Recently we exhibited at the CES convention in Las Vegas, NV where we introduced our newest products set for release in early 2008. We showcased the Xerox Duplicator, the SharkCopier LS, the SharkCopier DC, and The Cube autoloader to much excitement and anticipation from those who visited our booth.

Our Booth at CES

The Xerox Duplicator offers a new twist on the typical standalone duplicator in that image files can be transferred directly from a PC onto the Duplicator’s internal hard drive. This saves time and ensures the highest quality duplications because the HDD is a better source than copying disc to disc.

The SharkCopier LS is a revolutionary product in that it can copy and print in a single standalone duplication tower. Using the LightScribe labeling technology, the SharkCopier LS can be used as a standard duplicator then you flip the disc and you can print directly onto the disc using the same drive. This eliminates the need for ink or ribbon saving money and time.

The SharkCopier DC is perfect for the heavy volume user. Using a daisy chain technology these units can be linked together where multiple towers are controlled by a single source. This will allow a user to link hundreds to thousands of towers together that all work in unison making thousands of discs at one time.

The Cube is a single drive 25 disc capacity autoloader that is perfect for users with little time and less money. At a very low price point, The Cube is perfect for any office or home environment. With the reliable robotic capabilities, the user can attend to other issues while their project is being copied.

We had a tremendous response on these new products as well as our standard line and I really look forward to introducing these products to a wider international market when we attend CeBIT in March.

Xerox is undergoing a major transformation to reestablish the brand as more than just a paper copier company. For many like myself, when we refer to making multiple copies of documents, products, etc. on paper, I would often refer to it as “Xeroxing” them. In an effort to further expose the Xerox brand beyond this functionality, they have recently announced a major re-branding effort as well as establishing a number of new patents and products. In fact Xerox was awarded 584 patents in 2007, a remarkable feat.

“We have transformed Xerox into a business that connects closely with customers in a content-rich digital marketplace,” said Anne M. Mulcahy, Xerox chairman and chief executive officer. “Our new brand reflects who we are, the markets we serve and the innovation that differentiates us in our industry. We have expanded into new markets, created new businesses, acquired new capabilities, developed technologies that launched new industries — all to ensure we make it easier, faster, and less costly for our customers to share information.”

In addition, and more related to the topics of this blog, there will be a new addition to the Office Products line of merchandise with the introduction of the Xerox Duplicator series. This new innovation on the standard optical disc duplicator series offers the unique “Drag & Drop” function which allows the user to transfer image files directly from a PC onto the Xerox Duplicator’s internal hard drive. This will save significant time over the standard method of burning a master disc and using that to load one image file at a time onto the duplicator’s hard drive.

The Xerox Duplicator falls in line with the original concept of reproduction and duplication that Xerox was known for as well as fits into the new direction of innovation and technology that Xerox is moving towards. Looks like a perfect fit for the company and its clientèle ready to move into the new millennium of the Digital Age!

Xerox and Vinpower have teamed up to create the Xerox Duplicator…

The Xerox Duplicator will be on diplay at our booth at CES in Las Vegas, January 7th to January 10th.

In previous entries I’ve discussed DVD rental kiosks allowing storefronts to offer for more titles than they offered in the physical form. This is great for major film studios which can only put out a small fraction of the content they have available. Take for example entertainment giant Warner Bros. Jim Wuthrich, senior vice president of digital distribution at Warner Bros., notes that of the company’s 6600 films, only 1500 have been released on DVD. At any given moment, only 300 of Warner’s 1500 DVD titles may be available on a store shelf. That’s a staggering number of titles that are not released or even available for sale, limiting the company’s profitability. By allowing a retailer to carry all movie titles on a hard drive, which can be burnt right away with copy protection, then its extra money in the pockets of the retailer and the studios.

