Topic: CF Recorder Users: Inside please

[Todd R]

I posted about this in the M-Audio thread, but in case people using the PMD-671 or whatever didn't see it, I thought I'd crosspost.


I think the answer to the storage dilemma is a portable USB OTG ("on-the-go") drive.  I just picked up this this one.  $80 for a portable, battery-powered external 30gb hard drive that can act as a host controller.  At only 5" x 3.25" x 1", it is easy enough to bring into the field with you.  On-board Li-ion battery is supposed to last for 1.5 hours, but you can always hook up something like the power runner li-ion battery and get 10-15 hours of additional runtime in the field.  With this gadget, you could probably squeeze by with two 2gb CF cards.  Even in a festival setting, the OTG drive, a 2gb card, and a 4gb card should be plenty.

From what I can tell, the OTG drive looks like it is just the ticket.  I ordered mine from the link above on Tuesday, got it from UPS just a little while ago.  Worked great right out of the box.  I used is as a host drive connected to a card reader I have and transferred about 900MB of photo files from my 1GB CF card to the OTG drive.  Downside is it took about 15 minutes, but I have no idea if the limiting factor was my card reader or the OTG drive (my card reader might well be USB 1.1, not 2.0).  Literature that came with the drive says battery life of 1.5 hours with continuous use, so an external 5v battery for field operation might be a good idea.  $80 for 30gb of portable, field transferrable disk space is a pretty good deal.

BTW, more description of this device:

Introducing the latest HighSpeed USB 2.0 OTG (ON-THE-GO) technology allow you Synchronize/Backup your entire data files from almost any of the USB devices to this Cintre DATASync USB 2.0 OTG External Hard Drive. Just transfer your data files by single press of the button without connect via your computer. The dual-role USB2.0 OTG Drive works as a regular USB 2.0 hard disk when connected to a PC and doubles as a USB 2.0 Host that can initiate file transfer from your Digital Camera, USB flash drive, Card Reader, and MP3 player... etc without going through a computer. The USB2.0 OTG Drive provides a fast and easy way to add more storage space to both your computer and USB/USB2.0 storage devices or Digital Camera.

[nickgregory]

that is exactly what I want, but I have not seen a firewire capable device yet...thanks for the post though Todd!  Hopefully they will come out with that as the next part of the offering!

[Todd R]

Not to say they won't, but I don't know if it is on the horizon.  The USB 2.0 standard was revised to incorporate a USB 2.0 OTG standard that foresaw and allowed the development of USB OTG drives such as this.  I have no idea if the firewire standard itself if capable of such drives.

[nickgregory]

Not to say they won't, but I don't know if it is on the horizon. The USB 2.0 standard was revised to incorporate a USB 2.0 OTG standard that foresaw and allowed the development of USB OTG drives such as this. I have no idea if the firewire standard itself if capable of such drives.

understood, moreso me having wishful thinking....

[macdaddy]

nice info todd

+t

[F.O.Bean]

Not to say they won't, but I don't know if it is on the horizon. The USB 2.0 standard was revised to incorporate a USB 2.0 OTG standard that foresaw and allowed the development of USB OTG drives such as this. I have no idea if the firewire standard itself if capable of such drives.

understood, moreso me having wishful thinking....

the 722 only has firewire outs? i didnt notice that.

what do ya need one of these for tho, you have a 40GB HD

also, i bet if your card reader was usb 2.0 the transfers would FLY by

[nickgregory]

what do ya need one of these for tho, you have a 40GB HD

40 Gb=20 hrs at 24/96

Austin City Limits...I am hoping to record 2 to 3 times that limit

[BobW]

You should stop by the portable_tapeless_recordists  Yahoo! Group and read some of the archived stuff.
There are a few companies who've put these out.

[Todd R]

You mean to say that ts.com isn't one-stop-shopping for all our recording needs and knowledge.

[udovdh]

15 minutes for just one 1GB?! 
I guess speed is an issue for this type of solutions.

What would I expect from a CF to PC transfer in a `home` setting?
I hope faster than just 1 GB in 15 minutes?

[macdaddy]

You should stop by the portable_tapeless_recordists  Yahoo! Group and read some of the archived stuff.
There are a few companies who've put these out.

how many of these groups are there..?

there is the pen group, the laptop group, the portable group, and lot of the same info seems to be covered in each archive...

[Todd R]

Turns out the card reader I was using was indeed USB1.1, so a USB 2.0 reader should be at least 4x faster.  With a 2.0 reader, it'll probably depend on the speed of your CF card.

[macdaddy]

Turns out the card reader I was using was indeed USB1.1, so a USB 2.0 reader should be at least 4x faster.  With a 2.0 reader, it'll probably depend on the speed of your CF card.

that will make a HUGE difference...

[BobW]

Turns out the card reader I was using was indeed USB1.1, so a USB 2.0 reader should be at least 4x faster.  With a 2.0 reader, it'll probably depend on the speed of your CF card.

that will make a HUGE difference...

Agreed.  My PCMCIA drive will dump about 4gb in 30 minutes USB1.1     
However it runs "real time" as a USB2.0 drive.  (in other words it will dump ~4GB in a few minutes, just like my internal drive)     

[F.O.Bean]

so if the m-audio thing doesnt work out, daddy's getting the marantz pmd-671

I can wait things out