The data is recorded by the EX as FAT32. Does this mean the dreaded 4gb file limitation is going to exist for acquisition??

It appears that the EX software will "seamlessly" span long takes that exceed 4gb (if I am interpreting correctly).... but FAT32 seems like an odd choice?

And does this mean that the EX software combines segments into single clips if a take exceeds 4gb.... which by my very rough estimate is only approx 12 minutes at HQ.

Does this mean our media drives need to be formatted to FAT32???

FAT32 remains a legacy format, in part, because MacIntosh can read and write to this format. Macs can read NTFS but can't write to it. nNovia has a software solution that writes to the FAT32 disk, then combines all the clips and makes the drive look like NTFS and one single file to a PC.

Marty, read through the Clip Browser manual in the download. It explains how it displays and handles/spans takes more that 4GB (about 12:30 in 35mbps mode and 17:30 in 25mbps).

They do warn against copying clips in Mac or Windows "desktops" for such reason. The Clip Browser will keep the linked association.

The data is recorded by the EX as FAT32. Does this mean the dreaded 4gb file limitation is going to exist for acquisition??

It appears that the EX software will "seamlessly" span long takes that exceed 4gb (if I am interpreting correctly).... but FAT32 seems like an odd choice?

And does this mean that the EX software combines segments into single clips if a take exceeds 4gb.... which by my very rough estimate is only approx 12 minutes at HQ.

Does this mean our media drives need to be formatted to FAT32???

Craig... I just happened across that part. Good catch, thanks.

Seems to make sense. It just seemed odd to see FAT32 as the format.

For the very same reason (i.e. Mac compatibility), also the DR60 drive is FAT32. It can be pain in the ass really to put the 4GB together on timeline, and the automated software (Vegas for instance) not always gets it quite right....

You'd think NTFS would have been ok since Macs can read that and the transfer is happening in the clip browser rather than desktop. I can only guess they ran into some workflow issues with NTFS (or other formats).

It looks like they have the clip spanning worked out in the Clip Browser.


Craig... I just happened across that part. Good catch, thanks.

Seems to make sense. It just seemed odd to see FAT32 as the format.

It's going to be very interesting to see what the NLE situation is going to be once the camera is released.

I'm taking a good look at Vegas 8. I've used version 6 for years for sound work, but now it may have an edge over Premiere in my mind. Premiere has become so unwieldy and unstable since CS2. As much as I enjoy the integration with AE and Photoshop, it may be time to consider a move.

Sort of unrelated to the FAT32 topic of this thread, but it is part of the larger scope of how EX data is going to make its way to a finished edit.

As much as I like Vegas, and only speaking of my experince with DR60 drive and its FAT32-related problems: Vegas is supposed to import files from it and combine those created by the 4GB limit into a single file, which it fails to do correctly sometimes. On the other hand, there is a utility from Sony for doing just that, and it does it perfectly well all the time - so, one could conclude the clip browser to accompany the EX1 will do it right, as well...

As to NLE.... I have a feeling that Cineform is going to be very important with the EX as to workflow...

Of course one would expect Sony NLE support for a Sony format would be good.

I use FCP. Apple support should happen quickly. Note that there's already a Mac version of the ClipBrowser and Drivers.

I think people will be watching where Adobe and Avid are in their readiness.

The interesting thing is that Sony chose .mp4 rather than .mxf for this XDCAM. I'm curious about the reasoning in that too. I'd "heard" that it would help in the NLE support department but I'd like to hear the tech details on that.