WD My Book Pro good for HDV FCP Editing? at DVinfo.net

Brian Spatz · January 16th, 2007, 03:01 PM

Hi everyone,

I'm finally getting along in putting together the pieces for a complete HDV shoot and edit suite. I just got my Canon XH-A1 to complement my Macbook Pro with Final Cut Studio installed.

With all of this, I'm now looking for the most cost effective storage solution for firewire 800 editing. I've heard many praises about G-Tech's g-raid2 hard drives, but it's around $450 for 500gbs and $950 for 1Tb.

I came across these Western Digital My Book Pro drives which seem to be reasonably priced. $165 for 250gb, $255 for 500gb, and only $455 for 1Tb, all with the same triple-interface solution that the g-tech drives offer. I mean can you blame me for trying to get double the storage for the same price? Of course I'm not willing to sacrifice functionality to save a few bucks.

So has anyone had success using these drives for HDV editing with their Final Cut setup? All input would be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

- Upon looking further into these drives, the 1Tb WD My Book Pro Edition II is apparently the only one of these that is RAID "compatible" and comes with software for this type of configuration with mac systems. A terabyte for under $500, almost seems too good to be true for video editing

Shane Ross · January 16th, 2007, 05:26 PM

YOu get what you pay for. The G-Raids have aluminum cases that help dissipate heat. They use only Seagate drives, the best on the market. And they use better components in the case design.

Yes, it cost more...but you get more peace of mind. Cheaper things tend to not last as long. MyBook drives don't have the best reputation as media drives, and they use MAXTOR drives, which are on the low end. G-Raids have a rock solid rep.

Also look at Caldigit.com. the Firewire VR is $500 for 500GB as well, but the drives are REMOVABLE. So if you want more storage for multiple projects, you can get additional drive trays at a lower cost. One case, many drives. AND, the additional drive units ship with a storage box that fits on a VHS shelf. Very handy.

Cheap is as cheap does. Get what you can afford, but know it isn't the best. How much is your time worth to you if the drive fails and you need to recapture your footage and rebuild the cut?

Dave Perry · January 16th, 2007, 07:50 PM

I bought a My Book Premium version, the black ones, for editing and come to find that they spin down every ten minutes if not being used. Went to the WD site and checked their knowledge base and apparently there is no way to defeat this feature. The onl one that doesn't spin down is the MyBook Pro 1terrabite. I was also disapointed to find that the casing is plastic. I almost returned it but then decided to use it for my iTunes library which is a bit over 100 gigs and has a lot of movies in it. It works fine for this and I'm back to using my trusty LaCie D2 120 gig.

At work we use 3 of the G-Tech 500 gig G-Raids. They are fantastic and their service is great too. We initially had a problem with them spontaneously un-mounting after 30-45 minutes of use. They told us a batch were built with faulty power switches and could be the problem. They sent 3 new switches overnight at no charge, I installed them and have been a happy camper since. We also use 3 500 gig LaCie Big Discs and they are great as well.

Rich Dykmans · January 16th, 2007, 08:10 PM

I'll add my props for the Graid as well. While you can probably get away with less, they're really well made and worth the $. The MBP handles HDV like a champ even with FW800 via expresscard (if you have an original MBP)

Brian Spatz · January 17th, 2007, 12:35 AM

I've also heard good things about lacie external drives. However most of these recommendations come from people who exclusively use them for single track audio recording applications.

Any ideas on how the Lacie Big Disk Extreme drives stack up? The 500gb model has the triple interface (although all I want is FW800) and is set up as a RAID 0 array.

Sounds reasonable for straightforward HDV editing.

On a side note, anyone think that a small FW800 160gb drive would be ideal as a scratch-disk setup? Or do most of you use your system drive for this?

Edit:
I just ordered a Lacie Big Disk Extreme 500gb drive, I'll see how many HDV streams I can get going with my MBP

Jim Stamps · February 1st, 2007, 06:02 PM

I have XH-A1s and am considering a purchase of a MBP with a LaCie Little Big Disk in Raid0. Just curious how your system is performing.

I'm currently using a Mac Mini with FCE just to get by, but working with HDV is 'no bueno'.

Thanks

Rich Dykmans · February 1st, 2007, 08:06 PM

I have actually done some short HDV captures and edits with my MBP and a bus powered FW400 5400 rpm notebook drive and had it playback just fine. I don't think one would want to do any serious work with a MBP without a good FW800 setup though.

Edward Randolph · February 2nd, 2007, 12:25 AM

I have bought 2 of the Firmtek SeriTek 2EN2 external eSATA housings and put 2 500GB Seagate SATA drives in them. That gives me two portable AC powered external 1TB arrays.
I put Firmtek's internal eSATA 4-port card in my Dual G4 Mirror Door desktop.
I use a FirmTek dual eSATA to PCM/CIA adapter card in my G4 Powerbook and FirmTek's dual eSATA to Express 34 adapter in my MacBookPro.
I can move the drives around between each of my 3 editing systems with no problems.
Through the OS X Disc Utility, I can set the drives to Raid 0, Raid 1, or just 2 separate 500 GB drives.
The drives are removable and hot swappable as long as they are single (not Raid).
For in the field video storage after a day's shooting, I capture from tape or copy from the FireStore recorder to the Firmtek box set as a Raid 1. That way I have an immediate backup to 500GB of storage. If I am on locations for a longer shoot, I carry an extra pair of 500GB drives in carriers that fit into the Firmtek box. I can then pull out the full drives, slip in the emptys, set them to Raid 1 and keep on storing video.
This works very well if you are recording your original footage to an external harddrive like the Firestore. If you are shooting tape, the only advantage is if you edit in the field or at home on a laptop.

Edward Randolph · February 2nd, 2007, 12:29 AM

I have 2 of the Firmtek SeriTek 2EN2 external eSATA housings and I put 2 500GB Seagate SATA drives in each of them. That gives me two portable AC powered external 1TB arrays.
I put Firmtek's internal eSATA 4-port card in my Dual G4 Mirror Door desktop.
I use a FirmTek dual eSATA to PCM/CIA adapter card in my G4 Powerbook and FirmTek's dual eSATA to Express 34 adapter in my MacBookPro.
I can move the drives around between each of my 3 editing systems with no problems.
Through the OS X Disc Utility, I can set the drives to Raid 0, Raid 1, or just 2 separate 500 GB drives.
The drives are removable and hot swappable as long as they are single (not Raid).
For in the field video storage after a day's shooting, I capture from tape or copy from the FireStore recorder to the Firmtek box set as a Raid 1. That way I have an immediate backup to 500GB of storage. If I am on locations for a longer shoot, I carry an extra pair of 500GB drives in carriers that fit into the Firmtek box. I can then pull out the full drives, slip in the emptys, set them to Raid 1 and keep on storing video.
Each of the drives has its own eSATA cable connection and will transfer 1.5GB/sec.
This works very well if you are recording your original footage to an external harddrive like the Firestore. If you are shooting tape, the only advantage is if you edit in the field or at home on a laptop.

Dante Waters · February 6th, 2007, 09:52 PM

So Edward you'd say that a raid set up is the best thing?

I have a WD 500gig 16mb buffer drive inside of a
wiebetech Casing this one in fact:

http://www.wiebetech.com/products/toughtech.php

I just receive some money for a wedding and would like to save the bulk of it. Would you suggest I get another WD drive just as the last so I can eventually RAID it. I am really leaning towards seagate (since they are suppose to be the best).

Let me know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward Randolph

I have 2 of the Firmtek SeriTek 2EN2 external eSATA housings and I put 2 500GB Seagate SATA drives in each of them. That gives me two portable AC powered external 1TB arrays.
I put Firmtek's internal eSATA 4-port card in my Dual G4 Mirror Door desktop.
I use a FirmTek dual eSATA to PCM/CIA adapter card in my G4 Powerbook and FirmTek's dual eSATA to Express 34 adapter in my MacBookPro.
I can move the drives around between each of my 3 editing systems with no problems.
Through the OS X Disc Utility, I can set the drives to Raid 0, Raid 1, or just 2 separate 500 GB drives.
The drives are removable and hot swappable as long as they are single (not Raid).
For in the field video storage after a day's shooting, I capture from tape or copy from the FireStore recorder to the Firmtek box set as a Raid 1. That way I have an immediate backup to 500GB of storage. If I am on locations for a longer shoot, I carry an extra pair of 500GB drives in carriers that fit into the Firmtek box. I can then pull out the full drives, slip in the emptys, set them to Raid 1 and keep on storing video.
Each of the drives has its own eSATA cable connection and will transfer 1.5GB/sec.
This works very well if you are recording your original footage to an external harddrive like the Firestore. If you are shooting tape, the only advantage is if you edit in the field or at home on a laptop.

