HPX250: Sonnet QIO P2 Reader Doesn't work in 64 bit Kernel

Doyle

Doyle

Member
Just thought I'd pass this info along since I just struggled with this issue and maybe someone else is having the same problem (or is thinking about a QIO). So I opted for the Sonnet QIO reader when I purchased my HPX250 last week. I got the 64 GB cards and hoped I'd be rockin' and rollin' right out of the box. Not so much. The Sonnet QIO is a cool little device which allows for pretty fast transfer of SD, CF, SxS, and yes, P2. But apparently, not in a 64 bit Mac OS environment. The other card types work just fine, but not the P2. This was news to me, and I felt like I had just wasted 700 bucks on a P2 reader that doesn't read P2 cards. So why not just boot into 32 bit mode on my Mac? Well, I tried that too. Sure the P2 cards now show up, but my Fibre Channel RAID5 storage doesn't. Not sure why, but that's besides the point. Long story short...this isn't working.

I did contact Sonnet about this and they were excellent in their response and information. Basically, they have pointed the finger at Panasonic saying that Panny isn't playing nice with the release of a third party 64 bit driver. Their own readers are working in 64 bits with the driver, but according to Sonnet, this driver doesn't allow the inclusion of any third party products. In Sonnet's exact words, "How Panasonic is treating this vs. how Sony is working with us is night and day. Heck, Sony flew some of our engineers out to Japan for a conference. Panasonic barely talks to my engineers."

SO, in the meantime, I'm stuck using the HPX250 as my "card reader". ADVICE NEEDED: Should I just try to return my QIO and bite the bullet with Panny's ridiculously expensive (nearly half the cost of the HPX250) USB3 card reader? Thanks.

-Ben
 
So an update from Panasonic just came in...thought I'd share. Sounds like a serious case of finger pointing is happening here. In the end, it's the consumer who loses in cases like this.

Hello,

The P2 drivers currently available do allow use of our P2 cards on 64 bit Mac systems. They currently do not have any issues with our P2 card readers. Sonnet markets their product which I believe only works with the 32 bit systems for Panasonic P2 Cards. We currently do not have a contract with Sonnet for releasing 64 bit P2 drivers for their product. Whether or not Sonnet is developing P2 drivers for their product is not to my knowledge, however we do apologize for the inconvenience.

Regards,
Panasonic System Communications Company of North America
Unit of Panasonic Corporation of North America
Technical Support Center (USA)
provideosupport@us.panasonic.com
855-772-8324 option 2
Click to expand...
 
Doyle said:
ADVICE NEEDED: Should I just try to return my QIO and bite the bullet with Panny's ridiculously expensive (nearly half the cost of the HPX250) USB3 card reader? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Alternative: return the QIO and get Panny's much cheaper (less than 1/3 the cost of the QIO) USB2 reader. $330 AJ-PCD2.
 
Alternative: return the QIO and get Panny's much cheaper (less than 1/3 the cost of the QIO) USB2 reader. $330 AJ-PCD2.
Click to expand...

Thanks Barry. Yeah, I'm going to do that I think. I just read anyway that the QIO transfers at a rate of 25MB/s for P2 cards on a Mac. Heck, even USB2 transfers at 50MB/s right? So it's slower? This is all news to me...news that I wish I had before making this purchase decision for the QIO. Hopefully this post helps someone else out like me on the fence about it all. Get the Panny reader. Maybe they'll come out with the USB3 version soon as well and I can upgrade.
 
Doyle said:
Thanks Barry. