Dvd replication question

[Rickey Brillantes]

Hello everyone! I just finished a project and it requires me to deliver 250-500 Dvd's. My question is, would it be better if I just make a master copy and send it to the Dvd replication company, or just buy a $400.00 dvd replication myself that they sell on Ebay.

My next question is how much do you ussually charge for a copy of Dvd in this kind of thing.

Appreciate your response.

Thank you
Rickey

[Richard Alvarez]

There's a difference between replication and duplication. Replication entails making copies from a glass master, the copies are 'pressed' from the master. This insures higher playback rates and higher quality controll in production. (Less wastage.) Duplication is 'duplicating' the data on your master, and 'burning' it onto more discs... either DVD-R or +R. Nothing wrong with this and most of the order fullfilment houses do it this way, burning one at a time as orders come in. Just a slightly higher fault rate in terms of playback compatibility, and a higher wastage in terms of mass duplication.

I paid to have my documentary ( www.americanjouster.com ) replicated, because at 1,000 copies, the price break was good enough to jusify the expense, and I felt I could sell enough to cover the replication costs easily. I was right. But then, I had a distribution agreement before I started replication.

No way to know what you should charge without knowing the subject matter and length. Best advice is to do a search for similar titles, and see what the going rate is.

[Dave Stern]

Rickey - for that many disks, my input would be to look into having it replicated for you for that many copies. I use one of the primeria replicators (has a burner and a printer, combined in one unit, with a mechanical arm. Retail somewhere around $1,500 or maybe $1,800 - capacity 50 disks in kiosk mode).

I like using it for small runs, and also even for single disks or sets of 10 disks, with each disk being different, because I don't have to handle the disks, wait around while they are burning, etc).

If you were looking into a good project (read excuse) to buy one, and this project could justify it, then it may be a good way to fund it, as long as you'd be willing to do the work using it for that many disks.

But for that many disks, it will still take a while and need a fair amount of your attention. Plus, there are sometimes issues with getting it up and running, just like any burner and printer.

Also, are you going to do cases / inserts? If you do it yourself, you'll need to print or get inserts printed, then assemble everything.

FWIW, I use the Primera Bravo II and like it alot.

Price for copies..people seem to charge a range for that... but once you go too high, it's not really realistic to think someone's going to pay it. Since DVD's have come down (a little) in price and people are buying the blanks themselves now, their expectations are that it's not expensive to do. They think about the raw materials, (disk, et.c) but not much more than that. I'd say to check around on the net (google it) and see what your customer would find if they check pricing, then you can set your pricing accordingly (e.g. more or less, depending on how you want to position it).

Sorry for a bit of mixed messages - just wanted to give you both sides of the coin as addt'l info.

[Mark Williams]

I would get them replicated. I use discmakers.com. They just dropped their prices to $897 for 300 and $1090 for 500. This includes printing on disc, case, case cover, shrink wrap and barcode if you need it. The only extra charge is shipping if you have your artwork and master done to thier specs.

Hope this helps,

[Benjamin Hill]

Rickey,

DIY duplication can be a lot of work. A $400 unit is probably going to be a 1 to 1 burner, which will take a lot of your time and time=money. Then you have to buy decent media and you can't really have printed discs with that solution as well, which may or may not matter to you.

Some companies offer shorter-run duplication with high quality disc and art printing. I personally recommend CD Technical (www.cdtechnical.com), because they have an online estimator, they price very competitively and provide terrific fast service whether you do duplication or replication.

[Rickey Brillantes]

It's always good to get second opinions, you guys are right, I think getting it replicated rather then me doing it is better, saving me a lot of time in the post. I'll just spend my time doing the editing, rather than burning them and getting bad results.

Im located here in LA California and I googled for local duplication store and has anybody use these? here's the link.

(http://www.hellmanproduction.com/dvd...n-specials.php)

I don't know if their price is good, hav'nt compared them with other store yet. But they have a nice turn around.

Ow Richard, thanks for enlighting me about the duplication and replication, I learn a lot of new things here everyday, and I thank you all guys for spending time replying me.

Rickey

[Paulo Teixeira]

DiscMakers is also good if you want fancy packaging with photo quality printing on the DVDs.

As far as pricing goes. If you’re trying to sell something that is very similar to other documentaries or movies that you can easily get in the store, then you’re probably not going to expect to put a price tag of over 20 to 30 dollars. If the nature of your program is rare or it’s not something that a store would carry, then you could put a premium price such as 30 to 60 dollars a copy. That’s if you know your audience will want to see it badly.

[Peter Rhalter]

A while back I used Cypress Media (http://www.cypressmediainc.com/1-DVDDuplication.html) for an order of 250 DVDs and was very satisfied with the quality and service.

Best wishes,
Peter
______________________
http://www.parkfilms.com

[Eddie Pelfrey]

we use dub-it they do both and priced fair very good quality.
www.dubit.com

Eddie

[Mark Bournes]

I have a 1-3 Sony duplicator that I use for smaller projects, 50-100. (It cost me $263 + shipping)
Anything over that I would ship out and build it into your budget.