A mid-level hobbyist who duplicates just a handful of DVDs each month may decide that the investment required for the Medley is unwarranted. If so, stick with a manual system, or consider one of the more basic automatic duplicators out there.

On the other hand, the producer who needs regular runs of 300 DVDs may find that seven discs an hour is a bit slow. For an event videographer or an advanced hobbyist who often needs 30 or 50 copies of a program, this machine saves a lot of monotonous work.

Disc Makers also deserves credit for promising that technical support will be available as long as you own the Medley. I find that as refreshing as the paper manual - call me old-school. They also promote a program called their "Perfect Fit Guarantee." If within 30 days you decide the Medley isn't the right machine for your needs, simply return it for a credit toward another one of their products.

Finally, my last wish is that Medley was just a bit smaller. Measuring around 19 inches wide by 18 inches deep, it takes up quite a bit of room on the desk. Surely trimming a bit off the edges wouldn't sacrifice any of the Medley's functionality.

Optical Drive: 18x DVD±R/48x CD-R/6x DVD±R DL drive
Printer: 4-color, 4800dpi inkjet printer
Write Speeds: DVD-R (18x), DVD+R (18x), DVD-R DL (6x) DVD+R9 (DL) (6x), CD-R (48x)
Throughput: Full CD with 50% ink coverage: 20 per hour; Full DVD with 50% ink coverage: 7 per hour
System Requirements: Pentium 4 processor, 60GB 7200 RPM hard drive, 512MB RAM, USB 2.0, Windows XP Pro, 20GB of free hard drive disc space
Input Capacity: 50 discs
Warranty: One-year parts and labor

• Simple operation
• Intuitive software
• Hands-free duplication & printing

• Relatively large footprint
• Disc baskets can become dislodged

The Medley allows users to easily duplicate and print up to 50 DVDs or CDs automatically and at a competitive price.

Greg Robinson is the owner of an independent production company.

Disc Makers
7905 North Route 130
Pennsauken, NJ 08110
www.discmakers.com

$1,800