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Update via Sony UK guys. Okay, I have it straight now. Here is a cut/paste from my (modified) feature:
With XDCAM HD it is possible to delete the last recorded clip, random clips, or all the clips on the disc. All these clip-delete methods will of course free up extra space on the disc for you to then record on again. To delete the last recorded clip you must do it as soon as possible because once you power down the camera you will lose the chance to delete the last clip. If you know the last clip was a bad take, delete it there and then. However, you can delete the last clip later on by using the random-clip-delete feature. It is also possible to delete randomly selected clips from the disc by highlighting the clip you want to delete and using the pull-down menu to delete it. To prevent fragmentation occurring on the disc, any clips under 30-seconds duration won't actually be deleted. What happens in this instance is you delete the clip in the usual way and it won't be there anymore. However, the media will remain on the disc hence it won't free up the space on the disc. The disc management system works this way to prevent lots of tiny empty spaces occurring across the disc, which could lead to fragmentation. So it is best to leave these shorter clips on the disc to prevent fragmentation. Having said that, if you were to also delete a neighboring clip that would bring the total duration to 31-seconds or more, then the space is freed up on the disc for you to record on again. For example if the first clip you deleted was just 9 seconds long, then you deleted a neighboring clip of 22-seconds (31 in total) it could combine that space and free it up again.
You can also delete all clips on the disc at the same time, and if you simply re-format the disc any tiny clip under 30-seconds will be completely wiped during the re-format process hence putting your disc back to the state it was when you bought it brand new.
Empty gaps rarely appear on a disc and even if they do it is not a problem as the XDCAM's Disc Management System keeps a 'Look-Up' file allocation table; a very sophisticated one at that. This system doesn't actually de-fragment in the same was a computer hard drive would i.e. moving the files around on the hard disc to keep them together. Instead the XDCAM system maps out files and keeps a record of them in its tables. In my opinion this is less destructive and a lot safer for your precious video files as it doesn't potentially damage the disc like a computer hard drive de-fragmentation process can. Sony have implemented this superb system to absolutely 100% assure that fragmentation is never an issue and your clips are always safe, even if you erase and record a thousand times on the same disc, fragmentation will simply never occur.
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November 9th, 2006, 05:40 PM
