Topic: most reliable flash media for HD-P2/best price on that media?

[marc0789]

thanks all. many false starts before, but it's time. I've been heckled enough about dat.

[barrettphisher]

Mark,
I really like the 8gb scan disk Extreme II cards.  I can send you the link after work.  Both Richard and I run these in our hd-p2's.   I grabbed one last month for $75 or so. 
Barrett
PS- You going with an Oade modded unit?  If so what flavor?

[JasonSobel]

I have found that the HD-P2 is not picky at all about media.
I have run an 8 GB PQI card for 2+ years now (@24/96), with zero issues.
I also have and do run Sandisk Ultra III cards, Sandisk Ultra II cards, and Kingston cards, all without any issues.

If I were going to buy a new card today, I'd probably go for this Kingston card for $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134576


when buying cards for the HD-P2, keep in mind that the deck can't write more than 8GB of data to a single card.  (i.e. I have a 16 GB Sandsick card that I use, but the deck freezes as soon as that card is 8GB full.  It works perfectly up to that point.  It's something that Tascam has known about for years now, but has largely ignored, even though it could probably be fixed with a firmware update).  It hasn't been much of an issue for me (or anyone else, I gather), because with 8 GB, you can still record 4 hours at 24/96.  Which is plenty for any show.  So, the point is, it's not worth it to buy cards larger than 8GB, because essentially, you'll only be able to use 8GB of space on the larger cards anyway.  Other than this issue, though, the deck is absolutely rock solid and stable.  you'll enjoy using it

[philR]

wow, the old man is stepping into the 21st century.   

[kirk97132]

I ran  the adata, san disk, and kingston cards when I had a P2, and it's true the P2 seems to run fine on almost any manufacturer.  The only time I had problems was when I didn't reformat the cards only deleted.  Once I started reformatting before use everything was fine. 

[dallman]

I have never had an issue with any CF card I have run in my HD-P2 (Kingston, Sandisk, Seagate, Transcend). Almost exclusively now I use a Samsung 8GB card which can be picked up on eBay for about $25. The price keeps dropping. A great price and the cards work well in my Canon camera my HD-P2 and my MT 24/96.

[macdaddy]

I have run an 8 GB PQI card for 2+ years now (@24/96), with zero issues

+1 (this has been my experience, as well)


re: the > 8gig dealio
i think it is a bit more than a firmware update. i believe the version of wince that the p2 runs cannot see more than 8 gigs of storage. the more recent builds of winCE (or whatever they call it now) can read all of the bigger cards, but i think the version the p2 uses cannot (version # is on inside of the batt door). my guess is that they would have to swap the whole os to add this feature, and it looks like they cant or wont do it (the reason i think this is 'cos i have a pda that couldnt use the bigger cards, and the wince version was the problem; i had to flash a more recent wince rom to get the device to see all of the bigger cards - i dont think tascam is gonna suggest we flash the rom of these units, and i dont know if such a thing is even possible)...

[Kush]

If I were going to buy a new card today, I'd probably go for this Kingston card for $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134576

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction for a new CF card! I just purchased a used Busman HD-P2 and have been wanting another card but not sure about which one to get.

[Kush]

You shouldn't have a problem with this card either:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820208340
It's a Transcend 8 GB 133x CF Card for $19.99

I have a Transcend 8 GB 120x CF Card which came with the HD-P2 I purchased used and the media speed check on the HD-P2 says it will record:
16 bit 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192 Khz okay
24 bit 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192 Khz okay

I bought this one on the recommendation of JasonSobel:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134576
It's a Kingston Technology 8 GB elite pro 133x CF Card for $29.99
and it works great as well!

The media speed check on the HD-P2 says it will record:
16 bit 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192 Khz okay
24 bit 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192 Khz okay

[KenH]

Congrats on the new/used P2.  It's a great deck. 

fwiw, I just reformatted my 8gb Sandisk Extreme II card on the P2 for the 2nd time after 2+ years, the 1st being the day I installed it.   Kinda sucks that you have to redo the "projects" which define digi or analog in, bit size and sample rates, peak meter decay and so on though.  That process is a lot easier if you attach a standard keyboard to the P2, however...

The only difference w/ faster cards is faster transfer.  It has no effect on recording (at least for Sandisk cards).

/Ken

[Brian Skalinder]

fwiw, I just reformatted my 8gb Sandisk Extreme II card on the P2 for the 2nd time after 2+ years, the 1st being the day I installed it.   Kinda sucks that you have to redo the "projects" which define digi or analog in, bit size and sample rates, peak meter decay and so on though.

Same thing happened to me when I had my P2.  I formatted my cards every time I used them, so found out about it right away.  Easy workaround:  copy the project files to your HDD.  After every format, simply copy them back.  I had a fixed set of project settings, like 2-3 configurations, that never changed.  So it simply became part of my process to copy them to my card after every format.

[dallman]

fwiw, I just reformatted my 8gb Sandisk Extreme II card on the P2 for the 2nd time after 2+ years, the 1st being the day I installed it.   Kinda sucks that you have to redo the "projects" which define digi or analog in, bit size and sample rates, peak meter decay and so on though.

Same thing happened to me when I had my P2.  I formatted my cards every time I used them, so found out about it right away.  Easy workaround:  copy the project files to your HDD.  After every format, simply copy them back.  I had a fixed set of project settings, like 2-3 configurations, that never changed.  So it simply became part of my process to copy them to my card after every format.

I'm confused. I just set my default project settings on my HD P2 to what I preferred. That way I never have to make any changes, unless there is some specific reason I want to deviate from those settings. Once you set your default project settings, they hold for any new media used. I reformat my card before each show, and I have never had to re-set my meters or sample rate or any of that.

[macdaddy]

absolutely...

if you set your default settings to what you want, each time you reformat, that is what you get; no need to do all the settings by hand (i reformat each time i use the card)...

+t for mentioning that.

[Brian Skalinder]

Dallman -- sorry for the confusion.  Yes, the default settings are persistent, i.e. they remain the same independent of formatting the card (as macdaddy confirmed).  When I ran my P2, I had 3 different configurations I used on a regular basis - default plus 2 more - and I found it easier to switch projects rather than customize the default settings every time I wanted to use one of my other configurations.

[dallman]

Dallman -- sorry for the confusion.  Yes, the default settings are persistent, i.e. they remain the same independent of formatting the card (as macdaddy confirmed).  When I ran my P2, I had 3 different configurations I used on a regular basis - default plus 2 more - and I found it easier to switch projects rather than customize the default settings every time I wanted to use one of my other configurations.

Thanks to you and macdaddy. I am curious though, why you had the different settings? I ask mainly as I am wondering if I could be using my deck more effectively. That said, I like the fact that the way I use the deck makes it very difficult to mess up, but I am curious still. Thanks!

[Brian Skalinder]

At the time, I had 2 recorders and 2 pairs of mics.  My default project configuration was for 2-ch stereo recording from my mics.  The 2nd project configuration was for 2-ch stereo recording from my mics, but with the clock synced to another recorder, and the 3rd project configuration was for recording from the soundboard.  It wouldn't take much to manually switch between those configurations each time, but I still found it easier to change the configuration by selecting a different project.

[KenH]

I have 4 projects define in my P2:
- 24/96 digital in
- 24/96 analog in
- 24/48 digital in
- 24/48 analog in

I almost always use 24/96 digital in, but if traveling and doing multiple shows, I might do 24/48 digital in.
And analog in is for the possibility of a pre-amp problem where I'd need to run my mics straight in to the P2, though I've never had that problem.  Analog in was also for when I played with V3->XLR analog out>P2.