Forte Duplicator, Reflex User Manual

User Manual

For Reflex Forte Duplicator

V 3.0.6

25 Disc Capacity

WARNING!

THIS CD/DVD/BLU-RAY/LIGHTSCRIBE

DUPLICATOR IS MEANT FOR BACK UP AND DISTRIBUTION OF ORIGINAL DATA AUTHORED OR OWNED BY THE USER. ANY DUPLICATED DIS

CS MADE F

ROM A THIS CD/DVD/BLU-RAY/LIGHTSCRIBE DUPLICATOR IS THE COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP OF THE AUTHOR OR COMPANY WHICH OWNS THE SOURCE DISC. ANY UNAUTHORIZED COPYING, EDITING, OR ANY PART THEREOF OF A COPYRIGHT DISC IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. WE DISCOURAGE THE USE OF A

NY SUCH ACTION THAT GIVES RISE TO CRIMINAL

INTENT AND PROSECUTION.

THE SELLER OF THIS PRODUCT IS NOT RES

PONSIBLE FOR ANY POTENT

IAL

ILLEGAL ACTIONS OF THE USER

DUE TO ACTIVITIES BEYOND THE SCOPE OF

THE PRODUCTS INTENDED USE.

POT

ENTIALLY HAZARDOUS MOVI

NG PARTS

KEEP FINGERS AND OTHER BODY PARTS AWAY.

Copyrights and Trademarks

ICATION MAY BE

REPRODUCED IN ANY ME

DIUM PRINTED OR ELEC

TRONIC WITHOUT THE P

RIOR

WRITTEN PERMISSION FR

OM THE MANUFACTURER

. COPYRIG

Table of Contents

Title

Page

Chapter 1: Introduction ... 1

Overview .

The Robotic Platform .

The LCD Control Panel

Menu Overview ..

Single Master and Multi Master Modes .

Setting Counters and Assigning Names

6.1.

Setting Counters

6.2.

Editing Names

Chapter 2:

Operation ..

Copy .

1.1.

Making Copies in Single Master Mode ...

1.2.

Making Copies in Multi Master Mode .

Test ..

Compare .

Test+Copy ..

Copy+Compare .

Select Burn Speed

Select Source .

Master Mode ..

Erase ..........

10. Hard Drive Setup ...

10.1.

Select Partition ..

10.2.

Load Partition .

10.3.

Rename Partition ..

10.4.

Delete Partition ..

10.5.

Partition Info ...

10.6.

Select Loading Drive. .

10.7.

Format Hard Drive .

11. Setup ...

11.1.

Language

11.2.

Read Error Skip .

11.3.

CD Writing Mode ...

11.4.

Max Audio, VCD & CDG Speed .. .

Title

Page

11.5.

Buzzer .

11.6.

Startup Menu ............

11.7.

Screen Saver .

11.8.

Counter ...

11.9.

DVD+R High Compatibility Mode ...

11.10.

ISRC

11.11.

CD Overburn ...

12. System Utilities ..

12.1.

Disc Info ..

12.2.

System Info

12.3.

Device Info .

12.4.

Load Default ...

12.5.

Update Firmware ...

13. Loader Utilities ...

13.1.

Update Robot Firmware .

14.

Manage A

ccounts .

14.1.

View User ...

14.2.

Create User

14.3.

Edit User Info .

14.4.

Delete User

14.5.

Password on Bootup .

15. AUTOCOPY

16. Shutdown ..

Chapter 3: Trouble Shooting .. ...

Chapter 4: List of Error Codes ..

Chapter 5: Menu Tree . ..

Chapter 1: Introduction

1. Overview

Welcome

The

FORTE autoloader is a reliable, high performance, high speed, standalone, robotic CD,

DVD

and/or

Blu-Ray (Optional)

autoloader

. With its profes

sional industrial design and simple user

interface, it makes your duplic

ating experience easier than ever.

With the

FORTE autoloader, you have a capacity of 25 discs that can duplicate continuously for 24 hours, even with multiple masters. You get the highest quality duplication all at an extremely affordable price. The

FORTE is the most reliable and affordable autoloader on the market.