January 16th, 2007, 03:01 PM	#1
Brian Spatz Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New Jersey Posts: 31	WD My Book Pro good for HDV FCP Editing? Hi everyone, I'm finally getting along in putting together the pieces for a complete HDV shoot and edit suite. I just got my Canon XH-A1 to complement my Macbook Pro with Final Cut Studio installed. With all of this, I'm now looking for the most cost effective storage solution for firewire 800 editing. I've heard many praises about G-Tech's g-raid2 hard drives, but it's around $450 for 500gbs and $950 for 1Tb. I came across these Western Digital My Book Pro drives which seem to be reasonably priced. $165 for 250gb, $255 for 500gb, and only $455 for 1Tb, all with the same triple-interface solution that the g-tech drives offer. I mean can you blame me for trying to get double the storage for the same price? Of course I'm not willing to sacrifice functionality to save a few bucks. So has anyone had success using these drives for HDV editing with their Final Cut setup? All input would be helpful. Thanks in advance. - Upon looking further into these drives, the 1Tb WD My Book Pro Edition II is apparently the only one of these that is RAID "compatible" and comes with software for this type of configuration with mac systems. A terabyte for under $500, almost seems too good to be true for video editing Last edited by Brian Spatz; January 16th, 2007 at 05:16 PM.

January 16th, 2007, 07:50 PM	#3
Dave Perry Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Roanoke, VA Posts: 796	I bought a My Book Premium version, the black ones, for editing and come to find that they spin down every ten minutes if not being used. Went to the WD site and checked their knowledge base and apparently there is no way to defeat this feature. The onl one that doesn't spin down is the MyBook Pro 1terrabite. I was also disapointed to find that the casing is plastic. I almost returned it but then decided to use it for my iTunes library which is a bit over 100 gigs and has a lot of movies in it. It works fine for this and I'm back to using my trusty LaCie D2 120 gig. At work we use 3 of the G-Tech 500 gig G-Raids. They are fantastic and their service is great too. We initially had a problem with them spontaneously un-mounting after 30-45 minutes of use. They told us a batch were built with faulty power switches and could be the problem. They sent 3 new switches overnight at no charge, I installed them and have been a happy camper since. We also use 3 500 gig LaCie Big Discs and they are great as well. __________________ Dave Perry Cinematographer LLC Director of Photography • Editor • Digital Film Production • 540.915.2752 • daveperry.net

January 17th, 2007, 12:35 AM	#5
Brian Spatz Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New Jersey Posts: 31	Lacie reliable? And scratch disk options I've also heard good things about lacie external drives. However most of these recommendations come from people who exclusively use them for single track audio recording applications. Any ideas on how the Lacie Big Disk Extreme drives stack up? The 500gb model has the triple interface (although all I want is FW800) and is set up as a RAID 0 array. Sounds reasonable for straightforward HDV editing. On a side note, anyone think that a small FW800 160gb drive would be ideal as a scratch-disk setup? Or do most of you use your system drive for this? Edit: I just ordered a Lacie Big Disk Extreme 500gb drive, I'll see how many HDV streams I can get going with my MBP Last edited by Brian Spatz; January 17th, 2007 at 01:05 PM.

