I apologize for starting ANOTHER thread on this very talked about issue -- I have done the searches, feel fairly confident in what direction I will take, but I wanted to verify that I am understanding correctly the issue of Canon's 24F .m2t in relation to the FireStore products.

I am not interested in working with QT files, I work with Vegas, which works with .m2t files natively. It appears that I can save a bit of money and record .m2t streams to this FS-4 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/466716-REG/Focus_Enhancements_ASYF_1158_01LF_FS_4_HD_40GB_Portable.html) as well as this FS-C (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/434414-REG/Canon_0884V781_FireStore_FSC_HD60_60GB_DTE.html). The FS-4 is quite a bit cheaper, and I am interested in saving money of course. BUT, I want to be certain that the FS-4 will handle the 24F .m2t format without problems, WITH THE XH-A1.

I have attempted to talk with Focus Enhancements, with Sales Reps at Bhphotovideo, and have gotten conflicting reports as to whether the FS-4 can handle the 24F .m2t mode.

Are there any XH-A1 users with an FS-4 HD (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/466716-REG/Focus_Enhancements_ASYF_1158_01LF_FS_4_HD_40GB_Portable.html) that regularly shoot 24F .m2t with no trouble? Or do I need to fork over the additional cash for the FS-C unit (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/434414-REG/Canon_0884V781_FireStore_FSC_HD60_60GB_DTE.html)?

Thanks for your time.

fs 4 pro will handle 24F into an mt2 stream, just not into a quicktime file. For everything else it works fine, as in a 1080 60i into either mt2 or quicktime. The fsc will likely have the most updates for canon cameras in the future.

Thanks, Stephen. Does the FS-4 HD listed on the link I posted fall into the "pro" category?

Brandon,

The FS-4 HD is *not* the FS-4 HD Pro. However, Stephen is right. the FS-4 HD will accept the 24F stream and put it in an .m2t file. I just tried it with mine.

Thanks Glen. When you copy over the .m2t, does your NLE of choice (I'm using Vegas) recognize it correctly as a 23.976 file? Sorry for the constant questions, but I want to be certain before I spend $800.

Liquid 7.2 recognizes and imports the file as 23.98 fps.

I have uploaded ~10 seconds of NTSC bars and 1Khz tone (courtesy of the A1) to
http://www.diamondrosevideo.com/videos/20071010-173407D01.m2t
(Right click, Save target as...) (34MB). How does Vegas handle it?

Got it. Looks great!

One more question (I hope) and then I'm good to go.

A lot of what I do is film interviews that can last between 10 and 45 minutes. I've read that the FireStores break HDV clips into 9 minute segments while recording. Now, I know that it's not supposed to drop frames inbetween those splits, but I've heard of audio glitches between the splits. Has this been a valid issue, and if so, is it still?

I read one report that the drives are a little noisy for shooting in tight quarters, but I haven't seen that confirmed by any posts other that that one.

Yes, it does break up the files since it used a FAT file system. I have only done one project that required clips that long. I did not have any audio issues when it broke up the files. Either I got lucky or the latest software fixed any early issues.

Thank you everyone! I know what course of action I am taking, now.

I own a FSC and have recorded many interviews with clips lasting longer than 9min and have yet to find an audio problem when importing into Vegas or FCP for that matter.

On a similar note, I would suggest (if you can) to hit the rec button in between questions to create a new clip which will cut down on your clip length and make editing a little easier as you'll have individual clips to look at rather than scrubbing through an entire interview.