Primera's Bravo SE Blu Disc Publisher

By David O. Weissman

Blu-ray Disc writers have been widely available for over a year now. They are used for authoring high-definition discs, PlayStation 3 game development, and in secure data archiving.

Since the replication process is still expensive, and cannot be done without including AACS content protection, many people are turning to duplicators instead. These quick turnaround systems potentially can make two different formats of recordable discs: the BD-R (Blu-ray Disc recordable) and the BD-RE (Blu-ray Disc rewritable). This review takes a look at one of the simplest automated disc duplicator-printer systems, the Primera SE Blu Disc Publisher.

Hardware-wise, the SE Blu is almost identical to its standard DVD cousin, the SE. It’s limited to only one burner and has a 20-disc capacity. The SE Blu has a big brother, the $5,295 XR-Blu, which can crank out batches of 50 discs. As of this writing, the SE and the XR have the same integrated Blu-ray recorder, the Panasonic SW-5582, which can write to CD-R, DVD±R (single- and dual-layer) and BD-R (single- and dual-layer). With all of these features, the Panasonic burner has greater capability than the first Blu-ray recorder on the market—the Pioneer BDR-101A, which was unable to record dual-layer BD-R discs, or even basic CD-R discs.

The SE Blu’s printer is the same Lexmark system as in the standard-DVD SE Disc Publisher. Like the SE, it comes with SureThing CD Labeler software, which is a Windows-only application. Inkjet-printable BD-R discs have been on the market only since the first quarter of 2007. As of June, inkjet BD-Rs were selling for about 1.33 times the price of plain BD-R media, and about 25 times the price of inkjet-ready DVD-R discs!

PTPublisher, the job management software that controls the system, lets you complete a lot of different tasks, but there are limits to its flexibility. In testing it, I first made a BD-R disc from an image file created by Roxio DVDit Pro HD. Then I copied that disc to another BD-R disc, and printed a slick-looking full color label on the disc face. So far, so good. Then I tried to copy the same Blu-ray disc image onto a BD-RE disc. No dice. The software logged an invalid media message. I found out later that Primera does not recommend using BD-RE media with the SE Blu, because no one sells inkjet-ready BD-RE discs (as of this article’s publication, anyway).

At the same time I hit the wall trying to burn a BD-RE, I ran into another obstacle. Without thinking I was doing something wrong, I mixed BD-R, BD-RE and DVD-R blank media together in the input bin of the SE Disc Publisher. Turns out, the system can get confused when you mix BD with DVD, as standard DVDs tend to be thinner than Blu-ray discs. If this problem occurs, you have to run a “Calibrate Disc” function when switching between media types.

Like Pioneer’s first-generation BD burner, the SE’s integrated Panasonic drive records at 2x speeds. That translates to about 45 minutes to burn a full 25GB BD-R, and twice that to burn a maxed-out 50GB disc. As for standard-def, the writer does relatively slow DVD±R recording, taking over 9 minutes to churn out a 4.7GB SD disc.

When used for copying and printing small quantities of inkjet-ready BD-R discs, the SE Blu works like a charm. Primera’s free tech support is available by email or by phone. The included 1-year warranty can be extended by 1 or 2 additional years. With an additional fee, the Primera Hot Swap program will replace a faulty SE Blu system via overnight delivery. When a speedier Blu-ray recorder comes on the market, Primera’s technical support department can install one in your system for an upgrade fee.

If you’re already in the DVD disc duplication business, and are considering a move into Blu-ray, you can’t help but notice the high cost of entry. The Primera SE Blu could be a relatively affordable way to ease into HD disc duplication.

David O. Weissman is the general manager of Video Arts, a digital video and interactive design company based in San Francisco.