February 1st, 2007, 06:02 PM	#6
Jim Stamps New Boot Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 11	Hey Brian, any updates on performance? I have XH-A1s and am considering a purchase of a MBP with a LaCie Little Big Disk in Raid0. Just curious how your system is performing. I'm currently using a Mac Mini with FCE just to get by, but working with HDV is 'no bueno'. Thanks

February 2nd, 2007, 12:25 AM	#8
Edward Randolph New Boot Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sedona, AZ Posts: 20	External Drives I have bought 2 of the Firmtek SeriTek 2EN2 external eSATA housings and put 2 500GB Seagate SATA drives in them. That gives me two portable AC powered external 1TB arrays. I put Firmtek's internal eSATA 4-port card in my Dual G4 Mirror Door desktop. I use a FirmTek dual eSATA to PCM/CIA adapter card in my G4 Powerbook and FirmTek's dual eSATA to Express 34 adapter in my MacBookPro. I can move the drives around between each of my 3 editing systems with no problems. Through the OS X Disc Utility, I can set the drives to Raid 0, Raid 1, or just 2 separate 500 GB drives. The drives are removable and hot swappable as long as they are single (not Raid). For in the field video storage after a day's shooting, I capture from tape or copy from the FireStore recorder to the Firmtek box set as a Raid 1. That way I have an immediate backup to 500GB of storage. If I am on locations for a longer shoot, I carry an extra pair of 500GB drives in carriers that fit into the Firmtek box. I can then pull out the full drives, slip in the emptys, set them to Raid 1 and keep on storing video. This works very well if you are recording your original footage to an external harddrive like the Firestore. If you are shooting tape, the only advantage is if you edit in the field or at home on a laptop.

January 16th, 2007, 05:26 PM	#2
Shane Ross Major Player Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 539	YOu get what you pay for. The G-Raids have aluminum cases that help dissipate heat. They use only Seagate drives, the best on the market. And they use better components in the case design. Yes, it cost more...but you get more peace of mind. Cheaper things tend to not last as long. MyBook drives don't have the best reputation as media drives, and they use MAXTOR drives, which are on the low end. G-Raids have a rock solid rep. Also look at Caldigit.com. the Firewire VR is $500 for 500GB as well, but the drives are REMOVABLE. So if you want more storage for multiple projects, you can get additional drive trays at a lower cost. One case, many drives. AND, the additional drive units ship with a storage box that fits on a VHS shelf. Very handy. Cheap is as cheap does. Get what you can afford, but know it isn't the best. How much is your time worth to you if the drive fails and you need to recapture your footage and rebuild the cut?

January 16th, 2007, 08:10 PM	#4
Rich Dykmans Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Discovery Bay, CA Posts: 138	I'll add my props for the Graid as well. While you can probably get away with less, they're really well made and worth the $. The MBP handles HDV like a champ even with FW800 via expresscard (if you have an original MBP)

February 1st, 2007, 08:06 PM	#7
Rich Dykmans Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Discovery Bay, CA Posts: 138	I have actually done some short HDV captures and edits with my MBP and a bus powered FW400 5400 rpm notebook drive and had it playback just fine. I don't think one would want to do any serious work with a MBP without a good FW800 setup though.

February 2nd, 2007, 12:29 AM	#9
Edward Randolph New Boot Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sedona, AZ Posts: 20	Firmtek external eSATA enclosures I have 2 of the Firmtek SeriTek 2EN2 external eSATA housings and I put 2 500GB Seagate SATA drives in each of them. That gives me two portable AC powered external 1TB arrays. I put Firmtek's internal eSATA 4-port card in my Dual G4 Mirror Door desktop. I use a FirmTek dual eSATA to PCM/CIA adapter card in my G4 Powerbook and FirmTek's dual eSATA to Express 34 adapter in my MacBookPro. I can move the drives around between each of my 3 editing systems with no problems. Through the OS X Disc Utility, I can set the drives to Raid 0, Raid 1, or just 2 separate 500 GB drives. The drives are removable and hot swappable as long as they are single (not Raid). For in the field video storage after a day's shooting, I capture from tape or copy from the FireStore recorder to the Firmtek box set as a Raid 1. That way I have an immediate backup to 500GB of storage. If I am on locations for a longer shoot, I carry an extra pair of 500GB drives in carriers that fit into the Firmtek box. I can then pull out the full drives, slip in the emptys, set them to Raid 1 and keep on storing video. Each of the drives has its own eSATA cable connection and will transfer 1.5GB/sec. This works very well if you are recording your original footage to an external harddrive like the Firestore. If you are shooting tape, the only advantage is if you edit in the field or at home on a laptop.