Topic: Re: M Audio Flash Tracker Recorder Update

[sleepypedro]

am I misreading your message, or are you saying that the speed of the card does not mean how quickly data is written to the card, but only how quickly data is read FROM the card?

there's a read rate and a write rate.

what i was saying was i'm sure almost any card on the market can sustain a 24/96 write (or at least i'd assume -- if a 5400 rpm laptop hard drive can do it, after all...).  what really matters more to me is the rate at which data can be read from the card!

sorry if my earlier post was unclear -- bottom line, check the technical specs of any card before purchasing!

[pfife]

am I misreading your message, or are you saying that the speed of the card does not mean how quickly data is written to the card, but only how quickly data is read FROM the card?

there's a read rate and a write rate.

what i was saying was i'm sure almost any card on the market can sustain a 24/96 write (or at least i'd assume -- if a 5400 rpm laptop hard drive can do it, after all...).  what really matters more to me is the rate at which data can be read from the card!

sorry if my earlier post was unclear -- bottom line, check the technical specs of any card before purchasing!

nah man the post was totally clear, I just didn't think that was the case, but its cool that it is.

+T

[it-goes-to-eleven]

what i was saying was i'm sure almost any card on the market can sustain a 24/96 write (or at least i'd assume -- if a 5400 rpm laptop hard drive can do it, after all...).

Nope.  They vary.  It becomes a serious issue on digital cameras when you want to shoot constantly at 3 frames/sec or whatever (especially with larger image formats like TIFF).

This particular card is quite fast and should be okay.  But that isn't the case with all of them.

This site has good info that is specific to the Nikon D70 but should give you an idea.  It is important to note that the write performance depends greatly on the size of the write and how it is implemented in the device.  We'll assume that the FT is fairly well optimized but it may not write as quickly as the D70, etc.

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-6816

24/96 is about .55 MB/second.

[JasonSobel]

24/96 is about .55 MB/second.

yup, and I think the Sandisk "Ultra II" series has a 9 MB/sec write rate and 10 MB/sec read rate (don't quote me on that, but that's what I recall, and I've been looking around the past couple of days).  This is way above the .55 MB/sec needed for 24/96 .wav files, so even a "slower" card could probably keep up with 24/96 data.

here is a good link with file sizes at different bit depths and sample rates:

http://24bit.turtleside.com/pcm.wav.file.sizes.pdf

that table shows MB/Hour, MB/sec, and GB/hour

[OFOTD]

Let's also not forget that it is highly likely that this unit will be compatible with MicroDrives as well.  Looking on B & H Photo I found this deal as a reference for microdrives.

Hitachi 6GB Microdrive 3K4 with Travel Kit and PCMCIA Adapter - MD6GBA  for $269

This is just one example of themicrodrives which I think in general are less expensive than most CompactFlash II memory.  Here is a link to a froogle page with some more reference on prices for these drives:
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=Microdrive&btnG=Search+Froogle

[Todd R]

The microdrives draw quite a bit more power.  I wouldn't want to use them for that reason alone.

[JasonSobel]

I'd expect it will be.  Though I recall some folks complaining about problems with microdrives when doing PDA recording at 24/96.  I'll pay the price difference for Flash so I don't have to worry about heat and vibration.  Do the MD's use more power?

yeah, MicroDries are less stable, and they use more power, because of the small spinning harddrive.  CF cards use less power and are less prone to vibration problems (no moving parts).  I agree with you that I'd rather pay the price difference for some piece of mind when recording.

Another hope is that you can record to USB mass storage devices via the USB port.

not too likely, because I doubt it's a USB host.  but on the other hand, you could buy an "on-the-go" storage device and dump the recordings to that between sets.

[John Kelly]

Microdrives also have a much higher rate of failure.  I will definitely not be purchasing a microdrive.

[Colin Liston]

So...who will be making the RCA > XLR dongle for this thing?

I'll need a short RCA>XLR for stealthing.

Anyone Anyone?

colin

[The Kilted Taper]

RCA > XLR?? Going out of the Tracker to what? Seems like your adding gear.

[IowaClint]

I record using a PDA.  Never had a write or read failure on my hitachi microdrives.  I haven't done 24/96 on them though, just 24/48.  After a few shows I re-format and cluster them.   Also, never had a vibration issue either.  Power, I use a battery extender and 4 AA's and never had a power issue.  I have even ran without it and with the HP dual slot and Ipaq battery never ran even close to running out of power.  Just my .02  
Clint

[nic]

So...who will be making the RCA > XLR dongle for this thing?

for what purpose?
the inputs on the Tracker/MicroTrack are (2x)1/4" TRS w/ phantom or coax S/PDIF.
if you are referring to hooking your mics into the unit, you just need an adapter that converts each XLR to a 1/4" TRS.

the RCAs on the unit are analog outputs

[The Kilted Taper]

So...who will be making the RCA > XLR dongle for this thing?

for what purpose?
the inputs on the Tracker/MicroTrack are (2x)1/4" TRS w/ phantom or coax S/PDIF.
if you are referring to hooking your mics into the unit, you just need an adapter that converts each XLR to a 1/4" TRS.

the RCAs on the unit are analog outputs

exactly what I am asking.

[OFOTD]

Microdrives also have a much higher rate of failure.  I will definitely not be purchasing a microdrive.

I have never had one single problem with either heat or vibration with my IBM Microdrive.  I'd love to see where you get your information. about reliability?

[Colin Liston]

That's what I want, mics with XLR end > RCA > flash tracker

I would like a short RCA > XLR adapter. 

Where do they sell them?