[Matt Townley]

Hi Matt – welcome to the cow. I am not local either, but my company does duplication and replication. Feel free to contact me and I would be happy to help directly or even offer recommendations if you want to stay local.

-Matt

matt at mstproductions dot com

___________________________________________________
Matt Townley
MST Productions
[Media Services/Duplication/Replication]
http://www.mstproductions.com
(925) 380-1977

[Matt Townley]

Hi Jeff,

There are actually a lot of options in the space of what you are looking for. If you only want a auto-duplicator and maximum bandwidth is your need, something like this (https://www.mediatechnics.com/pages/fusion6dvd.htm) would be a good option to consider. There are a number of brands that make systems like this, both with and without printers. DiscMakers has their Forte series, and I think MF Digital makes a unit like this.

If you are doing that many discs, I would HIGHLY recommend using a direct-to-disc printer instead of press-on labels. Even if you don’t want to spend the money on thermal or dye sub, you can get a good quality inkjet for fairly inexpensively.

Also, on the duplicator…..if you are dependent on the bandwidth of lets say 8 drives with a disc load capacity of 600, I would consider splitting that into two machines. It will be a bit more hassle when you actually run the jobs, but it provides redundancy when the mechanics or software on the autoloader fail.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you still have any specific questions.

-Matt

___________________________________________________
Matt Townley
MST Productions
[Media Services/Duplication/Replication]
http://www.mstproductions.com
(925) 380-1977

[Matt Townley]

Have you tried building an image file in DVDSP and using something like Toast or Disk Utility to burn it? Does the drive work properly doing it that way? What about if you just burn a disc from the finder? Try to isolate the problem as much as possible to see if it is hardware or software and then what piece of hardware or software is the exact problem.

___________________________________________________
Matt Townley
MST Productions
[Media Services/Duplication/Replication]
http://www.mstproductions.com
(925) 380-1977

[Matt Townley]

I really have to agree with Larry on this one. As far as Blu-ray Disc goes, I do an average of about 2 or 3 projects a month and have yet to find a way to confidently and consistently author a structure like you are trying to do. I am not saying it can’t be done or that you shouldn’t try, but you will fight and curse through the entire uphill battle. I normally do.

I use a mix of Encore CS4, Compressor 3, Sonic DVDitPro HD and Toast 10 Titanium Pro with BD plugins and it is still a battle anytime I try to get crafty, creative or complex with features. Until the format and tools to support BD-R become more standardized and mature, keeping things simple provides the best results.

A lot of this stems from the fact that BD-R is a very different format than it’s BD-Rom (manufactured) counterpart. In the DVD world, although there are some minor differences between a DVD-R and a DVD5/9, the format and disc is essentially the same. This is not as much the case with Blu-ray Disc. Since the majority of the growth in the BD format has been from Hollywood, us folks that work on smaller scales are waiting for the same attention to the burnable counterpart of the format. Its starting to happen faster now, so don’t give up yet! Better tools and better support are starting to roll out faster now, so the options are SLOWLY improving.

Of course, if you have lots of money and time to invest, you can do a lot more.

Best of luck!
Matt

___________________________________________________
Matt Townley
MST Productions
[Concierge Media Services/Duplication/Replication]
http://www.mstproductions.com
(925) 380-1977

[Matt Townley]

How many are you looking for?

___________________________________________________
Matt Townley
MST Productions
[Concierge Media Services/Duplication/Replication]
http://www.mstproductions.com
(925) 380-1977

[Matt Townley]

Do you want to buy or rent?

___________________________________________________
Matt Townley
MST Productions
[Concierge Media Services/Duplication/Replication]
http://www.mstproductions.com
(925) 380-1977

[Matt Townley]

I am not familiar with Encore, but in DVDSP you can export to a DDP2.0 file flagged for CSS Encryption and this creates the same file structure as going to a DLT. You can put the DDP2.0 file on a hard drive, DVD-Rom, flash drive, etc.

There was a thread in the DVD Authoring forum a week or two back discussing this topic. Most replicators will take a DDP2.0 file if you ask.

Matt

___________________________________________________
Matt Townley
MST Productions
[Concierge Media Services/Duplication/Replication]
https://www.mstproductions.com
(925) 380-1977

[Matt Townley]

UStream might be another option. It offers a lot more flexibility than iChat and is not platform or software dependent. You could even embed the player into a branded website that you made for the bride and groom if you wanted to get fancy.

Matt

[Matt Townley]

I would not say that DVD DL masters are any more reliable now than in times past, but they are more readily available and easy to burn in house as a “master,” which has put pressure on replicators to accept them. Before last year, almost every DVD9 replication project we did came to us on DLTs, now we see about equal parts DVD DL. I always recommend to our clients not using DVD DL and ask if they can output to DDP2.0 files. The majority just didn’t know that was an option, so they are happy to once I explain the process. If we have someone who insists on using a DVD DL as a master to go to replication with, we always try to insist on creating a check disc before proceeding with the full project.

[Matt Townley]

Jeff,

Both Michael and Roman are right on. You should be able to give your replicator a DDP file on a hard drive (or DVD-rom, flash stick, etc) with the CSS flagged with no problem.

As they said, a DLT would also work, but not a DVD-R.

I can tale a DDP file for replication if you want to call or email me. I am in California and can turn replication jobs in 5-7 business days, if not faster.

I’m not sure where you are located, but if you wanted to stick with someone local, I know replicators across the country and would be happy to recommend someone.

Best of luck!
Matt

MST Productions
(925) 380-1977
https://www.mstproductions.com