I hope this isn't a duplicate thread. Feel free to delete or transfer if it is.

While I love my nano so far, I'm sure we all will have our own personal wish list of features for the future. Below is my first wish...

If the nano is set to start recording from incrementing time code in the SDI stream, the nano's record button is disabled. I would love to have the option of starting the recording with the nano's record button in that case. This would help in a couple of ways.

In a dual recording setup, like the one Alister Chapman mentions in his video on YouTube (YouTube - NanoFlash Dual (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKbXabOVzSI&fmt=18)), the nano could then be used to record the time lapse sequence and could be used to record the lightning flashes as well. That is assuming the cache function is enabled, of course.
When the unit is being used with a camera such as the HDX900, it would be great to be able to trigger the nano locally, if the camera runs out of tape. This would also require that the nano resume recording with the last generated time code or reverting to internal time code when embedded time code from the SDI stream is not detected.

That's just my $.02 for today. Does this sound feasible?

I agree with you on that steve. It would be nice to have the NanoFlash record button available no matter what other trigger method is being used. I guess the question is what about the stop button? Do you allow it to override the other trigger method, so you can force the nano to stop recording when it has previously been started by running timecode? Again a stop override would be a good option too.

Dear Steve,

We have been discussing your suggestions with our engineers.

We will see what we can do to add the features that you have requested.

At this time, if you have any reason to expect that the event will last longer than your internal tape or memory, we recommend against using Trigger on Incrementing Timecode.

Maybe the appropriate solution would be to provide "enabling" or "disabling" of buttons (Record, Stop) via the menu, a feature available on many professional VTRs. If you were using the nano for the first example I cited, being able to stop the nano would be necessary, but in other cases, that might not be desirable.

Another related feature... it would be nice if the record button could stop and start the recording (as a menu option), much like a camera's record button.

With all of that said, I know there might be a limit to the number of menu items that would be feasible for a device like the nanoFlash or FlashXDR. I, for one, appreciate the fact that the nano is a fairly simple device with a modest number of menus. To keep this manageable, maybe the extra choices could be in an extended menu, which users could ignore or access only when necessary. Programmable user menus might another smart choice, if that is practical.

I guess I need to keep a notepad with me so I can consolidate my items... here are two other things that occurred to me the other day.

Is there any way to re-set the clip number to "0" for a new project, short of doing a complete re-set of the entire device? If not, that would be a welcome addition. Of course, being able to set the clip number to any desired number would be even better. That way, if a project needed to be resumed at a later date, clip numbers from production days that are days or months apart could still be consecutive.


Does the device capture user bit data? I haven't seen it on the device's display, nor do I see it in the metadata on the XDCAM player. Could that be captured in the SDI stream and possibly be shown in the display, via a toggle between time code data and user bit data?

Maybe the appropriate solution would be to provide "enabling" or "disabling" of buttons (Record, Stop) via the menu, a feature available on many professional VTRs. If you were using the nano for the first example I cited, being able to stop the nano would be necessary, but in other cases, that might not be desirable.

Another related feature... it would be nice if the record button could stop and start the recording (as a menu option), much like a camera's record button.

With all of that said, I know there might be a limit to the number of menu items that would be feasible for a device like the nanoFlash or FlashXDR. I, for one, appreciate the fact that the nano is a fairly simple device with a modest number of menus. To keep this manageable, maybe the extra choices could be in an extended menu, which users could ignore or access only when necessary. Programmable user menus might another smart choice, if that is practical.

Hi Steve-
Great suggestions! Numerous users have requested that the record button act as both a start and stop switch. This would be easy to implement.

We will be revamping the entire menu system in the coming months. We do want to keep the nanoFlash simple, but I think we can add many of these features without adding loads of complexity.

So please keep sending recommendations, we will seriously consider their implementation.

Best-

Is there any way to re-set the clip number to "0" for a new project, short of doing a complete re-set of the entire device? If not, that would be a welcome addition. Of course, being able to set the clip number to any desired number would be even better. That way, if a project needed to be resumed at a later date, clip numbers from production days that are days or months apart could still be consecutive.


Does the device capture user bit data? I haven't seen it on the device's display, nor do I see it in the metadata on the XDCAM player. Could that be captured in the SDI stream and possibly be shown in the display, via a toggle between time code data and user bit data?

Dear Steve,

You can reset the clip number to zero by navigating to the Unit ID item in the System Menu, then clicking OK.

