word on the street is macworld sf may unveil the first mac laptop with a solid state hard drive. samsung (or sharp, forget which) already makes a 64gb flash HDD, it's just a matter of time.
I wish they made...
- Thread starter David W. Richardson
- Start date
word on the street is macworld sf may unveil the first mac laptop with a solid state hard drive. samsung (or sharp, forget which) already makes a 64gb flash HDD, it's just a matter of time.
mikkowilson
Steadi-Guru
You mean the Sony DRV1000?
... Something similar that I was thinking about today and wishing for was a true Data-backup drive that uses MiniDV tapes.
Not backing up Data to MiniDV .. there are systems like that in place, but they are a *really* bad idea due to the error-correction in DV systems.. but actually a regular clean computer tape drive that used cheap off-the-shelf MiniDV tapes that seem to be sticking around for quite some time.
- Mikko
Barry_Green
Moderator
I can see what you're saying, but -- what would be the point? Cost? There are more cost-effective systems out there already. Consider that a DV tape holds about 12GB of data, and costs maybe $4. That's 33 cents per gigabyte. You can get a 400GB LTO3 tape cartridge for about $32. That's 8 cents per gigabyte!
Doesn't work for convenience either. Try backing up a typical 300GB hard disk to the DV tapes, it'd take 25 tapes. Or you could just click the button once for backing up the entire drive to one LTO3 tape...
TwistedLincoln
Veteran
While I agree this is much, much better than using DV tapes, an LTO3 drive isn't exactly cheap.
Still seems buying hard drives is the best bet if your budget is thin.
Oh, and for those interested, there is software that you can use to backup data to a DV tape using an ordinary camcorder. Here's an article about one such program for GNU/Linux: Backup to DV
Similar software is also available for other platforms. Though I'd have to agree with Barry that it's close to being useless... if nothing else for speed reasons. I can backup 12gb of data to an external drive in no time at all... not true with a DV tape...
Barry_Green
Moderator
I guess it depends on what one's definition of "cheap" is. A miniDV deck costs around $1500, and an LTO3 drive costs as low as about $1800.
Agreed.
adkimery
Veteran
Decks also typically have more I/O options, better/faster/more exact machine control, more robust tape transports, the ability to set/edit TC, more recording features, the ability to accept large and small tapes, the ability to control and/or be controlled by another deck, etc.,. Now, if your personal needs are very basic then a $200 MiniDV cam probably suits you fine, but I wouldn't want to try and use one of those to master a network deliverable. Just because you don't need it doesn't mean that no one else does either.
-A
Yes, but the weak link is that the LTO deck cost over a zillion dollars...
Barry_Green
Moderator
Really? The exchange rate must be really bad, because the Quantum I found at MacMall costs $1800.
TwistedLincoln
Veteran
Oh, well I had thought the comment about backing up to DV tape was made with the implication that one would be using a cheap $200 Best Buy special camera, not a professional deck. In that case, clearly LTO is way better for the money.
David W. Richardson
Chapelgrove Films
It just seems to me that when you start paying $1100+ for a MiniDV deck, then you run into the same problem you have with using your DVX100a as a deck -- you start worrying about expensive wear on the heads. The whole point of using a cheapo MiniDV camcorder to capture your footage is if it wears out, you throw it away and buy another one.
What I want is a MiniDV drive for the computer that doesn't cost $1500-2000. Something that is more in line with the $200 price point, and does basically the same job as the cheapo MiniDV camcorder used as a deck.
What I want is a MiniDV drive for the computer that doesn't cost $1500-2000. Something that is more in line with the $200 price point, and does basically the same job as the cheapo MiniDV camcorder used as a deck.
adkimery
Veteran
If one needs a deck (for reasons mentioned in my previous post) one should charge enough to cover the cost of owning and maintaining a deck. I'm not worried about using my deck how it supposed to be used anymore than I'd worry about using my car how it's supposed to be used if I was a traveling salesman.
If you get a lot of use out of a deck the higher build quality and faster transports (compared to a $200 camera) is reason enough to get one as it will save you a lot of time and headaches.
-A