Product ReviewsCD/DVD drives
What makes the Odixion Digicopier Uno Premium stand out from most other 24x CD-RWs is its ability to copy CDs without the need for a computer. It makes copying CDs on the fly both quicker and easier, but at four times the price of a regular CD-RW drive, is it worth the heavy price tag? The Digicopier is built around a Plextor 40x CD-ROM and a top-of-the-range Sanyo 24x10x40 Burn-Proof CD-RW. The two drives are connected via a controller that gives users the same options as mainstream CD recording software. The options are controlled by an array of five buttons - simulation, copy, verify, fit and speed - that run below a two-line LCD display. Go for the burn The drive doesn't detect the speed of the media automatically, so when using CDs that aren't 24x, you have to adjust the writing speed or risk wasting a disc. The drive doesn't have a start button, simply starting when two discs have been inserted, so if you've not checked the settings before you close the CD tray, you may find yourself scratching around for a cancel button that doesn't exist. In use, the Digicopier is certainly impressive. It took just over four minutes to prepare and burn 650Mb of data. Buffer underrun prevention ensures reliability, and the drive
Attaching a SCSI cable to the back of the Digicopier is when the problems start. Firstly, there isn't a SCSI ID selector, so the drives automatically take up SCSI IDs four and five. This could cause conflict problems with some systems, especially older, SCSI-based ones. Second, because it's a SCSI device, it's recommended that you shut down your Mac every time you wish to connect or disconnect it. This can quickly become tedious, as the Digicopier doesn't work as a standalone duplicator when connected to a Mac. Finally, we experienced the occasional freeze when using the Digicopier on a Power Mac G4 running Mac OS 9.2 and it was unclear what was causing the problem. Odixion's telephone support provided little help and we had to test the unit on a blue-and-white G3 running OS 9.1. On record Odixion bundles Go Ahead Software's NeroMax with the Digicopier. As we went to press, NeroMax hadn't yet been updated to recognise the Sanyo CD-RW drive. However, Odixion assures us that an updated version will be available by the time you read this. Even so, NeroMax's inability to write in the background might prove frustrating. Roxio's Toast, which isn't supplied with the Digicopier, had no trouble seeing the drive. Considering you can buy a 24x FireWire CD-RW for around £200, the Digicopier at £840 seems vastly overpriced. You're paying for the embedded circuitry that enables it to work as a standalone device. Aside from a couple of niggles, there's no doubt that it works very well. If it's just a high-speed CD duplicator you want, this certainly won't disappoint. But if it's important that you connect the drive to a Mac, we suggest that you wait for the FireWire model, which Odixion says will be released in the future, or look elsewhere. By Keith Martin |
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