That’s great for the major studios and retailers, but what about the “little guy”? How does this benefit the independent film producer trying to distribute their productions? That’s where a new technology called Qflix comes into play. Qflix is a new technology which should be available within the 1^st or 2^nd quarter of 2008 that allows anyone to burn projects onto Qflix DVD media from a Qflix capable DVD burner with copy protection. The basic concept is that the Qflix media holds one part of the Content Scramble System (CSS), which is the industry standard for copy protection on DVD discs, and the burner encodes the remaining CSS code onto the burnt disc. The Qflix enabled CSS DVD’s are 99% compatible with all DVD players on the market.

So why does Qflix give an advantage to the small producer? The concept is simple, with advances in video cameras and home editing systems, almost anyone can create a major studio quality product on a budget. The problem was always production and distribution. In order to make a DVD with copy protection, one would have to have all the copies made through replication. In order for most replicators to even startup their equipment they would need to make a minimum quantity of 1000 pieces. Being independent, it’s near impossible to find shelf space in major retailers, meaning they need to create their own retail channels.

Now imagine that this independent producer can make only the copies they need when they need them. That gives them the flexibility to make small quantity runs or large volume runs depending on the demand for their project. This puts the power back in their hands and should encourage many more bourgeoning film makers to become the next Steven Spielberg.

There is a lot of discussion about being “Green” these days and protecting the environment. With various countries, states, cities, and even companies enacting eco friendly regulations for CE products, it looks as though we’ve turned a corner in environmental protection. These changes are showing up everywhere from bans on using unhealthy substances in the manufacturer of products to companies sending holiday eCards as apposed to paper cards to save trees. This is a wonderful change to the days of excess and pollution from days gone by.

My question is, how much are we really saving the environment when the lifespan of many CE products like computers, televisions, and gaming consoles are getting shorter and shorter. Maybe the products are more eco friendly, but when it’s cheaper for consumers to purchase a new TV then fix an older model, we are finding that older equipment (many of which are not that old) are ending up in our landfills rather than in living rooms. Today’s society is hungry for the latest and greatest and we don’t want to pay very much for it. So retailers need lower pricing and force the manufacturers to find cheaper sources of parts and labor to accommodate thereby reducing the number of blue collar jobs in the developed Western Nations, reducing the size and disposable income of the middle class. With less money to spend on discretionary purchases, they demand lower prices and the cycle repeats itself.

In the duplicator industry I see this a lot with optical disc drives. Early on, the drives were very expensive but they would last longer. Not only would the physical drive last longer, but each particular model would have a longer lifespan. Now we’re lucky if a particular drive model lasts more than 6 months. Innovation is not a bad thing, but when production of a specific model is shorter than the warranty period for that item, it causes plenty of headache and complications. Plus the fact that the drives have become so inexpensive, consumers would rather throw them away and buy new ones than try to fix them.

So my point is, even though the CE products are more eco friendly in their construction and design, how environmentally friendly are they when they are filling up our landfills? Although, more and more companies are participating in a recycling program, I just hope the consumers are willing to cooperate.

Since Vinpower Digital offers an array of Blu-ray capable duplication products and media, I often get questions asking, “what’s the best Blu-ray player on the market?” The answer is actually surprising, yet it shouldn’t be. The best player is misleading because the drive used inside the players for Blu-ray discs is basically universal across all units. So the true question should be which Blu-ray player offers the most additional features at the best price? The answer is the Sony Play Station 3 (PS3).

This may be surprising because it’s essentially seen as a gaming console with the Blu-ray player as an add-on. In reality, it should be obvious. Sony is one of the chief architects of the Blu-ray technology and obviously the developer for the Play Station gaming console. So it only stands to reason that they should have the best of both products. Since the PS3 games are on Blu-ray discs, then the Blu-ray reader in the gaming console has to be strong enough to stand up to constant usage. Anyone who knows a gamer knows that when they get hooked on a game, they go into a time vortex where day and night cease to exist.

