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Although my office doesn’t operate a movie studio, we found we had an increasing need to make several copies of a single videotape to produce discovery for opposing counsel, and more. The process was becoming too difficult for us to keep up the pace with the one-copy VCR we were using. The Dupe-6 video duplication system isn’t a high-speed duplicator, so if you have an hour long video, it will take an hour to make copies of it. There is no such thing as making a “quick copy” with the Dupe-6 system. The Dupe-6 system comes with some nifty components such as: six individual VCRs, a Super VHS audio/video signal distribution amplifier, a SVHS QC Switcher with a 13-inch color monitor, an Interface Patchbay with cable, a 19-inch equipment rack and AC power strips. It sounds like a lot of complicated movie studio equipment, but basically it’s six VCRs hooked up together with an amplifier to assure you get the same quality signal to each VCR. Well, at least knowing what it does isn’t complicated, but putting it together is another issue. When I ordered the Dupe-6 system, the sales representative told me the cabinet would come assembled. When I received the equipment, I quickly found this was not correct. Much assembly was required, and the assembly and wiring instructions left a lot to be desired. I also found the SHVS QC Switcher (used to view the signal received on each individual VCR) was defective. I shipped it back and promptly received another one, but still found it troublesome. And, the 13-inch color monitor was not the same model described in the instruction booklet nor the same model described when I placed the order. When I called technical support, I was told sometimes the models are switched by retailers and TecNec has no control over it. This response from technical support was puzzling. It also made the final connection to the monitor awkward. I eventually wired the system to become operational and attempted to duplicate some videotapes. Again I found a problem — the VCRs were not duplicating videos longer than two hours. Once again I contacted technical support. They said they would research the problem and contact me. At press time, the problem still was not resolved. The bottom line is order from someone else. If you have a busy schedule, you will not have the time for Dupe-6. |
TecNec Price: $3,899 Reviewed by Milton Hooper, a litigation support specialist in Macon, Ga. PROS CONS VERDICT |
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