SDXC vs SDHC and HD capacity per GB

[Barry Sampson]

Hi all,

Thinking of getting a TM900 with 32GB built in memory :D

Can you advise: -

1. What is best, SDXC or SDHC? (Class 10 being the latest)
2. How much HD 1080P footage can I get per GB; i.e. a 16GB SDXC/SDHC holds xx hours?

I have a Mini-DV camcorder, (NVGS5), I'm going on holiday for 3 weeks and want to record 3/4 hours a day so need to estimate card requirement

Thanks in advance

:)

[Colin Rowe]

Hi Barry, in answer to your questions.
1. There isn't a best card. One person will recommend one brand and somebody else another. Stick to well known names, Sandisk, Transcend etc. Steer well clear of the lesser known names. Its really a case of finding a brand of card that you are confident in using, and sticking with it.
2. 16gb card = 1h 20min 1080/50p
32gb 2h 40min
Hope this helps

[Barry Sampson]

Thanks Colin :D

That's a lot of memory and money!

What I meant about the cards was is SDXC better than SDHC being it's newer tech?

Also, what would be the next best recording option to get very good quality footage, i.e. much better than DV tape but not full HD, is the 1080i option any good?

Thanks again

[Colin Rowe]

SDXC is, as you say newer tech. Not necessary for camera recording, unless you like spending money, Class 6 or 10 SDHC will be more than adequate.
16gb Transcend class 10 cards are less than £20, expect to pay more for Sandisk etc

1080/50p is full HD, and on the TM900 footage at this resolution will blow you away, when viewed on a 1080p TV via HDMI, bear in mind, you will need a PC with considerable grunt to edit the footage.

AVCHD HA mode, 17mbps is extremely good, still takes a powerful PC to edit it.

If you are going to be editing a lot of footage from a TM900, and cant afford a new high spec PC, think about using an intermediate codec, I use NeoScene, or you could use Mpeg Streamclip, its free.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Barry

Remember than the card capacity figures that Colin gave you are probably for the highest bitrate of the camera..you will get more at lower bitrates like HA (dunno if the TA also has a HG mode but that will give you close to 3 hours on a 16GB card) Class 6, I find, is good enough right up to 24mbps and although the cards do cost more than tape, you can reuse them a lot more than tape

Chris

[Barry Sampson]

I have a quad core 2.66GHz Mac Pro with 6GB ram, (a bit antiquated in technology terms now at 3 years old!), iMovie or Final Cut to edit although I understand it comes with PC only software, which I can run in Bootcamp.

Thanks for the replies, I'll edit when I can think of more questions :D

[George Taylor]

Hi All:

I just posted this on the TM900 thread, but thought I'd copy it here because the OP is also going for a TM900, also because I hope someone can sanity-check my conclusion that you would never need more than a Class 4 card (SDXC orSDHC) for the TM900 camcorder. So, if anyone can add words of wisdom, I'd be grateful. Her is my original post:

I've decided to order the TM900 later today or tomorrow. The price now seems stable at $889. I'm going to buy some cards, too, and I'm wondering if anybody can sanity-check my thinking on required speed rating, as follows:

About.com gives me the following two info-bits:
1) "The amount of data recorded at any given second is called a bit rate, and for camcorders it’s measured in megabits (one million bits) per second, or Mbps. The more data you’re recording, the better the quality of your video."
2) "The bit rate also matters if you own a flash memory card-based camcorder. Memory cards have their own data transfer rate, measured in megabytes per second or MBps (1 megabyte = 8 megabits). Some memory cards are too slow for high bit rate camcorders, and others are too fast. They’ll still record, but you’ll pay extra for speed you don’t need."

The TM900 Users Manual tells us to, "Use SD cards conforming to Class 4 or higher . . . for motion picture recording."

So, the highest recording speed on the TM900 is 28Mbps. Converted to MBps (divide by 8) we have 3.5MBps. The SD industry standards for Class 4 SDXC card say it writes at a minimum 4MBps (the standards specify the rating has to be the minimum - not average or maximum or optimal - speed).

