I'll never lose another game cd again...

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[City Builder]

Well, it may not be a high enough success rate if we were talking about an airplane but I ended up removing one coil from the lower spring and entirely removing the upper spring and had a 99% success rate with the unit.  It verified (ejected and took back in) 99 out of the 100 cd's.  Like I said, if it were an airplane that advertised a 99% success rate of not crashing and burning I'd probably look elsewhere, but for this great little gadget I think 99/100 is acceptable.  Im pretty sure a little more tinkering and I'd probably get 100% but to be honest I couldn't really bother.  In 3 months time, I doubt I'd eject 100 CD's out of it.

Okay, now onto the review of the included software.

When I opened the box the first thing I noticed was a big sticker on the actual units box saying "FREE PRO SOFTWARE UPGRADE", naturally I took advantage of that and downloaded the full pro upgrade and Im glad that I did.

The pro software includes a user defined entry (just one) that Im currently using for keeping the serial numbers for my games so that I don't have to keep the manuals handy (all manuals and empty cd cases are now in a suitcase in the garage in case I need them later on due to corrupt database or other problem).  There is also a comments area where I can enter as much information as I like.  I also store the serial number here as well as any notes I may think I will need.

The software has a fast searching capabilities that allows me to search on disc title, Contents, Comments or the User defined field.  It also allows me some search options of Group, Provided to (you can type in someones name if you give out the cd), the disc type (which you can choose upon first entering the record), date or advanced options such as case sensitive, "sounds like", whole word match, and No wildcards.  The search may not be all that usefull for one stakka, but if you had say, 5 of these units with a total of 500 cd's then it would be more usefull, or god forbid you daisy chained the maximum units per computer which is 50,000 cd's then the search function is a must have item.

The software comes with it's own database maintenance which allows backing up the database, which I use to keep it synchronized between my desktop and my laptop (which is at the hotel Im staying at), as well as the usual restore function.  It also has a verify function which I made liberal use of today while tweaking the unit that will spin the carousel round and round ejecting and reinserting every cd to verify that there is at least a cd in the slot.  It also has a function that allows you to verify the disc title but that's a manual situation and you have to look at the cd as it's ejected and then confirm on the screen that the right cd was ejected.  Eeeech, that's for the birds but would be usefull if discs got inserted in the wrong slots which can only happen by human error.

You also have a report wizard which will report on the screen (and allow you to print) a listing of all cd's in the unit, as well as any cd's that are not present.

There is also a disc bulk loader which allows the machine to swallow up your cd's and it will just give them the name you choose and append a number in sequence to the end of it.  Not very usefull in my opinion.

There is also the possiblity of associating an image with each disc.  Only really usefull if you create a contact sheet of all the images stored on the CD (Im only using this for my game cd's) so that you can somewhat easily look and see whats on the disc.  However the image is only about 3"x4" on the screen so it's certainly not enough to see clearly a contact sheet.

So far the software has been right stable and I appreciate that because when I worked for American Honda years ago they used these mdb databases and they were constantly becoming corrupt.  Backup, backup, backup is my opinion when it comes to mdb databases.  I now keep the backup on a USB thumb drive so that I can easily transfer it to the laptop when I take the unit home or to the hotel.  Though once summer is over and Im home full time again, the unit will be pretty much permanantly hooked up to my desktop.

So all in all... Would I buy another unit? Hmmm tough question.  I guess I'd certainly gamble $75.00 on another unit, though Im doubtfull that I will spend another $104.00 on one.  If they ever come down in price to $75 then I'll pick up a second or even third unit so that I can get all of my cd's and games stored away.  I did have to make some choices because I've got far more cd's/games then the 100 per unit maximum storage.  But I chose those games that Im likely to play over the next several years and you can also run a history report to see when cd's were last checked out so as I buy new games I'll look into it and see which games never get removed and permanantly remove them from the unit to store in the suitcase in the garage.

I very much like the idea of this unit and had it not had the initial problems that I've explained prior, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another unit or two.

[MaxBeta]

  Ah..we have a component modification engineer in our midst.  Sometimes that is the only solution to "glitch"..issues.  You've done a fine job CB.   

