Does the iPod solution actually work?

DavidBeier

DavidBeier

Veteran
I'm going to buy an HVX200 soon but I can't find a recording option I like. The Firestore seems reliable but not having native recording is going to be a pain (I don't have to have to convert all the files before I use them). P2 store is fine but, as many have pointed out, 60gigs isn't much and will soon be replaced, rendering the current one obsolete. The Cineporter looks to be easily the best option but it won't be out for another few months at least. I want to shoot some HD tests now and am looking for a cheap alternative (I can't afford to plunk down 2K now only to have it be useless later). A while back I heard someone say that one could simply spend a couple hundred on a 40 gig iPod and offload P2 footage onto that after it had been captured. Does this work? Is it an OK temporary solution untill Cineporter? I wouldn't mind shelling out a bit of cash for a decent iPod.
 
I much prefer the archos av500. I haven't tried to connect it directly to the camera for offloading but it works great with a laptop inbetween. The 100gb model is ~$600 and is a kick ass video ipod like device. It can also record! Basically it's a portable Tivo. I'm going to run some test on it with my HVX tonite and post my findings.
 
The Archos is not a good solution for this. I've got the 100GB and love it for what it is, but for an offloader it doesn't work well at all, as its host mode is USB1, not USB2. So offloading a 4gb card takes 55 minutes!

The cheapest way to go is a USB2 On-The-Go drive. You could get a battery-powered enclosure and an 80 or 100gb drive all together for under $100.

The older ipod will work for firewire transfers, at least for a while. It's not really designed to do that much data transfer, so you may burn through your battery quickly or maybe the drive won't be able to take the strain, I don't know. But I do know that you can't use it as an ipod and also as an offloading device; you'd have to choose one or the other. Using it as an offloader means formatting the drive in the ipod, which will erase all your songs and the whole operating system. I guess you can back up using a Mac first, and then when you're done using the ipod as an offloader you could restore it back to its original configuration, but -- why bother? USB-OTG is a lot cheaper, it works okay (if a bit slow), and the drives will be more reliable and the battery will likely last longer.
 
Thanks. Are there versions of these HD's with card readers so I won't have to use the camera to offload?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top