Therefore, if I am using only the TM900, am I correct in assuming I should NEVER have to buy any SDXC card higher than a Class 4 rating?

If I pass the sanity-check, then this looks like a very attractive cost effective on-board storage option for the TM900.

SDSDRH064GA11 SanDisk 64GB Ultra Secure Digital Extended Capacity, SDXC, Memory Card, Class 4 15MB/Sec Read/Write Speed **

It suggests I can get an additional 64GB for just about $4.00 over what the cost of the camera alone was two weeks ago.

Does all this make sense, or am I missing something?

Any comments will be appreciated. Thanks

Thanks for any help.

Edit: ** This is a URL for a Sandisk 64GB SDXC at Adorama. The hot link didn't copy over from the TM900 thread. But you can copy/paste from here (without the asterisks) into your browser. Also, I see that Amazon has it four $4.00 less.

[Colin Rowe]

George.
Dont get tied up with the numbers game. Class 6 or 10 SDHC will more than cope with anything the TM900 can throw at them. Just as well go for class 10, they are the same price as class 6 at the moment. Pick a well known, proven brand of card, Transcend or Sandisk being the most popular. The SDXC class 4 card would also be fine, but I personally, and many others stick with 16gb cards, less to lose than if a full 64gb card fails, and any card can fail. (All your eggs in one basket, and all that).

[George Taylor]

Thanks, Colin, but with respect, class 6 or 10 SDXC cost a lot more than Class 4, and I'm wondering what extra benefit they will provide since, if my calcs are correct, Class 4 will handle the TM900's maximum write speed.

I go back to the About.com comment: "Some memory cards are too slow for high bit rate camcorders, and others are too fast. They’ll still record, but you’ll pay extra for speed you don’t need."

Does the extra "power" provide more stability, less chance of failure or drop-offs, or faster download capability to backup, or something else I am missing?. I guess my question is, Do I need to buy a Ferrari if I'm never going to drive more than 50mph?

[Colin Rowe]

No need for SDXC cards George, plain old SDHC Class 6 or 10 are more than adequate. Class 10 16gb Transcend are selling for about £15 here in the UK. Class 4 is the minimum requirement. The extra speed will, as you say, give you faster download times, and a little more headroom for recording. I dont know what sort of price you would pay in the US, but here in the UK class 10 SDHC are a very reasonable price.

[George Taylor]

Thanks, Colin. That's about $24 here, so 64GB would be less than $100. That's a good price. I had thought earlier about multiple smaller-capacity cards. They have several advantages over a single large card. I'll check things out and let you know of my decision.
-------------------
George

[Barry Sampson]

Hi again,

I have decided to go with the HDC-HS900 due to it having a 220GB hard drive which will provide 18 hours + of HD footage. I will also buy a few 16GB SDHC class 10 cards to top it up, [Transcend, thanks Colin]. I think I will be recording less than first estimated so hopefully I'll have enough storage, and I'll be getting the extra life battery for £90:00, $144.46 USD

I have found the HDC-HS900 for £919:00, $1,475.18 USD, which is the cheapest from a reputable dealer and will order it on Monday, it will also have the Panasonic 5 year warranty :D

I'm also looking at updating my ram by another 8GB to bring it to 14GB, that, with an upgrade to OSX Lion, should give my 2008 Mac Pro a bit more grunt; I've heard from a developer friend that Lion has speeded up his old machines and he is suitably impressed!

I think I am getting too engrossed in the whole 1080P thing and may record at 720P to give me more capacity/recording time.

I'm a hobbyist, not pro and think 720P or its equivalent should suffice as it will be burned off to regular DVD for now; a bluray burner is on my shopping list!

720P will still be a lot better than DV tape, what do you folks think?

Thanks again

Barry

[Colin Rowe]

No 720 on the 900 series Barry. All AVCHD modes are 1920x1080

[Barry Sampson]

Okay,

I thought a lesser recording quality would be 720P; best I buy then read the manual!

Lots to learn eh :D

Regards

Barry

[George Taylor]

Also, you can read the manual before you buy. It's downloadable from Panasonic's website. I've had it for three weeks and I haven't yet bought the cam (but I'm definitely going to).