Topic: Sony PCM-M10 (part V)

[vanark]

I don't have any specific experience with your issue, but I think the school of thought on formatting the card is to do it using the built-in function of the recorder, not via the computer.

[stevetoney]

I'm wondering if the issue isn't that your card is too slow and that you nearly filled it up.  Since you had two other shows on your card, maybe the card started to get full towards the end of the third show that you recorded onto the card.  As the card fills up, the sectors also get full and your machine has to start searching for free sectors.  If the card isn't fast enough or if the machine can't write fast enough, buffers are filled and the card can't catch up so you lose data.  Just a thought.

In the past, I've also seen issues if you simply delete a show but don't reformat the card afterwards...in other words, you think you're starting with a clean card but it's actually still full of old sector information.  What happens in that case is that the cards sectors are still I think somehow reserved for the deleted show (for an undelete for example), so once again the new recording needs to skip around to find free sectors.  The recording didn't turn out because the recorder/card can't buffer itself through the sector searches fast enough to prevent data loss.  In that case, a card re-format solved the problem.

[adrianf74]

I don't have any specific experience with your issue, but I think the school of thought on formatting the card is to do it using the built-in function of the recorder, not via the computer.

Always... always... always.  And this goes for Digital Camera, Cell Phones, etc.  Always format the card in the device it's being used in otherwise expect problems; maybe not immediately but when you least expect it (and can't afford data loss).

[gmm6797]

I format the card I use in the M10 every few shows... which is an improvement over the R1 days, where you had to do it after every show

[F.O.Bean]

I, too, re-format the cards in my M10 before EVERY RECORDING

[adrianf74]

I format my card whenever I've filled it up enough (i.e., less than enough room to roll on the next show).

[audBall]

I format my card between samples.   

[adrianf74]

I format my card between samples.   

Impressive.  Very impressive.

[earmonger]

I had some strangeness with my PCM-M10 las night and did a quick search, but didn't see any posts with this issue. 
I was recording a band with CAFS-Omnis > PCM-M10 so I was not looking at the recorder during the show.  After the show when I powered off the recorder, I noticed that the upper 1/3 - 1/2 of the screen didn't look right...it was mirror image, dark with light text.

The text displays that way if you switch to Auto Level from Manual.  So maybe it was some combination of formatting problems and the unit trying to adjust levels.

[NSL]

I, too, re-format the cards in my M10 before EVERY RECORDING

I've used my M10 for about 3-4 shows now and i've never reformatted my card.  I'm guessing it will be a good idea to do that now

[F.O.Bean]

I, too, re-format the cards in my M10 before EVERY RECORDING

I've used my M10 for about 3-4 shows now and i've never reformatted my card.  I'm guessing it will be a good idea to do that now

Better safe than sorry

[stevetoney]

I format my card whenever I've filled it up enough (i.e., less than enough room to roll on the next show).

No offense, but this might not be the best strategy although if you've never had any problems, I guess no issue.  Like I mentioned before, when a card starts getting filled, there are fewer available sectors and a search is performed for free sectors which may cause your recorder to have to search around the card to write data.  That search takes time and if the data buffer fills in the meantime, you'll get music drop-outs.  It's never happened to me, but it happened alot to my son-in-law.  Before me and Bean told him to reformat his card, he was ready to throw his recorder out because it had become so balky, but the only issue was that he didn't re-format so his card/recorder was constantly jumping all over the place patching together a show, but he'd never get much recorded before the recorder would freeze up.

[adrianf74]

I format my card whenever I've filled it up enough (i.e., less than enough room to roll on the next show).

No offense, but this might not be the best strategy although if you've never had any problems, I guess no issue.  Like I mentioned before, when a card starts getting filled, there are fewer available sectors and a search is performed for free sectors which may cause your recorder to have to search around the card to write data.  That search takes time and if the data buffer fills in the meantime, you'll get music drop-outs."

Depends on the speed of the card being used as well.   I have a Transcend 8GB card in my M10 (rated class 6) but it's read/write speed is closer to class 18/19.   I also make a habit of only hitting start and stop once per act and the recorder is then only writing sequentially and I don't erase and then re-record over "used space" hence why I don't have issues but I could see where, with a slower card, this could happen.

[stevetoney]

^ Yeah for sure.  I'm sure that's what happened with my son-in-law, but for full-disclosure his recorder isn't an M-10, it's a micro-crapper II.

[adrianf74]

^ Yeah for sure.  I'm sure that's what happened with my son-in-law, but for full-disclosure his recorder isn't an M-10, it's a micro-crapper II.

Well, I did see a slow write message on my R09 at one point (using a Patriot Class 6 card that benchmarked just over that).  So, any slower card _can_ be a problem.