Snow Leopard and SxS cards

Dave Morrison · August 29th, 2009, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben McElroy

great find.. i was about an hour away from installing snow leopard on all of my systems.. Did anyone try it with the sony reader? or via usb from the camera?

Yes, it will work using the Sony SxS card reader but I too got a Kernal Panic when inserting the card into my MBP.

Andrew Stone · August 29th, 2009, 10:29 PM

Yep, confirmed on another forum by a quote from a Sony rep. The SxS drivers are not Snow Leopard ready. The actual release date is inferred to be at least a few months out. The official response was "TBD".

We really shouldn't be surprised. Sony is usually late to the party with software drivers. At least when they do come out they should be good.

Mark Slocombe · August 30th, 2009, 01:28 AM

Matt, thanks for dipping your toes in so quickly!

Did you go further to discover if, under Snow Leopard, FCP works APU with EX files that have been offloaded from cards? I assume the SxS driver is only needed for the offload process (for us, on our MacBook Pro), and guess that once the files are offloaded (for us, via the MBP onto our MacPro drives), FCP / Log&Transfer and EX files are fine, so ok to install Snow on the MacPro.

Steve Shovlar · August 30th, 2009, 03:25 PM

So is it OK to install Snow Leopard on a Macpro and bring the footage into FCP with log and transfer through a USB from the EX3?

Brooks Graham · August 30th, 2009, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Shovlar

So is it OK to install Snow Leopard on a Macpro and bring the footage into FCP with log and transfer through a USB from the EX3?

So, with the usual caveats in place, yes. There appears to be only one component of our workflow that is broken*: the drivers supplied by Sony to read genuine SxS cards in the ExpressCard slot on Apple laptops. Sony must issue an updated SxS driver before that functionality will work again under 10.6. There have been reports of success reading the SxS cards in the Sony USB reader, from the camera itself using the USB cable that came with the camera, and with all the various twitchy SDHC solutions out there.

AFAIK, there have been no reports of XDCAM Transfer or Clip Browser misbehaving under 10.6.

Bottom line: once you get the footage off the SxS cards, it's the same as it ever was - you just can't use the ExpressCard slot to read genuine SxS cards in Apple laptops until Sony fixes their driver. (how long it will take Sony is anyone's guess, but plan on it taking months and months)

(*) I haven't heard anything about the FAM driver or the XDCAM disc driver under 10.6 - can anyone confirm or deny that those work under 10.6?

Brooks Graham · August 30th, 2009, 04:39 PM

For those who are upgrading their laptops with Snow Leopard and had previously installed the SxS driver, it might be a good idea to remove the driver from your system until Sony provides us with an update. This will prevent any kernel panics if someone places an SxS card in the laptop. Kernel panics are bad and should be avoided. ;-)

On the SxS driver .dmg file is an un-installer.

Leonard Levy · August 30th, 2009, 10:17 PM

Just got Larry Jordan's Final Cut newsletter and he suggested no one upgrade to Snow Leopard yet because lots of software is not yet compatible and it will be months before it is. Larry said this is typical with major system upgrades as developers need to wait until the system is out of BETA to finish upgrading their software.

Ben McElroy · August 31st, 2009, 09:19 AM

That settles it.. SL is shelved until further notice... I'm only out 50 bucks..

Craig Seeman · August 31st, 2009, 02:09 PM

I started a separate thread on using XDCAM Transfer with Snow Leopard so it all doesn't become a behemoth thread jumble.
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/sony-xdca...-transfer.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Shovlar

So is it OK to install Snow Leopard on a Macpro and bring the footage into FCP with log and transfer through a USB from the EX3?

Oyvind Stokkan · September 3rd, 2009, 02:26 AM

Hey guys

If i hadn't try to import SXS on my snow leopard mac today i would have been screwed on a job tomorrow..

Found a workaround. Just connect your camera through USB. Don't need to install sxs drivers. Works fine

Shaun R Walker · September 3rd, 2009, 05:09 AM

Aaargh! I just installed Snow Leopard! Wish I'd have checked this thread out before I did

Craig Seeman · September 3rd, 2009, 07:10 AM

It's not always possible to stop a shoot to offload from the camera. Not a good workaround. Latest "rumor" is that Sony will come out with a fixed driver this month.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oyvind Stokkan

Hey guys

If i hadn't try to import SXS on my snow leopard mac today i would have been screwed on a job tomorrow..

Found a workaround. Just connect your camera through USB. Don't need to install sxs drivers. Works fine

Ben McElroy · September 3rd, 2009, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig Seeman

It's not always possible to stop a shoot to offload from the camera. Not a good workaround. Latest "rumor" is that Sony will come out with a fixed driver this month.

Sony is so slow with everything.. I'll believe it when I see it.

August 30th, 2009, 01:28 AM	#18
Mark Slocombe Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: London UK Posts: 120	Snow Leopard Matt, thanks for dipping your toes in so quickly! Did you go further to discover if, under Snow Leopard, FCP works APU with EX files that have been offloaded from cards? I assume the SxS driver is only needed for the offload process (for us, on our MacBook Pro), and guess that once the files are offloaded (for us, via the MBP onto our MacPro drives), FCP / Log&Transfer and EX files are fine, so ok to install Snow on the MacPro. __________________ Mark Slocombe, CreationVideo http://www.creationvideo.com

August 31st, 2009, 09:19 AM	#23
Ben McElroy Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: MA Posts: 41	That settles it.. SL is shelved until further notice... I'm only out 50 bucks.. __________________ Benjamin J. McElroy, Owner\|Executive Producer www.mcelroyfilms.com

September 3rd, 2009, 02:26 AM	#25
Oyvind Stokkan Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Grimstad, Norway Posts: 112	Hey guys If i hadn't try to import SXS on my snow leopard mac today i would have been screwed on a job tomorrow.. Found a workaround. Just connect your camera through USB. Don't need to install sxs drivers. Works fine __________________ PMW-EX1 and Letus Extreme user www.oyvindstokkan.no

August 29th, 2009, 10:29 PM	#17
Andrew Stone Major Player Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 975	Yep, confirmed on another forum by a quote from a Sony rep. The SxS drivers are not Snow Leopard ready. The actual release date is inferred to be at least a few months out. The official response was "TBD". We really shouldn't be surprised. Sony is usually late to the party with software drivers. At least when they do come out they should be good.

August 30th, 2009, 03:25 PM	#19
Steve Shovlar Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Dorset UK Posts: 697	So is it OK to install Snow Leopard on a Macpro and bring the footage into FCP with log and transfer through a USB from the EX3?

August 30th, 2009, 04:39 PM	#21
Brooks Graham Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 121	For those who are upgrading their laptops with Snow Leopard and had previously installed the SxS driver, it might be a good idea to remove the driver from your system until Sony provides us with an update. This will prevent any kernel panics if someone places an SxS card in the laptop. Kernel panics are bad and should be avoided. ;-) On the SxS driver .dmg file is an un-installer.

August 30th, 2009, 10:17 PM	#22
Leonard Levy Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,684	Just got Larry Jordan's Final Cut newsletter and he suggested no one upgrade to Snow Leopard yet because lots of software is not yet compatible and it will be months before it is. Larry said this is typical with major system upgrades as developers need to wait until the system is out of BETA to finish upgrading their software.

September 3rd, 2009, 05:09 AM	#26
Shaun R Walker Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Central Coast, NSW Australia Posts: 119	Aaargh! I just installed Snow Leopard! Wish I'd have checked this thread out before I did