external firewire drive at DVinfo.net

Josh Martin · July 15th, 2003, 09:58 AM

Hey guys,
Could you all recommend a good external firewire drive for editing. I looked at the Lacie drives, but noticed that they only have 2mb cache. Are these good drives? Thanks,
Josh M.

Derrick Begin · July 15th, 2003, 11:31 AM

Josh,

I use MAXTOR drives. I have external 120G and a 200G (7200RPM) firewire daisychained (They are also USB 2.0 compatible). They work great and I have had zero problems with them.

Cheers!

Derrick

Jim Quinlan · July 15th, 2003, 11:57 AM

Josh,

I have the external ADS Dual Link drive kit which allows you to easily swap hard drives into it (one at a time). I use 4 WD 120GB drives with 8mb cache and 4 40gb wd drives that I swap in and out of the ADS to give me more than a half terrabyte of storage that is easily accessible. Plus it makes backing up projects easy.

The Dual Link drive kit allows firewire or USB2.0 connections to the computer. You could even put a CDRW or DVDRW into it if you wanted to. This hardware plugged into my firewire connection and worked first time on my W2K machine.

Graham Bernard · July 15th, 2003, 02:26 PM

1x60gb; 1x80gb & 2x120gb - All running at 7200. All daisey-ed up. All going through 1 x PCMCOA Maxtor dual firewire port. Gets me through the nite! - Often!!!

Grazie

Eric Gutknecht · July 16th, 2003, 12:48 PM

I had (perhaps incorrectly) assumed that using external firewire drives while also capturing through firewire from the camera might cause dropped frame issues.

Are you all telling me that an external firewire drive is as good as an internal one when capturing and editing video footage?

Seems logical given transfer speeds and it would be easier to deal with but I'd like to hear first hand...

Cheers;
Eric

Derrick Begin · July 16th, 2003, 01:06 PM

I've had no problems, however, I just read a post on Avid Xpress DV 3.5, the user had a problem. The user was plugging the camera into the firewire port on the drive itself.

I personally plug the camera into the card on the computer system and the firewire drive in it's own sperate port (However, the drives are daisy chained together). Capturing has been no problem.

Cheers!

Jim Pruett · July 17th, 2003, 09:20 AM

I am using a Maxtor 80-GB FW drive and I connect my GL2 or ZR30 to the drive itself, and have never dropped a frame. I only have one Firewire port on my Dell notebook and so far have no reason to get another (through PCMCIA).

Jim

Dan Holly · July 17th, 2003, 11:38 AM

I've been using nothing but Seagate Barracudas in the last year or 2. Every Maxtor drive I've ever had started making noise, and then zonked out sooner than later.

I've had zero issues with the Seagate's, and I've been using them in file and application server that are on the go 24X7 also with no issues.

Robert Poulton · July 17th, 2003, 02:04 PM

I have and use a lacie firewire hard drive and it works great. I am unsure on the total spec sheet for the drive I have but it has worked great so far and never had any problems with it and playback.

Rob:D

Benjamin Taft · July 18th, 2003, 03:49 PM

If your willing to buy the 250Gb Lacie model it has 8Mb of cache. I have this one and so far it seems to be working pretty good. I have had it unmounting on me for no reason a few times though in OSX. It hasn't happened enough times for me to track down where the problem lays yet. Has anyone else had this happen?

July 15th, 2003, 09:58 AM	#1
Josh Martin Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 29	external firewire drive Hey guys, Could you all recommend a good external firewire drive for editing. I looked at the Lacie drives, but noticed that they only have 2mb cache. Are these good drives? Thanks, Josh M.

July 15th, 2003, 11:57 AM	#3
Jim Quinlan Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Clearwater, Florida Posts: 177	Josh, I have the external ADS Dual Link drive kit which allows you to easily swap hard drives into it (one at a time). I use 4 WD 120GB drives with 8mb cache and 4 40gb wd drives that I swap in and out of the ADS to give me more than a half terrabyte of storage that is easily accessible. Plus it makes backing up projects easy. The Dual Link drive kit allows firewire or USB2.0 connections to the computer. You could even put a CDRW or DVDRW into it if you wanted to. This hardware plugged into my firewire connection and worked first time on my W2K machine. __________________ Jim

July 15th, 2003, 02:26 PM	#4
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	Maxtors Here! 1x60gb; 1x80gb & 2x120gb - All running at 7200. All daisey-ed up. All going through 1 x PCMCOA Maxtor dual firewire port. Gets me through the nite! - Often!!! Grazie

July 16th, 2003, 12:48 PM	#5
Eric Gutknecht New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: Ottawa, Ontario. Canada Posts: 21	Slightly off topic but... I had (perhaps incorrectly) assumed that using external firewire drives while also capturing through firewire from the camera might cause dropped frame issues. Are you all telling me that an external firewire drive is as good as an internal one when capturing and editing video footage? Seems logical given transfer speeds and it would be easier to deal with but I'd like to hear first hand... Cheers; Eric

July 17th, 2003, 11:38 AM	#8
Dan Holly Major Player Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Anchorage, Alaska Posts: 336	I've been using nothing but Seagate Barracudas in the last year or 2. Every Maxtor drive I've ever had started making noise, and then zonked out sooner than later. I've had zero issues with the Seagate's, and I've been using them in file and application server that are on the go 24X7 also with no issues. __________________ Dan Holly Anchorage, Alaska

July 15th, 2003, 11:31 AM	#2
Derrick Begin Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New York Posts: 329	Josh, I use MAXTOR drives. I have external 120G and a 200G (7200RPM) firewire daisychained (They are also USB 2.0 compatible). They work great and I have had zero problems with them. Cheers! Derrick

July 16th, 2003, 01:06 PM	#6
Derrick Begin Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New York Posts: 329	I've had no problems, however, I just read a post on Avid Xpress DV 3.5, the user had a problem. The user was plugging the camera into the firewire port on the drive itself. I personally plug the camera into the card on the computer system and the firewire drive in it's own sperate port (However, the drives are daisy chained together). Capturing has been no problem. Cheers!

July 17th, 2003, 09:20 AM	#7
Jim Pruett New Boot Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 16	I am using a Maxtor 80-GB FW drive and I connect my GL2 or ZR30 to the drive itself, and have never dropped a frame. I only have one Firewire port on my Dell notebook and so far have no reason to get another (through PCMCIA). Jim

July 17th, 2003, 02:04 PM	#9
Robert Poulton Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 245	I have and use a lacie firewire hard drive and it works great. I am unsure on the total spec sheet for the drive I have but it has worked great so far and never had any problems with it and playback. Rob:D

July 18th, 2003, 03:49 PM	#10
Benjamin Taft Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden Posts: 52	If your willing to buy the 250Gb Lacie model it has 8Mb of cache. I have this one and so far it seems to be working pretty good. I have had it unmounting on me for no reason a few times though in OSX. It hasn't happened enough times for me to track down where the problem lays yet. Has anyone else had this happen?