Renaming Compact Flash Cards. at DVinfo.net

Lance Librandi · October 1st, 2009, 07:02 AM

Renaming Compact Flash Cards.

I have a problem, as my stock of compact flash cards is growing and I use more and more cards on long duration work, when I mount the cards on the computer ready for backup the system assigns them same device name to all cards "NONAME". This can become a little confusing managing cards for backup from two or more cards.

My cards are all physically assigned numbers and which are also printed on the card. I record how many cards are assigned to a project and I keep my blank and used media in two separate locations to help eliminate reinserting used media.
My issue is when a pair of card are mounted on the desktop I would like to change the name of the card to reflect it's physical number eg "CF 001". Can this cause problems with the card files?

While I was trying to prove my system I tried changing the card name and deleting all the files in the }CLP{ folder and then re-used the card it the NanoFlash and continued recording. Well I got quite a few digital dropouts. I reformatted the card and started again.

I gave that idea away real quick, anyone have any ideas on the best way to manage the cards ?

Thanks

Dan Keaton · October 1st, 2009, 07:19 AM

Dear Lance,

We will discuss this.

We will attempt to come up with a workable solution for you.

I have a few ideas. We will discuss these internally, to see what we can do.

I am thinking that you will want to asssign a physical number to the card, one-time, then everytime we format the card we keep the same exact physical number.

Can the number be limited to numeric digits, or do you want it to contain letters also?

Please note: We recommend that each CompactFlash card, after the card's files have been uploaded into a computer or other storage system, be reformated, in the Flash XDR or nanoFlash, prior to being reused.

Aaron Newsome · October 1st, 2009, 12:23 PM

I tried renaming the card but after format it wound up as "NO NAME" again.

Dan Keaton · October 1st, 2009, 12:26 PM

Dear Aaron,

Yes, our Format process does a complete format, including resetting the Volume Name on the card.

We have discused this internally, and we expect to implement a change where the card Volume Name may be set once, and we will honor it from them on.

Lance Librandi · October 1st, 2009, 05:57 PM

[QUOTE=Dan Keaton;1421934]

"I am thinking that you will want to assign a physical number to the card, one-time, then everytime we format the card we keep the same exact physical number.

Can the number be limited to numeric digits, or do you want it to contain letters also?"

I would like to see letters included so when you look at folder on the computer and can see the origin of the vision, Device Name & Stock number.

eg (CAM01 999)

Dan Keaton · October 1st, 2009, 06:01 PM

Dear Lance,

Ok, we have been discussing a way to accomplish your request.

Paul Cronin · October 1st, 2009, 06:13 PM

Dan I would like to see: Example (WCV 32-01) Owning 16 cards it would be nice to match the name on the back of the card.

Dan Keaton · October 1st, 2009, 06:17 PM

Dear Paul,

For Discussion Purposes, this is what I am thinking.

1. One could go to a PC or Mac, change the Volume Name on the CompactFlash Card.

2. Go to the Flash XDR or nanoFlash to format the card.

3. During the Format Process, we read the Volume Name.

4. During the Format Process, we rewrite the Volume Name after we perform the full format.

With this approach, one can set the Volume Name to whatever one wants.

We respect and keep this Volume Name across formats of the card.

Paul Cronin · October 1st, 2009, 06:25 PM

That sounds good to me Dan.

Lance Librandi · October 2nd, 2009, 07:29 AM

Dan I agree good choice for a system thanks

Daniel Symmes · October 17th, 2009, 06:41 PM

I am gearing up to shoot a feature with the nanoFLASH.

Card ID is VERY important as we will have at least four recorders running.

So the above discussed improvement is nearly required. And alpha-numeric, please.

BUT, what isn't clear to me is the clip/file number aspect.

What happens on day 2 of the shoot? Don't the numbers go back to 000000? That would mean you will have two or more clips with the same name (unacceptable), unless you can SEED the numbering method.

The script supervisor will be told the CLIP NUMBER (file number wouldn't matter since that is eventually "disposed with") which is then listed next to the slate/take numbers. It ain't pretty, but this lookup table would be needed to correlate a "random" clip name and the slate/take needed by the editor.

This is my understanding of it. Am I missing something?

Aaron Newsome · October 17th, 2009, 06:59 PM

Daniel, the clip numbers will not roll back to zero even after a formatting of all the cards. They will keep incrementing until they reach maximum and roll over. You should be fine on multi-day shoots.

Just make sure you set the unit id of each recorder.

Daniel Symmes · October 17th, 2009, 07:14 PM

Assuming a big shoot, when we hit 999, we'll start making clips with duplicate names.

This is a train wreck waiting to happen.

The editor won't want to go looking for ANOTHER file with the same name.

"Oh, THAT 01213.mov"

The more fiddling with files, the greater the potential for error.

Dan Keaton · October 17th, 2009, 09:49 PM

Dear Daniel,

One can reset the Clip number to 001, which is remembered in non-volatile memory, by reseting the Unit ID.

When one gets near the 999 limit, one can change the Unit ID from 01 for the first camera to 11.

Camera 2 goes to 12, etc.

If you have ten cameras on a shoot, using this method, one can have 9,999 unique clip numbers, where a clip is one recording from when the recording starts until it is stopped.
And each recording can have up 999 (way more than enough) subclips.