Before you start using this

autoloader

, please read the following to ensure proper operation:

BD/

DVD Duplication Limitations

The

autoloader will not copy any

BD/

DVDs that have Copy Prote

ction en

coded in the content.

Typically, most

Blu-Ray movies or DVD movies you purchase or

rent contain Copy Protection.

In addition to the copy protection limitation, the

autoloader will only copy a

single layer

Blu-Ray/DVD disc

to another

single layer Blu-Ray/DVD recordable

media. If your

autoloader has

double layer Blu-Ray/DVD capability, you can copy a

double layer Blu-Ray/DVD disc to another

double layer Blu-Ray/DVD recordable media

, but you cannot duplicate a

single layer

Blu-Ray/DVD disc to

double layer Blu-Ray/DVD recordable

media or vice versa.

Temperature Warning

If the

autoloader was stored in a location where the temperature dropped be

low 32° F (0° C)

within the past 24 hours, leave the

autoloader in a warm room with temperatures at least 65° F (19° C) for four hours prior to powering it on for the first time. Failure to do so may cause irreparable harm and prevent the

autoloader from functioning.

Maintenance

It is very important to operate and keep the

autoloader in a dust free, clean en

vironment since

dust is the number one killer of CD/DVD

/Blu-Ray recording devices. Failure to do so can severely

damage your

autoloader

. We strongly suggest that you constantly use an Air Duster (Canned Air)

to clear off any dust on the surface of the

autoloader.

Note: Do not try to use an Air Duster to clean the

autoloader while the writer trays are open. In

doing so, you may inadvertently blow dust into the recording device and damage it.

Proper Shutdown

To avoid possible system failures, you need to shut down the

autoloader prop

erly. To shut down

the

autoloader

, scroll to menu 16. Shutdown and follow the instructions on the screen. Not

performing this function increases the risk of damaging the

autoloader.

Disc Static and Sticky Media Issue

he most common

problems when using an autoloader

are the disc stat

ic and sticky media issues.

These

static charge

problems cause multiple discs to stick to

gether, resulting in improper

operation and more severely, can shock the robotic arm while loadin

g a disc

causing the

system

to freeze

. Even though the autoloader has a sticky media separator function to

help

prevent

media from sticking, you should

still

follow these steps to prevent sticky media from disrupting

your operation and protect your system

from

disc static charge.

This issue is most commonly seen when you buy a 100 pack of blank discs and insert them into the autoloader without any treatment. If you have expe

rienced this kind of problem, please do the

following to remove the adhesive stat

ic between the discs:

Separate the blank discs before you place them into the autoloader's spindle(s). Separating them will greatly reduce the static between discs.

If this doesn't achieve the desired outcome, use an air duster (canned air) to blow air around the circular edge of the blank discs as shown in Figure 1-1. This process reduces the static between the discs up to 90%. The amount of air to use depends on factors specific to your environment.

Figure 1-1 Using Canned Air to Reduce Static

If you are still having problems, put your media into the refrigerator (NOT in the freezer) for three hours. Afterwards, store

at room temper

ature for one hour prior to use. Studies

show that cold temperature (with no condensation) will also reduce th

e static charges

between objects dramatically.

Spindles vs. Bins

The

FORTE autoloader

has

one area for holding CDs

, DVDs and/or

Blu-Ray Discs

. Although the

manual refers to them as spindles, many of the messages shown on the LCD display

will

refer to

them as bins in order to create a more concise mes

sage. Don t panic. Spindles and bins are the

same.

2. The Robotic Platform

The

FORTE autoloader, with

Disc Capacity, has

two bins (see Figure 1-3). Each

bay

hold

approximately 25

discs (Actual quan

tity varies depend

ing on the media thickness).

Place the

media you wish to copy

into the Input Bin. The robotic arm will pick discs from

Input Bin then place

the successfully copied discs onto

the

Output Bin

If any discs were rejected due to failure,

the

disc will be ejected and the job will be automatically aborted.

