Discussion of Automated CD Loaders

[Spoon]

(for implemetation into dBpoweramp Batch Ripper).

Here is the place to mention the automated loader you have, and any known technical details on driving the loader.

[bhoar]

Spoon - I'm curious which loaders you are currently testing with.

-brendan

[Spoon]

It is our aim to support the latest models from:

Primera
MF Digital
RImage
R-Quest

[EliC]

Can anyone suggest a small/cheap robot that you can but your own drive (Plextor) in?

[bhoar]

Originally Posted by EliC

Can anyone suggest a small/cheap robot that you can but your own drive (Plextor) in?

Note: comments below are completely ignorant about what robots and itnerfaces Spoon plans to implement.

The standard answer to this would be:

1. An MF-Digital Baxter (or the same unit by different vendors: Acronova Dupliq, Discmakers Pico, etc.). Holds 25 discs. Available retail for ~$600-$800 depending. Controlled using SDK which communicates with robot via USB (not serial). Drive is accessed via USB bridge, which can be unreliable (Prolific PL-2506?)

2. Primera Bravo SE DiscPublisher. Holds 20 discs, has built in disc printer. Available online for ~$1500. Do not confuse with the AutoPrinter, ~$1000, which does not come with a drive (and may be blocked from a custom installation work with one). Unsure of interface.

If you hadn't required the ability to swap drives, the answer to this would be:

1. A Sony VAIO XL1B1/XL1B2/XL1B3 200-disc changer. Granted, not really a robot, but they're priced better. The firewire control connection requires use of Windows Media Center, mtx command line client (a windows port is available), or custom "scsi" level calls. $150-$350, depending on where you find it. These are, essentially, re-badged Powerfile units with only a single non-swappable drive.

My approach is to scour ebay. Target your prices < $200 before shipping.

1. The primera composers (do not buy a conductor, it cannot easily be converted to use a drive) often go for very cheap and are serial controlled.

2. The RImage/Cedar DTP-1000 and DTP-4000 are often sold super cheap, but most are SCSI controlled. Before they EOL'd them, they were selling them for a short time with a firewire/serial interface instead (just like the replacement DTP-1500 and DTP-4500 units) with the addition of four internal firewire->atapi bridges. I verified (today) that the robot control board is the same, they just hooked up an unused serial port and disconnected the scsi port. Unfortunately, more investigation is needed with an older unit to know if there is a significant firmware change that allows for the serial control or if it the serial control always works and a "user-initiated" extension of the serial port would work for the scsi units.

Three cautions:

1. Warranty - some new unit warranties don't allow drive swaps without violating them.

2. Tray extension - make sure that any drive you plan to use inside a robot has a tray that pushes the "disc circle" out significantly clear of the drive faceplate. With the move to smaller form factor 5.25" optical drive housings, the trays often have a circle that doesn't clear the faceplate. Some drives will work with the faceplate removed, but some disc circles hardly even clear the casing, let alone the faceplate these days.

3. Retention clips - some tray circles have little nibs or clips meant to keep the disc from relocating off center and these would have to be removed (shaved or cut) for robot use.

[enc123]

I am very excite to know that Illustrate is going to the batch ripping business. There are only one or two companies doing it and we as a pro ripping service company are having difficulites to get quality software tools.
Will AMG data be included in the pro ripping package? What will be the price for the meta data download?
We have MfDigital pro rippers (300CDs) and we would like to offer free beta test for your software. Please let us know how to contact you to get a beta version.

[LtData]

I believe since automated ripping is included with Reference, the same conditions apply: 1-year of AMG access is included with your purchase and each additional year is $5.

[enc123]

That's great. Do you know when it will be released? Do you need beta testers?

[LtData]

The Batch Ripper, which is what will do the automated CD ripping, is being discussed here: http://forum.dbpoweramp.com/showthread.php?t=13597 and has information regarding beta-testing. I know Spoon normally has Open beta testing for any user that wants to help. The post says about 8 weeks for the first beta.

[Spoon]

We are in discussions again with MF Digital, see if we can get an SDK...

It will be an open beta test here in 8 weeks.

[enc123]

MF Digital uses COM port to control the robot. Most commands are just single character. Do you have a plan to implement a common interface that can be used for most robots? We can do integration with MF Digital's driver if you have a common interface.

[bhoar]

enc123 - which MFD units, in particular, does your business use?

-brendan

[Spoon]

>MF Digital uses COM port to control the robot.

We can handle serial port stuff very easily, all their major robots are the same?

[enc123]

Big pro ripper, which is based on scribe 9000.
We do not know if other robots use serial port too. MfDigital is the very popular one as it offers up to 3 years warranty. I would suggest Spoon to implement MfDigital first.

Does anyone use 8-CD tower? My guess is that the bottle neck is CPU, not I/O, so 8-CD may not offer more benefits vs. 2-Cd. But 8-CD is good for manual operation when jewel cases are involved.

[Spies]

Just wanted to cast my vote for support of the Sony VAIO XL1B1/XL1B2/XL1B3 200-disc changer in dbpowerAMP.

Anything I can help with to see this happen?