With Sony competing heavily in the gaming market against Microsoft and Nintendo, the price of a PS3 is below most other Blu-ray players on the market and it has the added benefit of being able to play video games at the same time! Automatically the buyer gets a 2 for 1 advantage over any other Blu-ray player. Even if you rarely or never play video games, why not take advantage of the added feature, you never know when it will come in handy. Since the movies and games are in hi-def, the picture quality and sound (assuming the A/V equipment has HD capability and a surround sound tuner) are top notch. So if you’re in the market for a Blu-ray player, then stop by your local electronics store or shop online and just pick up the PS3.

From my previous blog I discussed how DVD kiosks will be the future for movie purchases and rentals. It was mentioned that this process has become more of a reality because the method by which the content protection encoded in the discs has been relaxed to incorporate newer technology. What I didn’t mention was the most important feature in this whole process, the robotic duplicator “autoloader” which controls the entire process.

If you’re reading this blog, chances are that you’ve burned a disc at least once through your computer or a dedicated duplicator like the Vinpower Digital SharkCopier or TITAN series. The basic principal is simple enough, load a blank disc into a writer drive and information from an alternative source (HDD or reader) is burned onto the blank disc. This is a simplified explanation, but gives one the basic principal of how a duplicated disc is created. However, to build a kiosk, you can’t count on a user loading and unloading the blank disc that is meant to be duplicated. That’s where the autoloader comes in.

An autoloader is a duplicator with a robotic arm that can be programmed to pick up blank discs from a specified stack, load them into the corresponding writer drives and or printer and then remove the finished disc and place them in a specific location. It all sounds so very simple, there are so many variables that come into play that it’s actually far more complicated than one may imagine.

That’s why the number of autoloaders on the market is dwarfed compared to the number of manual towers available. Manual towers are easy to build given the right parts, but autoloaders are extremely complicated to build if you don’t have the knowledge and experience to do so. If done right, the autoloader is extremely easy to operate and runs flawlessly 24/7 as intended. If not, the user ends up working harder to get the unit to work than if they had just made the copies manually on a tower. The whole purpose of an autoloader is to make duplication easier and capable of producing higher volumes than humans who need to eat, sleep, and take bathroom breaks.

So when you see one of these DVD kiosks in the future, now that inside there’s an autoloader like a Vinpower Digital TITAN working hard and tirelessly to provide you with the content you want.

With discussions being tossed about as to the future of optical media as a viable medium, an announcement was released recently that I feel is a strong advocate for the longevity of the optical disc and duplication products. Walgreens issued a statement that they will soon adopt a line of DVD kiosks that will duplicate movies on demand for the consumer. The DVD Copy Control Association, made up of a group of movie studios and hardware manufacturers that govern the copy protection systems for DVD’s known as Content Scramble System (CSS), helped spur this project on by broadening their standards for licensing their software.

In doing so, the CSS software no longer is relegated solely to the replication market and can be used under controlled circumstances in the duplication market. Thus retail stores and online retailers can now store thousands of movie titles on hard drives which can be burned onto a physical disc at the customer’s request. This not only frees up the retailer from keeping inventory of the titles on physical disc, but also encourages retailers to offer a broader selection of titles. Walgreens may be the flag ship superstore to adopt this technology, but it’s certain to catch on with heavyweights in the retail and video rental market such as Wal-Mart and Blockbuster as an example.

These kiosks not only enhance the DVD market but also further qualify duplication equipment as a valid consumer electronic product for the future. For years replication was able to keep duplication as a second class citizen in the world of reproduction for data on discs by trumpeting their stronger playback compatibility. When that no longer became a factor as DVD recordable discs (DVD-R or DVD+R) now boast playback compatibility nearly equal to replicated discs, replication held on to the fact they had the ability to insert the CSS copy protection onto discs scarring content producers into foregoing duplication for higher run replication projects. Now that duplication will be able to offer CSS or alternative forms of copy protection, the duplicator is becoming more and more a viable solution for content providers of any size.