Figure 1- 3

Forte Robotic Duplicator (25 Capacity)

Top View

3. The LCD Control Panel

*The below image is for reference only. Your key assignment and appearance may differ. Figure 1-5

below

shows the LCD Control Panel. This panel has a two-line by 20 character LCD

display to provide user feedback and eight push buttons to control the operation of this system

The functions for these buttons are shown in Table 1-1.

Figure 1

-5

LCD Control Panel Layout

Table 1-1: Front Panel Controls

Control

Name

Function

Scroll up through the menu or list.

Down

Scroll down through the menu or list.

Enter

Execute the function. Also referred to as OK in the Menus.

Escape

Go back to the previous function.**

Master

Quick key to

choose Master Mode **

Load

Quick key to

load the master to the hard drive**

Info

Quick key to

see information about discs in the drives**

Shutdown Quick key

: to shutdown duplicator**

4. Menu Overview

This section provides an overview of the menu options.

These menu options are explained in

detail on the referenced pages.

1. Copy

page

Use the

Copy menu to make CD/DVD/Blu-Ray Disc (Optional) copies. Before you start a

copy proc

ess

, make sure you have selected the correct

Master Mode. Please refer to

Single Master and Multi Master Modes on page 13

for additional information.

If you plan to use Single Master Mode, please make sure you have successfully loaded your master disc t

o a partition on

the Hard Drive.

If you plan to use Multi Master Mode, please make sure you have placed every master disc on top of

the

corresponding number of blank discs.

For additional information on copying on either Master Mode

, see Making Copies

Single Master Mode on page 16 or Making Copies in Multi Master Mode on

page 18.

2. Test

page 21

Use the

Test

menu or

Test quick key to simulate the copy process. With sim

ulation, write once recordable discs such as DVD-R, or CDR will be reusable. The purpose of simulation is to ensure error free duplication.

Note: Due to physical limitati

ons of the BD-R/

DVD+R recordable for

mat, if you try to

simulate BD-R/

DVD+R copying, you will encounter failure messages.

Warning: If you are using CD/DVD

/BD Rewritable discs as your blank media during the

simulation, the

content on those discs will be permanently erased.

3. Compare

page 21

Use the Compare function to perform a bit-by-bit comparison between the content of your m

aster

disc(s)

in the Hard Drive

and the

contents of all

disc

s it copied

. This en

sures that all

of your copies ar

e identical to original master disc(s).

Note: The

bit-by-bit

comparison will only apply on all

Blu-Ray Discs,

DVDs and Data CDs.

readability check will be applied for othe

r formats like

Audio CDs, CD+G,

and

Video CDs

discs due to their lack of error correction mechanisms.

4. Test + Copy

page

Use the

Test + Copy menu option to simulate the copying process initially. Then, the

autoloader performs the actual copy process on the blank disc(s)

if they passed the

simulation

. If

any

part of this

process

fails, the

job will be aborted.

5. Copy + Compare

page 2

Use the

Copy + Compare menu option to make

100% reliable

copies. After the copy

process is done, the

autoloader

auto

matically compares the copies

from the content of

your original master disc. If any part of this process fails,

the job will be aborted.

6. Select Burn Speed

page 2

Use the

Select Burn Speed menu option or the

Speed quick key to adjust the duplication

peed for the various

blank disc formats

7. Select Source

page 2

Use the

Select Source

menu or the

Source quick key to

tell the system where the content

of the master disc resides during duplication. At this point, Hard Drive is the only

option in

this

setting since it is the only

place where the content of the master disc resides during

duplication.

8. Master Mode

page 2

Use the Master Mode menu to select either Single Master

Mode(SM) or Multi Master

Mode (MM). For more information on these modes, s

ee Single Master and Multi Master

Modes on

page 13.

9. Erase

page

Use the Erase menu to erase your

Rewritable discs. There are two options:

Full Erase: This option erases the entire disc, destroying all previously written data in

the process.

ick Erase: This option erases the

index (TOC) of the

Rewritable disc, not the data section. It is much faster than Full Erase. However, the data section is still recoverable. If you prefer the old content not be recovered for security purposes, please perform Full Erase.

10. Hard Drive Setup

page 2

Use the Hard Drive Setup menu to perform various hard drive-related opera

tions. These

options include loading, renaming, or deleting your images.

