Can the HVX dump to a Firewire-Harddrive?

Pascal Parvex

Pascal Parvex

Well-known member
Supposed you just get one 4 Gig P2 (for the price of a second one or even a 8 GB model, you get loads of external drives) and then an off-the-shelf-Firewire-harddisk, can I fill the P2 card, transfer the files to the Firewire-Drive and then format and reuse the P2 card? Or does the Harddisk need to be battery-powered? If yes, will any battery-powered Firewire-harddrive do it?
 
Yes, you can transfer from the P2 slots of the HVX directly to a firewire drive. The HVX has a 4 pin firewire connector, so the drive cannot obtain power from it, so it has to get power elsewhere.
 
So it just need to be battery-powered then? Will any battery-powered harddisk do it? Will USB 2.0 do it? Because I can't seem to find battery powered Firewire drives. Any online shops?

By the way, how long does the HVX-Battery last?
 
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I'm in the same boat. I am gearing to purchase an hvx and I am looking at different options within a limited budget. Check this link out, I might get this rechargeable firewire enclosure for 2.5 drives. One feature I like is that " battery is NOT soldered to the motherboard so it can be replaced in the future"

hereis the link:
http://www.qualitycables.com/AMS25K.html

moreinfo:
The AMS MPD 2.5 inch 9.5mm hard drive enclosure has a built-in rechargable battery that will last up 10+ hours before needing a recharge - whether you have 6 pin bus powered port or a 4 pin iLink ports or a cardbus card that provides no power, this is the perfect solution for you. AND you get to save the battery life on your laptop machine

The AMS mini drive enclosure with rechargable battery pack built in is designed for convenience and ease of use.

This is a great way of having a highly portable, extremely small, and personal storage with a 9.5mm/2.5 inch (Laptop) HDD. You benefit from the latest in laptop size hard drive technology. Simple plug and play device. You can purchase and install any 9.5mm 10G, 20G, 30G, 40G, and the new IBM 80G Travelstar laptop hard disk drives.

If you are using a Windows laptop with a 4 pin iLink port (which does not pass bus power) or a cardbus card, this is THE solution for you
If you are using a Macintosh or Windows machine with a FireWire cardbus card, this is THE solution for you!
The AMS enclosure provides two 6 pin FireWire ports and adds a powerful feature with its built-in rechargeable Li-Ion battery allowing you to operate the drive without draining your laptop battery and without requiring bus power - benefits you will appreciate. While connected to your computer the enclosure will draw its power from its internal rechargable battery. At night, plug the enclosure into the included power supply to recharge the battery and you are ready to go the next day with a full charge. The unit will only charge from the included AC adapter.

Features:

Adding external portable storage for MPEGs, AVIs, DTP, general data files
Adds fast high-capacity external storage for backing up data fast
Faster than Tape or ZIP drives & more convenient
Eliminates need to work on internal drives and then copy to external drives for transport
Expanding the drive capacity of notebook computers
Permits convenient and cost effective exapansion
Making existing Hard Drives IEEE1394 compatible
Adds convenience of hot plugging and daisy chaining
Carrying work between office and home
Facilitates coodination of data files between systems
Dimension: 140(L) x 80(W) x 20(H) mm
Weight: 130g
Device space: accepts only 9.5mm 2.5 inch drives
Material: Plastic + metal cover
Interface: IDE to IEEE1394 - (Oxford 911 Chipset)
Two (2) 6 pin FireWire ports
power port for external power supply for recharging
battery is NOT soldered to the motherboard so it can be replaced in the future if required

Storage Device: 2.5 inch/9.5mm hdd (IBM, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Hitachi)
Device interface: IDE 44 pin
On/Off switch to help conserve battery life
AC Power: AC90~240V, 50~60Hz
DC Power: +5V DC, 1000mA
Built in Battery: DC3.6V, 800mA/H, Li-ion Battery
Temperature: Operating 5 ~ 50 degrees C
  Non-operation: -20C ~ 80C
Operation hours: More than 10 Hours
Transfer Rate : Firewire - 100/200/400Mbs
Data Transfer:
Serial bus data rates of 100 / 200 / 400 Mbits/s

Compatability:

Compatible with PC and Mac
Note: Power managment is designed to keep the device in top condition - when your drive isn't operating it will recharge through the power adapter (included). A fully charged battery can last up to 10-15 hours of non stop operation, enough time for the most common user-tasks (daily data backups, video storage, MP3 transfers, digital images, etc.).

This truly plug and play device, will let your work and manageability be many times easier, and more convenient. So enjoy the benefits of the latest in hard drive technology, smart power management, ease of use, and convenience with the AMS rechargable enclosure today.

System Requirements

Warranty: One Year Warranty
Mac OS 8.6 - OS 10.x.x
Windows 98SE, ME, 2K, XP
Linux (check your distribution for 1394 drivers)
 
That enclosure would be great, but is there a dealer out there with P2 cards in stock? I could not find any, so I have to go with the Notebook solution.
 
Sorry, I don't know any place that has them in stock.

I am thinking of using this external drive along with my powerbook for a complete non-power dependant semi-portable set up using Robert Lane's mode 3 setup:

"Mode 3 - Capture to an external drive on it's own FW bus using the LaCie PCMCIA FW800 card; HVX into FW400 port, External drive on the LaCie FW800 card port:"

I just wonder if this setup requires that the external drive be an actual fw800 drive? or will the fw400 portable enclosure work just as good (using a fw800->fw400 cable from the lacie card into the AMS battery powered fw enclosure).

In cases where I don't want to lug the laptop around, I wouldn't mind shooting and dumping on the go with the battery powered drive.
 
Hm, and it's not possible to capture to battery powered Firewire drive, right? So, I really need that Notebook. But I'm not sure about this Firewire port setup.
 
It does look like you don't need a notebook. So the review is not precise enough. I think I'm gonna stick with just a notebook.
 
In my opinion a regular external firewire drive will only allow you to dump
files from the P2 card. It cannot be used to record on-the-fly since
you need some software (firmware in this case) that is able to convert the
incoming stream of data to some usable format, like DVCPRO HD or
DVCAM (like the CitiDisk HD).

I am still locked to the Firewire, Citidisk or Cineporter options.
Whichever comes out cheaper will be the winner.

Ramon
 
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