicator has a tape drive that will read the tapes. Call your friendly replicator to find out for sure.

There is one replicator I use often that has multiple tape drives in just about any format you can imagine. To quote their tech rep, “You have to be ready for anything.” I know for certain that they have drives that can use tapes created by the VS160.

Hope this helps.

Dave

[Dominic Osborne]

let us know how you get on!
The DLT 4000 and 8000 drives are old now and no longer made. Perhaps a VS160 will do for next gen media replication… oooh lovely!

Dominic Osborne
—————
Director & Head of Visuals
Eight Eyed Sea Bass Ltd
http://www.eighteyedseabass.com

[Jeffrey Gould]

You made my day, I’m going to write my duplicator and see if they’ll take them and if so…order it. I will definitely let you know how I make up. thanks for the replies.

Jeffrey S. Gould
Action Media Productions

[Oscarin]

That list means the DLT VS160 is supported by ImageCopy, ImageEncoder, ect. Your only concern now is VS160 being fully compatible and functional with Encore DVD 1.5 or 2.0. ImageCopy program will analyze and transfer the contents onto their SCSI Hard drive. This program analyzes the structure of the DLT image extensivelly. Any errors reported by ImageCopy, the replicator will reject your DLT. Note, do not add Copyright music to your video without approval from the content owners, the replicator will check for this.
You can contact Cinram Mfg. in Olyphant, PA http://www.cinram.com
These guys are one of the best, and they know their stuff. I believe you can even load your images onto an external HDD, and send them as your video for DVD.
You can even ask them if they accept electronic transfers (FTP). Here are some link where you can find specs. for tape media requirements.
https://www.cinram.com/dvd/us/usdvdsource.pdf
https://www.cinram.com/dvd/us/dvd_oly_sourceform.pdf
These guys have in-house Authoring/Compression, you could try getting an e-mail from them and ask them for any addition info.

Oscar

[Jeffrey Gould]

You’re amazing! I think I’ll buy the drive regardless and hope for the best. No clients have requested copy protection as of yet, but I’m sure it’s bound to come up. Thanks again for your information, I’ll check out cinram as my duplicator has been messing up lately.

Jeffrey S. Gould
Action Media Productions