Aaron Newsome · October 17th, 2009, 10:55 PM

You can always give EVERY recorder a new unit id for the shoot everyday. It would be IMPOSSIBLE to get two files with the same name

October 1st, 2009, 07:02 AM	#1
Lance Librandi Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: South Australia Posts: 374	Renaming Compact Flash Cards. Renaming Compact Flash Cards. I have a problem, as my stock of compact flash cards is growing and I use more and more cards on long duration work, when I mount the cards on the computer ready for backup the system assigns them same device name to all cards "NONAME". This can become a little confusing managing cards for backup from two or more cards. My cards are all physically assigned numbers and which are also printed on the card. I record how many cards are assigned to a project and I keep my blank and used media in two separate locations to help eliminate reinserting used media. My issue is when a pair of card are mounted on the desktop I would like to change the name of the card to reflect it's physical number eg "CF 001". Can this cause problems with the card files? While I was trying to prove my system I tried changing the card name and deleting all the files in the }CLP{ folder and then re-used the card it the NanoFlash and continued recording. Well I got quite a few digital dropouts. I reformatted the card and started again. I gave that idea away real quick, anyone have any ideas on the best way to manage the cards ? Thanks

October 1st, 2009, 07:19 AM	#2
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Lance, We will discuss this. We will attempt to come up with a workable solution for you. I have a few ideas. We will discuss these internally, to see what we can do. I am thinking that you will want to asssign a physical number to the card, one-time, then everytime we format the card we keep the same exact physical number. Can the number be limited to numeric digits, or do you want it to contain letters also? Please note: We recommend that each CompactFlash card, after the card's files have been uploaded into a computer or other storage system, be reformated, in the Flash XDR or nanoFlash, prior to being reused. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

October 1st, 2009, 12:26 PM	#4
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Aaron, Yes, our Format process does a complete format, including resetting the Volume Name on the card. We have discused this internally, and we expect to implement a change where the card Volume Name may be set once, and we will honor it from them on. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

October 1st, 2009, 06:01 PM	#6
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Lance, Ok, we have been discussing a way to accomplish your request. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

October 1st, 2009, 06:13 PM	#7
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	Dan I would like to see: Example (WCV 32-01) Owning 16 cards it would be nice to match the name on the back of the card. __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com

October 1st, 2009, 12:23 PM	#3
Aaron Newsome Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Rancho Santa Margarita Posts: 590	I tried renaming the card but after format it wound up as "NO NAME" again.

October 1st, 2009, 05:57 PM	#5
Lance Librandi Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: South Australia Posts: 374	[QUOTE=Dan Keaton;1421934] "I am thinking that you will want to assign a physical number to the card, one-time, then everytime we format the card we keep the same exact physical number. Can the number be limited to numeric digits, or do you want it to contain letters also?" I would like to see letters included so when you look at folder on the computer and can see the origin of the vision, Device Name & Stock number. eg (CAM01 999)

October 1st, 2009, 06:17 PM	#8
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Paul, For Discussion Purposes, this is what I am thinking. 1. One could go to a PC or Mac, change the Volume Name on the CompactFlash Card. 2. Go to the Flash XDR or nanoFlash to format the card. 3. During the Format Process, we read the Volume Name. 4. During the Format Process, we rewrite the Volume Name after we perform the full format. With this approach, one can set the Volume Name to whatever one wants. We respect and keep this Volume Name across formats of the card. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

October 1st, 2009, 06:25 PM	#9
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	That sounds good to me Dan. __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com

October 2nd, 2009, 07:29 AM	#10
Lance Librandi Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: South Australia Posts: 374	Dan I agree good choice for a system thanks

October 17th, 2009, 06:41 PM	#11
Daniel Symmes Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA U.S.A. Posts: 146	I am gearing up to shoot a feature with the nanoFLASH. Card ID is VERY important as we will have at least four recorders running. So the above discussed improvement is nearly required. And alpha-numeric, please. BUT, what isn't clear to me is the clip/file number aspect. What happens on day 2 of the shoot? Don't the numbers go back to 000000? That would mean you will have two or more clips with the same name (unacceptable), unless you can SEED the numbering method. The script supervisor will be told the CLIP NUMBER (file number wouldn't matter since that is eventually "disposed with") which is then listed next to the slate/take numbers. It ain't pretty, but this lookup table would be needed to correlate a "random" clip name and the slate/take needed by the editor. This is my understanding of it. Am I missing something?

October 17th, 2009, 06:59 PM	#12
Aaron Newsome Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Rancho Santa Margarita Posts: 590	Daniel, the clip numbers will not roll back to zero even after a formatting of all the cards. They will keep incrementing until they reach maximum and roll over. You should be fine on multi-day shoots. Just make sure you set the unit id of each recorder.

October 17th, 2009, 07:14 PM	#13
Daniel Symmes Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA U.S.A. Posts: 146	Assuming a big shoot, when we hit 999, we'll start making clips with duplicate names. This is a train wreck waiting to happen. The editor won't want to go looking for ANOTHER file with the same name. "Oh, THAT 01213.mov" The more fiddling with files, the greater the potential for error.

October 17th, 2009, 09:49 PM	#14
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Dear Daniel, One can reset the Clip number to 001, which is remembered in non-volatile memory, by reseting the Unit ID. When one gets near the 999 limit, one can change the Unit ID from 01 for the first camera to 11. Camera 2 goes to 12, etc. If you have ten cameras on a shoot, using this method, one can have 9,999 unique clip numbers, where a clip is one recording from when the recording starts until it is stopped. And each recording can have up 999 (way more than enough) subclips. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

October 17th, 2009, 10:55 PM	#15
Aaron Newsome Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Rancho Santa Margarita Posts: 590	You can always give EVERY recorder a new unit id for the shoot everyday. It would be IMPOSSIBLE to get two files with the same name