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i first saw Microboards Technology's MX-2 running at NAB 2008. Three of its features really stuck in my mind: The first feature was the homegrown Microboards software, which replaced the badly aging Prassi control programs found on previous Microboards units. Second, the new HP print engine now featured both faster printing and separate ink cartridges. The third feature was the Blu-ray Disc option. Though it took nearly a year to get the MX-2 in my hands for testing (and I didn't get a Blu-ray Disc version), it was well worth the wait. The MX-2 proved to be a reliable, fast performer with excellent print quality.
The unit arrived in a heavy, 38'x24'x15' box containing the printer/duplicator and the cross-platform software bundle. Windows users get the aforementioned Microboards control software, called Print Write, plus the label designer, SureThing CD Labeler. On the Mac side, you get Charismac Discribe, which is functional though more bare-bones, and no label creation software. Discribe does run on older, PowerPC-based Macs, which is nice. But Microboards still doesn't offer a networking option for either platform, which is long overdue for this class of device.
The MX-2 I reviewed (Figure 1) came with two Sony/NEC Optiarc AD-5200A disc drives, which featured 20X single-layer DVD±R and 12X DVD±R DL write speed. This unit lists for $2,995; a single-drive system, the MX-1, retails for $2,795. Note that you can buy either the single- or the double-drive configuration with a Blu-ray burner for $500 extra per Blu-ray drive. I was hoping to test a Blu-ray-capable device, but you test what they send you-in this case, it was DVD only.
In order to get a read on real-world performance for the AD-5100A drive- before my own real-world testing on a dance-school video project kicked in- I trolled some online purchase sites for user reviews. At Amazon.com U.K., I found binary results: one five-star review ("brilliant drive") and one one-star review ("noisiest drive ever"). The results were more informative at ebuyer.com, where the drive collected five five-star reviews, with the oldest dating from April 2008. This tends to confirm that the drive lives up to its expectations, and when I used it, the unit wasn't particularly noisy, eliminating that concern.
NEW PRINT ENGINE
One of the key...