SIIG Express Card Reader for SXS Cards - $48

B

ben1000

Active member
Howdy..

Like most, I was hesitant to purchase the Sony USB card reader for a couple of hundred bucks. I have a MacBook Pro, so I can use that for fast uploading of clips, and I can transfer them to my Mac Pro via Giga-net. It works pretty well..

I noticed, however, that SIIG (and others) make a PCIe Express Card reader that you can pick up for under $50 at places like Newegg.com. Some had said that you only get USB speed with this reader, but I was unconvinced...

So I bought the reader, and added it into an extra slot in my Mac Pro. I was hoping to put the reader bay into my empty secondary CDROM drive slot but I could find no way to route the cable up there. The Mac Pro is as tight as a drum inside....

The good news: The reader works just fine, and works at PCIe speeds. I can transfer footage to my Mac Pro with ease! It's a great solution and works VERY fast.

The bad news: I can't get the card to be recognized without a reboot. If I have the card inserted upon boot, everything works just fine, and it shows up as an SXS card. I can also eject it, and it will dissappear, but if I reinsert it, nothing happens unless I reboot.

I've heard you can work around this problem on a Windows PC by using the device manager to 'scan for new hardware' upon which it finds the card again, but I can find no similar command for the Mac.

Does anyone know any way to have the Mac 'rescan' it's PCIe bus to re-detect the card? I've tried the System Profiler 'rescan', but that doesn't work. I hate finding solutions on a PC that I can't find on my Mac, so I'd love any suggestions you all have...

Thanks. Happy to report this inexpensive solution works, but with that one caveat. Look forward to your thoughts...

Best,

Ben
 
Ben,

Great find on the Express Card reader. I was looking for something like that for my Macbook. Have you tried logging out and logging back in to see if it mounts?
 
Howdy...

Well, it won't work on a MacBook, becuase it requires a PCIe slot (that's why it's in my MacPro).

I have tried logging out, and unfortunately, it still doesn't work. Only a reboot seem to work right now. I need to figure out some UNIX command that will rescan the PCIe bus. I hate that it's so easy to do on Windows, and so tough on the Mac...!!!

-Ben
 
Okay, I have a similar question. Has anyone use or know that this SIIG USB to ExpressCard adapter will work with the Sony SxS card? I like to purchase it to use instead of the Sony brand. I just checked BH and the Sony brand is not even in stock. So I really like to have a USB Express Card soon.

Any help is appreciated.
 
Okay, on the manufacture's site, it says something like this:

"Important: This adapter only works with USB-based ExpressCard devices. PCI Express-based ExpressCard devices will not be detected. Please check with your device’s manufacturer if you are not certain"


So, is the Sony SxS card/device a PCI Express-based ExpressCard? Does anyone know? I need to buy or not to buy this product before this coming Thursday. Please help.
 
Howdy...

If you're referring to the PCIe card in my first post, then the manufactuers site is in error, as I am able to read my SXS cards with no trouble, and this is with NO USB cable hooked up to this card, just the PCIe slot.

It is true, however, that the cards are not detected unless you reboot, which is a big pain...

If you're asking about the USB adapter in the previous post, I don't have that unit, so I'm not sure....

What I believe is that the SXS standard must be readable by PCIe AND USB. It will use PCI when inserted in a MacBook Pro, for instance, but USB when inserted into Sony's USB adapter. This is evident by the fact that the USB adapter transferrs footage so much slower than the MacBook Pro's slot... YMMV, however...

Best,

Ben
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Sony SxS Pro PCI Express interface

Sony SxS Pro PCI Express interface

[FONT=arial,verdana]Hi Gang, I found this and thought it helpful[/FONT]

[FONT=arial,verdana]SONY's SxS PRO™ Techinical FAQ's[/FONT]

What is ExpressCard™?
ExpressCard technology is the name of a new standard introduced by PCMCIA in September 2003. The ExpressCard standard is thinner, faster and lighter modular expansion. ExpressCard was developed to achieve high performance compared to PC card. The transfer speed by serial transfer is 2.5x that of the PC card with the PCI Express bus as the interface. There are two card sizes, ExpressCard/34 module (width:34mm) and ExpressCard/54 module (width:54mm). ExpressCard/34 module, at half the size of the PC card, was adopted by SxS PRO.

What are the differences between SxS PRO and other ExpressCard flash memory cards?
SxS PRO adopts PCI Express Interface, while other ExpressCard flash memory card use USB 2.0 interface*. It also employs a special protocol used to optimize the speed at which data is relayed/communicated between the XDCAM EX camcorder.
*As of November 1, 2007, Source: Sony Corporation.

What is the difference between PCI Express interface and USB2.0 interface from transfer speed's of view?
PCI Express interface which SxS PRO adopts is about 4 times faster than that of USB2.0.

and on it goes...
 
Many thanks for all your help, gangs. I'm referring to the USB ExpressCard adapter. I don't have a Mac and don't want to use it on a desktop ('cause it's too heavy to move around).

Okay, so the USB ExpressCard adapter from SIIG may work with the Sony SxS card but just at a much slower speed, correct? If USB is just 4X slower then PCe then isn't it true that even with Sony brand ExpressCard reader that cost $243 will also subject to 4X slower speed?
 
Okay, so the question remains. Does the SIIG USB ExpressCard adapter work with SxS card? This is the email I got back from SIIG regarding my question.

"We did your device into this product. As long your device is a USB base, then it should be compatible."

I'm not sure what that means. I don't think he's answering my question. Anyone know?
 
I'm running a G4 Powerbook, which has a PCMCIA slot, and shooting with the EX1's SXS cards. I don't want to transfer files over while in the field using a USB cable to the camera, so I got an adapter. I ordered this one:

http://www.duel-systemsadapters.com/?productid=DP-0002

And it arrived just an hour ago and I discovered that it DOES NOT WORK. I believe the issue is what was mentioned above, that this adapter only works with USB controlled cards, and I'm assuming that the SXS does not fit that category.

I also found this adapter:
http://3gstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15&products_id=422
and haven't ordered it yet...

Does anybody else have a solution for the SXS cards to a Powerbook with PCMCIA? I'm going on a big shoot in less than a week and really need a solution!

thanks
 
You mentioned:

SIIG Express Card Reader for SXS Cards - $48 but don't list the model for it. New Egg has about a zillion SIIG adapters listed.
 
Powerbook G4 PCI Adapter

Powerbook G4 PCI Adapter

I'm in the same boat, I have a Powerbook G4 laptop and I'm looking for a PCI adapter that would fit the SxS cards. Does anyone know where I can buy this adapter that would work for these cards?

Thanks
 
I see a possible market gap to be filled by an enterprising hardware manufactuer: a PCIe SxS card reader that is fully hot-swappable, regardless of motherboard design (as long as it contains a PCIe interface).
 
So there's nothing on the market that allows an old PCIe slot to be switched over to allow the SxS cards to be readable? I thought I saw a few online, but do any of them work?
 
There are at least three products available that do this, but the problem is that it is really inconvenient to have to power down your PC between SxS card changes, just to recognize that the SxS card has been changed.

Some clever engineer may figure out how to trick out the requirement for most PC BIOSes to rescan the buss for PCIe devices only at power on and perhaps allow this method to work efficiently, reading card after card without rebooting.
 
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