Here is the long version:

1. Go to the main Menu.
2. Ensure that "System" is highlighted.
3. Press the Right Arrow to enter the "System" Menu.
4. Press the Down Arrow until the "Unit ID" item is highlighted.
5. Press the Right Arrow to change the "Unit ID"
6. At this point you can change the "Unit ID" (if desired), then press OK to accept the change.

Whenever the Unit ID is changed, or just "Ok'ed", the Clip Number is reset to zero.
You can change the Unit ID back to the original number if appropriate.

While I did not test it this morning, we originally had the code setup so that just by going to change the System ID, then pressing OK, resets the Clip Number back to zero.


Question 2:

I do not think we handle User Bit data at this time.

I will discuss this with our engineers.

Another related feature... it would be nice if the record button could stop and start the recording (as a menu option), much like a camera's record button..

Dear Steve,

1. As Mike said, we will seriously consider allowing the Record button to also be the Stop button, as it is on cameras.

However, there are some things to consider before we do this.

1. We do not have the luxury of the camera person looking at our device at all times.

A cameraperson normally looks through the viewvinder or at a monitor and knows that they are recording by seeing the "Rec" light or some other indication.

It is vitally important that our device record when the user thinks it is recording.

If, for example, a person hits the Record button, then accidently hits it again, he may not realize that the unit is not recording.

Having two separate buttons is much safer. If one hits the Record button twice, there is no damage. If one hits the Stop button twice, there is no damage.

2. In the future, I would like for our unit to, while already recording, upon request from the user, close the current clip and open a new one.

This would be accomplished by pressing the Record button, while already recording.

This can be very handy.

One application is when multiple takes are shot, all in a row without stopping, in other words: "Keep Rolling" is called.

It is very nice, while still recording, to be able to press the Record button again and a new take is created.

This is very handy for the editors, as it makes it very easy to locate the start of each take.

Another application is during event recording.

For each segment, song, speaker, or whatever, one could hit the Record button again, then each segment would start a new clip, without any frames of audio or video lost.

I like the idea of the record button being used to break up continuous clips, you could treat it to mark interesting points in an interview by breaking the clip at points of interest.

Whatever you do (or don't do) please keep the menu's simple. One of the things that struck me about the nano was just how simple it is to use. It would be a shame to spoil this with pages and pages of menus and options.

Saying that I would like interval record (I believe it's already on your road-map).

Dear Alister,

I agree, we must keep the menus as simple as possible.

It just gets too tedious when there a lot of menu items and menu levels.

I do like the idea that Steve came up with of a Options menu, but he called it an Extended Menu.



We have received requests for an option to put the system in a partial lock-down mode.

In this mode the network/station/etc. could setup the unit to operate according to their standards and prevent accidental or intentional changes which would deviate from those standards.

An example, would be File Type. If the station wants the unit to record in Quicktime, then this could be locked so that MXF/MPG/M2V file types could be locked out.

I would want this so that a person, with effort, or with a passcode, could make a change, but it would be obvious that the change was intential. In other words, the system could be taken out of lock-out mode.

I also like this idea in that, "In the Heat of the Battle", some accidental change can not be made without due effort.

Also, if the lock-down mode was setup by a Station/Network/etc., then emergency support could be quicker and easier. One would only have to confirm that the system is still locked down, then concentrate on the issue at hand knowing that most of the settings have not been changed.

Saying that I would like interval record (I believe it's already on your road-map).

Hi Alister-
Can you give us some recommendations on the time lapse feature? Is the option to capture one frame every 1,5,10,30,60 seconds, or 5,10,30,60 minutes sufficient for 99% of the applications? Yes, I know that more is better, but we want to stay with the "simple" approach.

Best-

Mike,

It is very important you don't cripple time lapse that way. Many times the interval is determined by knowing how long an event is and how many frames you need to end up in the finished piece. As you go up in the interval the graduation can gradually increase, you don't need 1 hour and 1 hour and 1 second for example. But there are long term events such as construction sites where a 1+ hour interval would be appropriate.

So, I vote for a scale of 1-60 sec in 1 sec increments, 1 minute 10 sec to 10 minutes in 10 sec increments, 11 minutes + in 1 minute increments. Or something to that effect.

This would be simple as in holding the up/down arrow to get the result.

Crippling a sophisticated device due to a belief that only people who can use simple equipment are going to use it diminishes its value.

Jeff

I believe you can keep it simple as there is always the option to trim the final speed of a timelapse sequence in post. I always shoot with the shortest interval I can get away with. That way I can then speed the clip up further in the edit suite if I want the clip to be shorter. If you shoot with too big an interval then there is no way you can slow the clip back down. Once you get up to a 1 hour interval it will take over 3 years to fill a 32Gb card at 100Mb/s so there really isn't any need for intervals any longer than an hour. Even at an interval of 1 minute it takes 12 hours to get a 30 second clip (25fps), so with a 1 min interval, a single 32Gb card would last a month. By having a longer clip you can speed up the less interesting parts of the sequence more than the more interesting bits. Once you start getting into long timelapse shoots of a few days or more your going to be much better off using a DSLR anyway. You have lower power consumption, higher resolution and a simple one-piece lower cost item. I think there is a strong argument that says that for something like a nanoflash the longest interval needed is probably a minute. For longer projects not many people are going to tie up an expensive HD camera and NanoFlash with all the issues of power etc when a simple high resolution DSLR would be more appropriate and cost less.

The vast majority of time lapse sequences I do are shot at 1 frame every second. I've never done a timelapse with a video camera with an interval greater than 30 seconds. Mike, I think your suggestion of one frame every 1,5,10,30,60 seconds, or 5,10,30,60 makes sense. If anything the only extra intervals I would like is 1 frame every half second and 1 frame every 2 seconds.

Mike,

I am open to having someone explain to me how having more choices on a scale you select with one button makes something complicated? How much more complicated is it to hold down a button a bit longer to reach the number you want.

I am certain I don't want to be forced to trim timelapse in post. It is so easy to do it correctly in the field. And I know that in the years of using my Norris intervalometer the one thing I didn't hope for was less flexibility.

I would suggest though that firing off a single frame using the trigger at will would be a very useful function as well as a 1/2 second interval.

Jeff

I am certain I don't want to be forced to trim timelapse in post. It is so easy to do it correctly in the field.
Jeff

So do you never adjust the playback speed of you clips to suit the mood of the edit, or speed up nights where nothing happens, or maybe on a building project slow down the really interesting bits and then speed through the rainy days where nothing much happens due to weather restrictions. By shooting with a shorter interval you gain so much more creative flexibility. In addition if at the end of the project the client turns round and decides they want the clip to run longer than originally planned then you can do that too. Sure you can work out the exact interval needed to produce say a 20 second clip from a particular project and then shoot at that exact rate, but then you have locked yourself in to a minimum clip duration. What then happens if whatever you are shooting takes much less time than planned? That's why I always shoot with the minimum interval I can get away with. This flexibility (in post production) is one of the great advantages of video over film and negates the need for incremental time steps especially once you get beyond a few minutes, where it will take many months to fill a card.

Alister,

Here is an example of what I have shot.

Vehicle shot from outside the passengers door showing the front of the vehicle and the front wheel traveling through a rural town at 30mph. Only thing is, as the vehicle proceeds through town the entire day goes by from dawn to dusk in 30 seconds.

Altering the speed of traveling timelapse never improves the shot. Having the ability to set up specific, technical shots and durations is critical to many shots I do. Reducing the number of choices in a scrolling list isn't necessary.

Jeff

I could not find your sample. So lets say you shot for 12 hours and need a 30 second shot at 30fps - 900 frames. You could shoot at 1 frame every 48 seconds and this would achieve the 30 second duration. But you could also shoot with a 30 second interval and then simply speed up the playback by 160% and your back to a 30 second clip. The motion will be the same, the clip will look the same, plus you have the advantage that you could slow the clip down and extend it if you want, something you can't do with the clip shot at the specific rate. Even if you shot with a 10 second interval and then sped up by 480% the final clip would still look the same, unless you were using an exposure longer than 10 seconds.

I recently did a 5 day timelapse sequence of a stage and seating being built for an outdoor concert. The build took 4 days, then on the evening of the final day the crowd arrived filling the stands, this only took about an hour, then the band came on for 2 hours. By shooting with a 30 second interval as the build stage finished and the crowd started to arrive I was able to ramp the playback speed so that the crowd and concert part of the sequence lasted longer than it would have otherwise.

Alister,

This thread is about keeping things simple.

You are talking about complicating shooting and now post production by having to put up with an unnecessarily crippled device. And this is only about limiting the number of choices in a scrolling menu.

I am perfectly comfortable with people using the beginner menu and fixing shots in post. On the other hand I do not wish for someone else to have to fix the duration, or anything else in post. I am a DP who's job it is to capture something properly the first time and not have to tell a producer, don't worry you can fix what I did in post. That is clearly unacceptable.

I have no problem if you don't want the additional intervals. Just don't use them. But your standards of getting another part of production involved to fix your footage is not a way that my clients are willing to work with. And it clearly is not keeping things simple.

It is simple to have the correct speed the first time.

Jeff

Jeff:

You must have far different clients than I do. For me, it's more important to give them choices, and ways to stretch or contract sequences, whether it's real time or a timelapse.

But then, my main clients play with the video so much in post, it's kind of a given that they need options to experiment with.

I've already got multiple cameras with multi-layered, Byzantine menus. A little simplicity in a piece of electronic gear would feel pretty good every now and then.

Your mileage, of course, may vary.

Hi Jeff, Alister-
Dan has an excellent suggestion for programming the time lapse recording. We can display the time interval just like the time code preset: HH:MM:SS. You can then dial in whaterever interval you like. The nanoFlash will then record one frame and start a countdown based on this preset value. When the countdown expires, nanoFlash will capture another frame and reload the counter. A second preset value: DD:HH:MM would define the total run time.

If the time interval is set to zero, and the time-lapse recording is enabled, then the nanoFlash would simply capture one frame (and stop) each time the record function is triggered.

When over/under crank becomes available, you can record at rates faster that 1 frame per second.

A second mode will allow you to record for a preset period of time. The "record time" could be set in a similar fashion: HH:MM:SS. So each time you trigger the nanoFlash to start recording, the recording would run for the preset HH:MM:SS and then automatically stop. This should be a great feature for recording lightening strikes, for example (when used with the pre-record buffer).

Would these two modes satisfy most of your applications?

Best-

Mike,

I couldn't be happier with your solution.

For the preset length of recording a useful option would add the preset time to the remaining record time if the record is triggered while it already is recording. That would be very helpful for a new camera we are releasing soon.

Bill,

Many of the moves we do are of specific length and speed. Pans and moves would speed up or slow down otherwise. If something calls for a slow pan and you start to play it at 2x in post you no longer have a slow pan for example.

I do not suggest that you can not alter normal non moving timelapse of course.

I am specifically referring to camera/lens/subject moves during timelapse of specific durations.

Jeff

Hi Mike, Dan's idea is a good one and would work well for everyone.

Jeff: I don't regard the way I work as "fixing it in post". My sequences are planned to run long and then be fine tuned in the edit, it's hardly a fix or bodge, just a more flexible workflow. You should try it, speed ramping in and out of TL sequences can look very dramatic. I guess we will just have to disagree on this one. Certainly Dan's idea keeps it simple and allows us both to work in our own ways. : )

Sorry for taking the thread off at a bit of an angle.

Panasonic's HDX900 has a built-in intervalometer, which works great. Maybe you could copy (steal) these ideas.

It has the following choices available.

Interval Record "on" or "off" (convenient so one can leave one's favorite settings and just turn the function off for normal recording)
Duration of Each Interval (from one frame up to 59 seconds, 29 frames)
Interval Between Shots (from one frame up to 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds, 29 frames)
Take Total Time (the length of time over which the time lapse should occur - from "none" up to 5 days)
Total Record Time (This is computed automatically by the camera based upon the settings above.)

If one has a camera with interval recording built in, I suppose one could do a time lapse on the nano, even without the nano having that capability. This assumes the camera has an SDI output, since HDMI will not output time code. If the camera increments time code through the SDI output, it should trigger the nano to start recording and to stop recording.

I haven't actually tried it yet, but I will do that and report back to this thread. I don't know if a short time code increment (i.e., one frame) will trigger the nano flash to record or not.

Dear Steve,

I like Item 1, an On-Off for the Time-Lapse function, great idea.

For Item 2, duration, we asked quite a few users and they did not feel that this was necessary. I would be interested to see what others say. Our customers just wanted the ability to record one frame for each interval.

We are going to do Item 4, a Total Time value. When we reach this value, we will stop recording.

I do not know if one uses the camera in time-lapse, if the advance of timecode by one frame will work on not. It may work under some conditions and not others.

Dan,

I can't say this from personal experience, as I haven't done a lot of time lapse myself, but I used to rent my camera to a producer who used it for a lot of his own time lapse projects. He told me that sometimes capturing more than one frame at a time for each time lapse shot was advantageous for long sequences.

I'm not sure why that would be, but apparently Panasonic thought it was a good idea, since they included that feature. I know, I know... just because Panasonic offers it in the camera's menu doesn't automatically mean it's a good idea :-)

Anyway, I suppose I could live without that feature in the time lapse functionality. And I guess it could be added in the future if enough users think they need it, eh?

I did try to use the HDX900's time lapse feature to work with the nanoFlash and that was a dismal failure. Here's why.

The HDX900 captures frames for time lapse to internal memory (on a separate card that contains RAM, like the SDX900, I assume). When that becomes nearly full, the camera pre-rolls the tape and lays the contents of that memory buffer to tape. I'll bet you see where this is going already.

When the camera rolls the tape, time code increments and the nano starts recording. Oops! The nano doesn't know whether incrementing time code is playing or recording.

So, I guess I'll wait for the nano's time lapse feature or use the camera's built-in time lapse function until that time.

My wish is when formatting you could select which slot. As of now if you format both cards are formatted, unless I'm missing another method to isolate the slots. One might erase a card unintentionally.

Dear Dennis,

We thought long and hard about this.

It comes down to safety.

For example, if during the format process, we ask which slots are to be formatted, then everything is ok, as long as the user specifies the correct slots.

If he or she makes a mistake, then the wrong card would be formatted.


So, we elected to format all of the cards, in all of the slots, to make it easy and safe.

One just needs to remove all cards which are not to be formatted and insert the ones to be formatted. This also makes the process a little easier and less complicated since the Slot Number question does not need to be asked.

While we only have two slots on the nanoFlash, the Flash XDR has four slots.

Dan,
Does that negate future hot swappable features?

Dan,
Interview situation, continuous recording. So when I fill a card up and it switches to the other slot, I would like to dump the card and reinsert it after copying. Will the formatting remain if I just erase the files on my laptop, keeping the Unix Dir file ?

Dear Dennis,

Hot Swapping of cards is not currently supported.

We are about to release a new firmware update. The update after this one is scheduled to have Hot Swapping.

In the meantime, it is important to not insert or remove a card while recording or playing back.


We need for you to format the cards in the nanoFlash (or Flash XDR).

Specifically, deleting files on a PC and a Mac, then re-inserting the card into the nanoFlash for recording, may leave the card fragmented.

As we are working near the limits of the write speed of the card, we can not tolerate a fragmented card.

We prefer for you to treat the cards as if they are "Read Only" while they are in a PC or a MAC. Thus, no writing to the cards, nor deleting of files.

If you have two 32 GB cards, then you can record continuously for around 80 minutes using our 100 Mbps Long-GOP mode and twice that if you are using 50 Mbps.

We have modes that allow you to record much longer if need be.

If you can break for 20 seconds or so, then you can take the cards out and put in a new set.

Of course, Hot Swapping is in the works.

Dear Dennis,

I have discussed this with our engineers.

We may be able to support you in your request to delete files on your PC or Mac.

We have discussed working this in with our Hot Swapping feature.

Dan and Michael,
Thank you for taking this on. And a bigger thank you for letting users and this forum for the candid exchanges an ideas as

Dan, Michael,
Sorry for the unfinished post. Re do
Thank you for taking this on. And a bigger thank you for letting users contribute to the advances of your product line. Your candid exchanges and desires to improve is something to be admired. I have only 3 days at home before we embark on another trip to CA.. with Nano in hand. By the mid end of next week 9/15, we will have amassed a lot of Nano footage from this past month, and I will have time to analyze each of the Native vs. Nano files. Will post ASAP. Any thoughts on my EX Nano workflow post?

Dear Dennis,

Thanks for the kind words.

I do think that everyone winds up with a better product if we are completely open.

I will send an email, containing your post to Mr. Alister Chapman. He has a PDW-700, with lots of experience. I hope he has some answers. I do not have any experience with writing our files back to the Sony disk.

Hello,
I love your idea of using the Rec switches to break up continuous clips, time lapse and hot swap cards is must for me. The long duration work that I do runs in two 90 min segments which restricts me to 50 mbps. I would really love to use higher data rates but to do this I would need hot swap.

The other area that concerns to me is visually knowing that the Nanno is recording. Due to the physical constraints I have no option but to mount the Nanno to the rear of the camera on DM Accessories EX3 Shoulder mount. This puts the Nanno out of my vision and when shooting shoulder mount you have to rely on a tally light.

Here is my suggestion if it is possible to implement. The EX3 has a HDV socket which can take an input from the Nunno. When the record mode is active the Nanno can send data to the camera which turn on the HDV red tally light in the viewfinder. The user then just has to look in the view finder to ensure that the two red tally lights are on one for cam and the other HDV for Nano.

Thanks guys

The firewire socket on the EX cameras is only active when the camera is set to SP mode which is 1440x1080. While this doesn't effect the HDSDi output it would restrict the ability to record full 1920x1080 internally to SxS while shooting with a Nano.

I think a simpler solution would be an LED tally light connected to the Nano's remote socket that you could position on the camera where you can see it. This of course then works with any camera.

Dear Lance,

We make Remote Controls for the nanoFlash.

These come in two basic versions.

Both have a nice momentary illuminated LED as a tally light (record light) built into the remote control switch. We typically use a red led, but we can offer green for use in aircraft.

The remote control, if pressed momentarily, tells the nanoFlash to record, and the tally light starts to blink, indicating that the nanoFlash is recording.

Any subsequent short depressions of the switch have no effect. This is to prevent the switch from being bumped accidentally and stopping the recording.

To stop, one just holds down the switch for 1 second.Note: We used to just turn on this tally light, (solid, not blinking), to indicate that we are recording.

Now we blink the light to give confidence that the nanoFlash is recording.

If the light stops blinking, either in the on state or off state, we are not recording.


A second model of the remote controls provides "Timecode In" via a female BNC connector.

We also offer other models that allow multiple nanoFlashes to be controlled via one switch.

And we can custom build these to fit special situations.

This includes custom cable lengths, extra LEDs, units to control multiple units, etc.

We make Remote Controls for the nanoFlash.
<snip>
We also offer other models that allow multiple nanoFlashes to be controlled via one switch.
And we can custom build these to fit special situations.
This includes custom cable lengths, extra LEDs, units to control multiple units, etc.

Hi Dan,

In several of your posts, I have seen reference to all these accessories that you make. I sure would love to see them all. Is there a catalogue that I have been missing?

Also, staying on topic... let me add my 2¢ for that Reference Movie option that lets you recombine clips that are recorded separately by the nanoFlash during long record times. If you want do discuss it, happy to help.

Dear Bob,

We are planning on upgrading our website soon.

One of the additions will be a section on accessories.

I have just done a little research on reference movies. I will send you a private email.

Thanks Dan & Alister – The idea of using the extra HDV tally light in view finder came to mind because prior to purchasing the Nano, I had nNovia QC Deck which recorded in DV25 or HDV format, and it used the HDV tally which was very good.

I would be interested to know how others are mounting the Nano to the EX3. In may case the front accessory shoe is permanently taken by my 144 Led light. The rear accessory shoe is obscured by the Vlock battery mount.

I must admit like BOB I was unaware the you had a range of accessories. I only found out when I enquired about wiring options for the 10 pin Hirose. By that time I had already purchase the connectors and employed a technician do the wiring. I had things ordered so I could get the Nano tested and into service ASAP.

I have just had two SanDisk Extreme IV 16gb cards land on my desk an now I am out to see what this unit will do?

Dear Lance,

Have fun!

We will improve our website as soon as possible.

Dan,

I was about to post this in the thread about CF cards, but since it is more a wish list item, I decided to revive this thread. :-)

Concerning formatting of cards in the nano (and XDR, I assume)...

I know you guys are working on "hot swapping" for an upcoming update. If someone is to use that feature, I assume all cards would have to be formatted (in the nano) before being inserted during the hot swapping process, since formatting can not be done on one card while recording is being done on another card.

I believe I read that it also isn't a good idea to prepare the CF Card for re-use by deleting files on the computer to which files are being transferred. If this this case, a user would have to have enough cards prepared before starting recording where hot swapping is going to be necessary.

Since cards can't be formatted on the computer to which files are transferred (with the standard formatting process), is it possible that C-D could provide a utility to make that possible? I guess I'm asking for that to be on the "wish list".

I doubt this is a high priority, but it may become more important as file sizes become larger as a result of higher bit rates... just a thought.

Thanks,
Steve

Dear Steve,

All of your assumptions are correct.

When we format a card in the nanoFlash or Flash XDR we test the card and write a file that has special information about the card. Thus, we need to do the formatting.

Also, a PC or Mac may not format the card so that optimum performance is obtained, specifically the sector size may be different, or the directory size may be different.

Yes, we could write a utility to format the cards in a PC or a Mac. The problem is our list of features that we are trying to add to the nanoFlash and Flash XDR does not leave us with much time to add this utility at this time.