Hi all. . .

Another question before the big purchase this week.

In thinking about the videos I'll be shooting, I was originally thinking of going with the HVX-200 and streaming the data into a Focus FS-100 as my only HD storage device. My reasoning was that it holds 90 minutes of data at about $1800, whereas that much storage as P2 would cost over $11,000.

The FS-100 also seemed to make sense from an editing standpoint, as I could just attach it to the MacBook Pro via the firewire cable and then I've got a double-size hard drive (two at 100 gig each) to work from.

Is there an inherent disadvantage to the FS-100? I have been planning on shooting 1080i/24 for these projects. I'd love to do without a P2 card (or at least buy as few as absolutely possible to save money), but if it can't really be done without them, I guess it can't.

Any thoughts?

Thanks so much.

Stephen

if i was to decide, id forget all about the Firestore.. myself and my client shave had nothing but problems (not very reliable...) with them.. but thats not to say that you will.. i dont know... its been a while since ive even bothered with the FS4...
i can only suggest that if u have the budget, go for 2x 8gb cards and a cheapy laptop, and do ur file transfers straight into the PC as u work... its a cheaper and more relaible option..

MAN, that's disappointing to hear.

:-(

And that's really TWICE the disappointment since the laptop I'm buying (MacBook Pro) doesn't have a PCMCIA card adapter, so there would be no way to download the data without taking the camera out of service or buying a slew of P2 cards.

Anyone else have any thoughts on how to deal with large amounts of data in this situation economically?

Thanks much.

Stephen

Stephen,

I agree with Peter; the Firestore so far has not yet been up to pro standards and is less than 100%.

If you'd rather deal with an external capture device rather than 2 8GB cards as Peter suggests, then look into the Nnovia QC drive. (I'd also suggest the Cineporter but so far it's still not been released)

The Nnovia HD unit has just been released and has a unique feature unlike the Firestore that it has a swappable (not hot) internal drive. If you fill up one and don't have time to download it to a laptop/tower then you can pull out the full drive and slip in a fresh one. That's a first in the world of external capture drives, especially HD.

Nnovia's reputation and reliability is far superior to anything from Focus Enhancements (although their current website needs a serious re-vamp).

I'm not sure about all the frame rate capabilities of the QC Drive but give Nnovia a call and have them give you the 411.

PS - Don't fret about the MacBook Pro; the ExpressCard 34 adapter for PCMCIA is coming soon if it's not out already.

Just thought ide give my 2 cents on this I dont use the FS4 but i swear by the DRHD 100 hasnt failed me yet. and ive only been using it in HD mode so
far no dropped frames whatsoever.

I noticed this week that both Sony and Panasonic have come out with Blu-ray DVD recorders. Both are internal ones needing to be installed into a desktop computer. The Panasonic sells for $1000. I think this is a giant step forward, because the P2 files could be dragged and dropped to Blu-ray DVD for permanent storage. That solves one of my big problems with the format.

Of course, it does nothing for you on location. Hopefully there'll be some sort of laptop or portable Blu-ray DVD burner in the near future that could be used.

I noticed this week that both Sony and Panasonic have come out with Blu-ray DVD recorders. Both are internal ones needing to be installed into a desktop computer...

Just did some quick research: The Panasonic SW-5582-C is Mac compatible; it requires using Roxio Toast 7 to burn to the Blu-Ray media. Rumor is that the new Mac Pro is supposed to have native burn support for the Blu-ray, but nothing is confirmed on that yet.

How much does Blu-Ray hold? 50 gigs??
I think the discs are 23 bucks so 10 times the capacity at 10 times the price...makes sense. I just wonder how the write times are??

...I just wonder how the write times are??

That's the $1000 question (you can get test units of the Panny drive for $750) and I'm tempted to try one but will hold off until I can spend more time researching it. I really should get some work done!

I am assuming you use Toast if you want to burn a video DVD--like record an edited show. But for media storage I would assume they would work like a regular DVD or CD--you just drag and drop your files. But who knows, maybe not.

"I think the discs are 23 bucks so 10 times the capacity at 10 times the price...makes sense. I just wonder how the write times are??"

About an hour and a half for 50gb 45min for 25gb... apparently from teh reports ive recieved so far... please note that the pioneer model due for release DOES NOT support the 50gb discs.. only sonys and Panas support 50gb so far..