I have the new mark 2 msproduo and the standard mspro duo, they look the film looks the same. I am aware of the WRITTEN difference, but is there really a difference, has any body seen anything differently.

I believe the difference is in write speed - I've noticed the faster MS Duos seem to process stills faster. For video, it either meets the necessary speed or it doesn't...

i guess i do notice the write speed is slower with the mspro compared to ms pro mark 2

I went to a Best Buy with my older 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo Magic Gate (not a Mark 2) and inserted it into a Sony CX12 and started testing (I was shopping for a small HD cam at the time.). I took my chip home and started to play around with editing, converting, etc. I believe the CX12, writing at about ~16Mbps welcomed my old MSProDuo with open arms. Below is the MediaInfo on one of the .mts files it wrote. My CX12 arrives this Friday and a 4GB MSProDuo (non-Mark2 I think) is included. I believe the chips don't exactly have to be Mark 2 in order for them to work on Sony's AVCHD (at ~16Mbps) cameras. I could be wrong...

General
ID : 0
Complete name : K:\RexVideos\Sony CX12\MTS\00000.MTS
Format : BDAV
Format/Info : BluRay Video
File size : 33.2 MiB
Duration : 16s 753ms
Overall bit rate : 16.6 Mbps
Maximum Overall bit rate : 18.0 Mbps

Video
ID : 4113 (0x1011)
Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 2 frames
Duration : 16s 733ms
Bit rate : 15.5 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16/9
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Resolution : 24 bits
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Interlaced
Scan order : Top Field First

Audio
ID : 4352 (0x1100)
Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Duration : 16s 753ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 448 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Surround: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Video delay : -67ms

Text
ID : 4608 (0x1200)
Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
Format : PGS
Video delay : -133ms

CX12 ships with a 4G Mark2 MS Duo. BUT I've not had a problem recording with ANY genuine MS Duo from Sony or Sandisk... all seem to work fine. I really only noticed the time difference when shooting stills.

CX12 ships with a 4G Mark2 MS Duo. BUT I've not had a problem recording with ANY genuine MS Duo from Sony or Sandisk... all seem to work fine. I really only noticed the time difference when shooting stills.

Thanks Dave. I will receive my CX12 tomorrow. I'm very excited! So, I will be using the included 4GB Mark 2 as well as my older 4GB Duo chip with MagicGate.