View Full Version : Storage off the HVX200A
Any good solutions to data storage in the field? I don't want to buy a bunch of P2 cards.... but I'm willing to spend the money on a storage device that can be carried from location to editing room. Any suggestions?
external hard drive. bus powered maybe, if power is an issue...
mb72378
06-17-2009, 04:42 PM
I bought a cheap HP laptop from circuit city and two Wester digital hard drives like the one in this link..http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10710953
Now I don't have this specific model, but they work great. They are bus powered and as fast transfer as coming from camera to pc. Now I wouldnt use these for long term back up solutions just because they are so cheap and who knows how long they'll last. But they are cheap enough to be combined with an inexpensive laptop. Boom, cheap way of storing files on the go. Have the camera transfering files to the PC while having the previous file you loaded transfering to the harddrive. Its worked great for me so far. They're pretty small two so I could easily see having 6 or so to bring around everywhere in my pelican case. (I wonder if I can have stuff tranfering to different hard drives at teh same time via 4 USB ports?) Theres an idea haha
phasion
06-18-2009, 12:44 PM
wow those HDs are pretty cheap...do you think its possible to use those tiny netbooks to do the offloading onto these HDs?
will probably need a USB card reader though...
mb72378
06-18-2009, 01:40 PM
hmm, not sure. I haven't looked into them before. Another thing to keep in mind, is a lot of people have mentioned that they have had problems with western digital products. Now I haven't ever had a problem (knock on wood) but the whole idea is basic. Find a good Bus pwrd hard drive that fits your expense and size requirements. Any laptop will do as long as it at least has a USB 2.0 slot. Youll have to use your camera to transfer files, but thats how I do it. My cheapo laptop doesnt accept P2 cards themselves. GOOD LUCK!!!!
do you edit on mac or windows?
mb72378
06-18-2009, 02:40 PM
I edit on windows.
as long as the "netbook" has a pcmcia slot. that might be a great idea.
the only drawback to using firewire or usb for transfer in the field is that you cant shoot while your camera is connected to the computer for transfer. and in my world, 10-20 min of camera downtime is totally unaceptable.
mb72378
06-18-2009, 03:19 PM
I didnt think you could use the firewire port to offload the footage. I tried up and down to get that to work but cant. I thought the only use for the firewire was for something like a firestore or adobe onlocation.
I tried up and down to get that to work but cantno, no, no man. you have to go into the camera menu and switch the connection option between USB and 1394 (firewire)
mb72378
06-18-2009, 03:55 PM
I tried both firewire options and neither one allowed me to transfer files off the HVX.
maybe your port is hosed?
mb72378
06-18-2009, 05:08 PM
Hmm, Ive never used the HVX's firewire port before so i dont think it's broken. Im going to try updating the drivers for my firewire drives on the net. Its windows, who the heck knows why these things dont work sometimes. Man I wish I had anough money for a mac haha :)
I tried both firewire options and neither one allowed me to transfer files off the HVX.
The 1394 HOST mode must be selected. I use a Seagate 200 GB drive in the field and when my 16GB P2 fills up, I select 1394 host, power on my hard drive and then make the connection to my camera's 1394 port. In the camera menu select "Copy to HD" and you're off and running. Each card will be copied exactly in a unique directory the camera creates. Note - you must have a powered hard drive. The camera 1394 bus cannot supply power to your external drive.
The hard drive MUST be formatted by the HVX camera.
Thanks, to all those that have commented on this thread.
Since the drive requires 120 AC power to except the download have you or anyone tried a vehicle's cigarette lighter or 12-volt outlet with power inverter to turn it into 120 AC power to supply the drive?
The 1394 HOST mode must be selected. I use a Seagate 200 GB drive in the field and when my 16GB P2 fills up, I select 1394 host, power on my hard drive and then make the connection to my camera's 1394 port. In the camera menu select "Copy to HD" and you're off and running. Each card will be copied exactly in a unique directory the camera creates. Note - you must have a powered hard drive. The camera 1394 bus cannot supply power to your external drive.
I should add that I formatted the Seagate drive on a mac running OSX 4.11. I guess they recommend USB for the PC.
Please note my correction to my earlier statement regarding formatting of the drive. When using an external hard drive to offload P2 data via firewire, the hard drive MUST be formatted by the camera, not your computer. This should help since it will not matter what OS you are using. When I bring the drive back to my studio, I use the P2CMS software to view the clips and then export the ones I want to archive permanently to another storage drive on my system.
As far as the power inverter is concerned, I would think absolutely that would be fine as long as it has proper wattage capacity to run the drive. The only issue is that the HVX firewire bus will not provide the necessary power for the external drive, so whether you plug the drive into 120 VAC directly, or provide 120 VAC through a power inverter should not matter.