11. Setup

page 2

Use the Setup menu options to control how

the

autoloader operates. You can scroll

between the various options using the

Up or

Down

button.

Language

Use this setting to choose the language used to na

vigate the

autoloader

. The

autoloader officially supports English and Span

ish menus. More languages could

be added.

2. Read Error Skip

Normally, when the

autoloader encounters a read error while reading the master disc, all the duplication will be aborted and all the recordable media in the writers will be ruined. However, if you believe tha

t your master disc has a small,

insignificant error due to physical damage, you can utilize

this setting to allow the

autoloader to skip any read errors tha

t it encounters. It is Off with Retry

default.

Important:

When this function is ON , it

does

not fix the error; it only skips it to

continue

copying the rest of the readable data. This is recommended for Video and

Audio duplication purpose

CD Writing Mode

Use this setting to select the mode you would like use to duplicate a CD. There are tw

o different modes: Disc at Once and Track at Once. Unless you understand

completely what they mean, we strongly sug

gest you to set it as Disc at Once .

4. Max Audio,

VCD & CDG Speed

Due to the lack of error checking mechanism for Audio CD,

Video CD and CD+G

format,

duplicating them at too high a

speed can cause frequent errors like glitches

and skips. Use this setting to adjust the maximum duplication speed for Audio

Video CD and CD+G format to ensure reliable duplication for such formats.

5. Buz

zer

Use this setting to choose whether you want to hear a beep when you press a button and when a task has been completed or have it turned off for silent operation.

6. Startup Menu

Use this setting to choose which menu you would like to see first when you turn on the autoloader

7. Screen Saver

Use this setting to enable or disable the Screen Saver feature

. When this is en

abled, a screen saver is displayed whenever your

autoloader has been idle for a

set period of time.

8. Counter

Use the Counter

menu to enable or disable the

Counter feature. The counter tells

you how many discs have copied and how many discs are left to go during the duplication process stop

ping the job once the

desired

number of copies has been

made

9. DVD+R Compatibility Mode

This feature allows you to turn the

DVD+R High Compatibility Mode feature ON or

OFF. The purpose of this feature is to increase the com

patibility of DVD+R media

with a broader range of DVD Video play

ers.

10. ISRC

This option will allow you to enable/di

sable copying

the

ISRC code of an

Audio CD. ISRC is the serial number of the audio track that uniquely identifies the song in that audio track. This ISRC code is commonly found in commercial Audio CDs and rarely seen on home made Audio CDs. By enabling th

is feature, the duplication

performance will be lowered.

. CD Overburn

Most CD-

R media is either

650MB or

700MB

. T

he burning starts from the center of the CD and works its way out but stops before the physical edge of the CD. Overburning is

burning method to bypass the limitations

of burning further out

onto the edge of the CD

. T

his can result in s

lightly higher

storage

capacity,

however, it

has also been known to have compatibility playback issues. Please use

it with caution.

12. System Utilities

page 34

1. Disc Info

Use the Disc Info utility to identify the type

and other information about your

blank

recordable media.

2. System Info

The System Info menu provides

important hardware information such as firmware

versions, Duplication/Robot Control

Boards types, etc

3. Device Info

This menu allows you to see information about the recording devices built inside your autoloader.

4. Load Default

Use this menu option to reset all of the options back to the manufactur

er's default

values. You can us

e this function if your

autoloader is acting abnormally.

5. Update Firmware

Use this utility to update the software in your

autoloader

. To update, in

sert the

manufacturer s Certified Update CD into

the

tray and

make sure no other di

scs

are in rest

the

trays. Then you can

press the ENT/

Enter button to update.

Important: You should not upgrade your

autoloader

's firmware unless your

system is becoming unstable or you are advised to

so by Tech Support.

13. Loader Utilities

page 3

Use the Load

er Utilities menu options to access the various utilities built into the

autoloader

. You can scroll between the various options using the

Up or Down

button.

Update Robot Firmware

Use this utility to update the software in your autoloaders robot cont

roller. To

update, in

sert the manufacturer s Certified

Robot

Update CD into the 1

tray and

make sure no other discs are in

the other

trays. Then you can press the ENT/

Enter

button to update.