Plus a fine and unbias review..just as we requested.  Thanks..I do feel much better informed..beyond the call of duty due to your in-depth fact finding summary.   

[City Builder]

And if interested to see a report out of the software provided with the unit (pro version) here is what is inside of the unit now:


[attachment deleted by admin]

[MaxBeta]

   That's pretty decent reporting CB.

I can see it really assisting massive CD DB's..and avid gamers like ourselves just need the organization.

My disc storage is old school for sure.. but I usually play a half dozen games at a time..poke them away one at a time as new games arrive.  Games like Patrician..I keep in my currently playing carousel all the time.  I noticed dust on my Caesar IV jewel case..might be telling me something.  ?? ..maybe I should dust more often?   

Hope this setup gives you the service you expect..

[City Builder]

The more I think about it, the more that I realize that I don't really need the automated carousel but rather just a smaller solution of keeping my games handy and from damage.  I've tried just about everything over the years.  I had a box that held the cd's without sleeves and it was this roundish looking box.  I've had all the binders but in my opinion I scratched far too many discs getting them in and out (it was just surface scuffs but it bothered me), and of course the traditional jewel cases, and even went to slim sized dvd cases and I've had some of the dual cd case holders, all of which ended up being shoved back on the shelf in no orderly fashion.

But this thing really doesn't take up that much space compared to 100 cd jewel cases.  And samantha is now going to rebuild my game shelving unit so that it can hold the double sized dvd boxes that most games are coming in now.  Right now when she first built it, it has two shelves that are tall enough to hold the dvd sized cases, and 4 shelves to hold the jewel cases, but thats going to be rebuilt to hold all dvd sized cases, because the dvd style cases are easy to find on the shelf at a glance, since the names right there in bold uber large print on the edge of these games now adays, so I didn't bother to put those games cd's into the stakka since they are real easy to pick out of the shelf.

I'd shout from the top of a mountain if this thing was 100% reliable in ejecting the CD's, but last night down at the resort I had to tell it to eject my The Guild 2 disc 3 times before it did.  Then I tried 5 other games cd's to see what's up and they all ejected perfectly so it seems my mod may not have been good enough.  So tonight I'll have to try again and loosen up the lower springs tension even more and if that doesn't work then I'll definately send it back to tigerdirect.com for an exchange since they have a NO refund policy on these units.  Can't imagine why   

Still, with it's problems Im overall satisfied with it and can only hope that someone comes out with one of these with a built in CD/DVD reader/writer as that would be the tops, then CD's wouldnt even need to be ejected.  Kind of like a 100 CD jukebox for the PC.  I'll keep wishing on that one.  But you know what they say about wishing.  Wish in one hand, poop in the other, see which one fills first.

[MaxBeta]

 

..and can only hope that someone comes out with one of these with a built in CD/DVD reader/writer as that would be the tops

That would get my attention too, CB.  Anything to free up the congestion in PC boxes.. I do believe that all that Spins will eventually "go away" as solidstate digital media tech takes over.

There's a need for the SS-speed..(not the game)..and just think of how much interior space will be saved.   

[City Builder]

Just imagine when games and other applications are distributed on USB thumbdrives!  They will end up using the thumbdrive as a dongle instead of requiring that the CD/DVD be inserted.  Instead of huge shelves we'll all be owners of giant bailiff keyrings to hold all the thumbdrives.

[City Builder]

Well, I've found another problem with the unit and it wouldnt be a problem probably in an office environment, however since Im limited on space here at the hotel, the unit was sitting on a chair with a cushioned seat pad.  Apparently it is really REALLY dependant on being on a level surface.  If it tilts slightly to one side then the CD's don't line up with the rollers.  However once I moved the unit to sit ontop of my laptop (my laptop is shut and Im using an external monitor) which is on top of a desk or sorts, it works perfectly fine.  I discovered this tonight because every cd that I wanted to eject wouldn't.  I opened the unit again to find that every cd it tried to eject wasn't aligned up properly with the pinch rollers.  Once I put the unit on a level base, all of the CD's lined up with the pinch rollers again.

Im glad that I moved in an extra small nightstand into my home office where it will be permanantly (and levelly) set once I go back home next Saturday.