Considering a duplicator is drastically less expensive than the equipment needed for replication, not to mention dramatically smaller, duplication equipment is gaining ground in all avenues of life where companies or individuals need to store content on discs. In addition the duplicator has a much smaller learning curve and widely available to the masses. Duplicators of today will allow the retailers of tomorrow to become more fiscally responsible and innovative in offering a wider selection of content for product stored on optical discs!

One prohibiting factor in the wider acceptance of the Blu-ray recordable discs (BD-R) is the great expense for the disc manufacturers to add new lines dedicated to the production of the BD-R disc. With the market for BD-R discs slowed by the public’s hesitation to adopt a hi-def disc format between Blu-ray and HD DVD, it’s a significant gamble for a company to invest the funds required to create a BD-R line when the return on investment could be prolonged to say the least.

Recently, a joint venture between Pioneer and Mitsubishi, successfully developed the ability to successfully use an organic dye film to create the BD-R discs. This innovation will help lower the overall cost for media manufacturers to create BD-R lines and in turn lower the cost of BD-R discs to the end user. At an average retail cost of $15 per disc for a single layer 25GB BD-R, it’s much higher than even the DVD9 8.5GB DVD+R which typically retails for $1.50 ~ $2.00.

With this organic dye, media manufacturers can convert their standard DVD-R and CD-R lines to BD-R lines with minor alterations as apposed to major retooling. This is a huge accomplishment for the BD camp by removing one of the most prohibitive factors for media manufacturers to produce BD-R discs. Combine this with the fact that HD DVD still has yet to release a recordable drive and hence has no recordable media on the market, Blu-ray will continue to make bigger waves in the duplication market and smaller production studios. The battle still wages between HD DVD and Blu-ray, but as far as the duplication market is concerned, Blu-ray is widening the gap toward universal acceptance.

I see DVD duplicators being used more and more these days. Businesses are investing in duplicators and using them to provide duplication services or getting DVDs out to customers as a marketing technique. If you’re using a duplicator, whatever your plans are, you’ll most likely run into the same problem; media burn failure.

I know it’s the last thing you want to run into and the last thing you might hear a manufacturer talk about, but it is a common issue. I talked to many clients and I have asked them to tell me about their experiences with our duplicators. Many of them are very happy and usually recommend us to their partners. Every now and then I run into a customer having a problem with high failure rates. Naturally I got interested and talked to them more in-depth to see what they all have in common.

I saw a pattern and noticed that in their haste to blame the duplicator, the media was being overlooked as a possible culprit. There are hundreds of different brands in the market right now, and many of the brands just don’t hold up when it comes to being burned in a multi drive duplicator. I’ve had this discussion with different partners and thought it might be easier if I just posted a blog on the topic.

Working with Vinpower Digital I learned about duplicators, media, and other industry insights. Over the time, along with hard lessons learned, I became a media specialist (at least for the sake of this blog).

When it comes to media you want a good disc that you can rely on time and time again. There are hundreds of brands to choose from, but only about 10 companies making them. You might think that if one brand coming out of a factory is good then another brand coming out of the same factory should be just as great, right? No. There are different grades of media being produced and the companies willing to pay the highest prices get the best quality. Companies like Sony, Verbatim, TDK and others even have workers in the factories checking the quality and making sure that the products stays consistent.

So what about the rest of the brands? Well the rest of the media that gets manufactured is made at a high volume while some lower grade DVD’s go through less and less quality control. The dye used to produce DVD’s can even become diluted and thinner, reducing the disc quality. This media in turn gets gathered together and sold at a very low price. The distributors will then pass on the lower price to the retailers. The problem is that you might get a few discs that burn good and then you’ll get a few that fail. Over time the failed discs can be just as high as the successful ones. If you are in the duplication business then those failed discs could mean loss in inventory, sales, and even customers.

When you first consider the price of the cheaper discs it seems like a great choice, but think about the failed discs, loss in time or even worse loss of customers and you’ll realize the more reputable brands are always best. With todays technological advances in producing media the price difference between the good brands and poor brands amounts to only a few cents per disc. A few cents doesn’t seem like much, while happy customers are worth a lot more in the long run.