Important: You should not updat

e your autoloader's robot firm

ware unless your

system is becoming unstable or you are advised to do so by Tech Support.

14. Manage Accounts

page 40

Use this menu option to:

Create user accounts and passwords to prevent unauthorized use of the

autoloader. Edit existing user account information, including name and password. Delete existing user account(s). Enable/Disable this feature.

. AUTOCOPY

page

The Autocopy function is the simplest way to make CD/DVD/Blu-Ray Disc copies. It simplifies the copy process by automatically c

opying from a Master Disc, which should be

placed on top of the first Input Spindle,

instead of a preloaded master image on the HDD, to all of the blank discs which follow it. The benefit of this operation is to decrease the time needed to initiate the co

py process for a master disc that does not need to be stored on the

HDD permanently.

. Shutdown

page 4

Use this menu option to turn off your system. Once you see the Ready to Power Off message, you can safely turn off the machine using the power switch. Turning off your autoloader without performing this function increas

es the risk of damaging it and all

settings changed since

the

last boot up will not be saved.

. Single Master and Multi Master Modes

There are two ways to make copies using the autoloader:

Single Master Mode:

This mode requires that a single master disc is loaded onto the hard drive prior to initiating the duplication process. This mode is ideal if your job involves one or very few master disc(s).

Multi

Master Mode (Batch Mod

e):

This mode does not require you to manually

pre-load your master onto the HDD

. Simply

place the master disc(s) on top of the

corresponding

stack of blank discs needed for that

particular

job. This mode is ideal if you

have numerous master discs and few

er copies for

each master disc. The Multi Master mode uses the Reserve partition to temporarily store the

content of

the

current master disc for duplication purpose

. Once the task is

complete and a new master

disc has been detected, the reserve partition'

s content

(of previous master disc) will be

replaced with the

content of the new master disc.

You can tell immediately which mode you are in by looking at any of the Copy or Test menus:

The (SM) indicates Single Master

Mode

, and the (MM)

indicates Multi Master Mode.

For example, if you need to make:

copies of job A

copies of job B

copies of job C

Under Multi Master

Mode

, you would need to follow

the below

steps:

1. Make sure

the

Input Spindle is empty.

2. Place 7 blank discs for job C

first

on the input spindle.

3. Place the master disc for job C on top of the

stacked

blank discs for job C.

4. Place 6 blank discs for job B on top of the master disc for j

ob C.

5. Place the master disc for job B on top of the stacked

blank discs for job B.

6. Place 5 blank discs for job A on top of the master disc for job B.

7. Place the master disc for job A on top of

the stacked blank discs for Job A.

Discmakers

X.xx

1. Copy

(SM)

Discmakers X.xx

1. Copy

(MM)

After you have completed these steps, the Input Spindle should be loaded in the order shown in Figure 1-6: When you star

t the copy operation, the robotic arm will pick up discs from the Input Spindle and place them into the drives. If any of the discs in the drives contains data, (in this case, that would be the first disc, Master A)

the autoloader will

copy

the

entire con

tent of this disc (Master A) onto the

internal hard drive while simultaneously copying to all of the

blank discs in

the

remaining

writer

drives.

Once the

copy process is completed, Master disc A

and the

successfully

copied discs will be

removed from

the drives and dropped

to the Output

Spindle

. At the same time, the system will pick up the next discs from the

input bin and place t

hem in the

corresponding writer drive

(s)

. Then the

copying process will start over again from the hard drive

If a new mast

er is detected (in this

case, it

would be the Master B)

, the

autoloader will complete the previous job, unload the

copied discs

, and fill

the drive tray

(s)

wit

h blank discs for the next job.

The robotic arm will continue to load media into the drive

(s)

the duplicated discs are

placed in the

Output

Spindle

. Once a drive (any drive) detects an

other Master disc, the

same process is repeated for the new Master disc.

Master A

Blank discs

for

Master A Master B

Blank discs for

Master B

Master C

Blank discs for

Master C

Figure 1

-6

The Order of Discs

in MM mode

+ 36 hidden pages

Forte Duplicator, Reflex User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual