http://www.qualitycables.com/AMS25K.html

Finally found one. Been looking for weeks.

Now if Barry can test it.

FireStore FS-100

http://www.focusinfo.com/solutions/catalog.asp?id=150

What I posted is a enclosure that simply transfers P2 cards to a hard drive, not a capture device

There's a $2,000.00 price difference.

Great find David. If it works as well as it says, could be a good solution for for people with more time than money.

Great find!
Hopefully one of the few current HVX owners will check it out for us.

I found one, too while ago, but the battery did not last long enough and all I could backup was about 6 times of 4GB loads. So, far iPod 60 has been working better to preserve the battery since it has automatic sleep.
Also, I had no problem making the iPod back to normal.

I have that one, and my experience mirrors Kaku's. It works well as long as the battery lasts, but the battery is too small to be of much practical use. I think I got five 4gb cards out of it before the battery was drained.

By comparison, the $35 MWave USB-OTG enclosure lasts for around 14 cards before running dry. But it's 9 to 10 minutes to offload a card, vs. around 5 for the firewire drive.

I'll have to find another USB-OTG enclosure to find out if it's the OTG technology that's causing the slowness, or just this particular enclosure ($35 including battery and USB-OTG is so inexpensive, I could see where it may not be the fastest).

At that price, better to buy two.

I'll have to find another USB-OTG enclosure to find out if it's the OTG technology that's causing the slowness, or just this particular enclosure ($35 including battery and USB-OTG is so inexpensive, I could see where it may not be the fastest).

Barry, I'm kind of resigned to the fact that I'll have to drag my Powerbook around with me to dump off the P2 cards. I assume that dumping them from the camera means down time from shooting, right?

So, what about a BUS powered USB 2.0 hard drive? I've seen some small 60 GB ones that I can drag around with my laptop. Will this kill my battery quickly? Is there a better way that I am not catching?

Thanks!

Barry, I'm kind of resigned to the fact that I'll have to drag my Powerbook around with me to dump off the P2 cards. I assume that dumping them from the camera means down time from shooting, right?
That's correct (assuming you have at least two cards). And that makes for a far more compelling workflow too. If you use the camera to offload then you're shutting down production during that time. But with a laptop you can pretty much work nonstop even with just two 4GB cards, when shooting dramatic narrative style, or shooting in 720pN modes. I think the laptop is a way better solution for anyone who can make it work.

So, what about a BUS powered USB 2.0 hard drive? I've seen some small 60 GB ones that I can drag around with my laptop. Will this kill my battery quickly?
Well, don't know quite how they affect battery life. Bus-powered drives are fine, I've been using 'em for a long while with DV stuff.

Is there a better way that I am not catching?
I don't know about "better", but there are other ways. There's the P2 Store that you can wear on your belt; it offloads cards without you needing to plug anything in or set anything up. It's pricey at $1800, but if you're truly a one-man-band and need to offload cards in a hurry it's an option.

If you have the powerbook with you already, there's also direct cabling to FCP to record straight on the computer.

And then there's the FireStore and CinePorter, those will be out in the next few months and will provide other options.

Barry,
A few question s if you don't mind.

Regarding the Battery powered firewire drive.....how do you recharge it? Does it have an ac adapter that came with it? Does it have an ac adapter connection? Can it be recharged by plugging it into a bus powered PC or MAC?
Can you power it via the adapter or is it strictly a charger?

Regarding the Mwave USB OTG.

Other than it being slow you mentioned the biggest complaint is you have no way to verify that the data is intact. Have you had any failures? Also how is the data stored on the USB drive? Does it create partitions or does it just dump the cards into unique folders?

Thanks

I am about to order the firewire case and was wondering how I go about recharging it.

Thanks!
Marty

Upon searching I can't find the "magic box" device anywhere including mwave.com . Is it still avaialable?

Ok I found the Magic Box on Ebay. The specs on it show that it has (2) internal 3.6v lithium ion batteries at 780mah and the firewire has only (1) 3.6v lithium ion battery. That would indicate that it should last 2x as long (all other things being equal....which as Barry likes to say "they usually aren't). That would explain the battery life issue.....right?

Regarding the Battery powered firewire drive.....how do you recharge it?
It has an AC adapter.

Can it be recharged by plugging it into a bus powered PC or MAC?
Don't know... I didn't try.

Can you power it via the adapter or is it strictly a charger?
It's a power supply as well as a charger.

Other than it being slow you mentioned the biggest complaint is you have no way to verify that the data is intact. Have you had any failures?
None.
Also how is the data stored on the USB drive? Does it create partitions or does it just dump the cards into unique folders?
Unique folders, named something like DSK0001, DSK0002, etc. So you'll never have a case of it overwriting same-filename files, because every copy goes in its own unique folder. And because it doesn't use partitions there's no drive size limit either. I just wish it were faster. If it were 4 minutes to offload a card, instead of 10, this would be a downright handy little product.

Thanks

I am about to order the firewire case and was wondering how I go about recharging it.

Thanks!
Marty

Upon searching I can't find the "magic box" device anywhere including mwave.com . Is it still avaialable?[/QUOTE]

Ok I found the Magic Box on Ebay. The specs on it show that it has (2) internal 3.6v lithium ion batteries at 780mah and the firewire has only (1) 3.6v lithium ion battery. That would indicate that it should last 2x as long (all other things being equal....which as Barry likes to say "they usually aren't). That would explain the battery life issue.....right?
Sure. But two batteries? I'm pretty sure there was just one big battery in the case; maybe it's one battery made out of two or something.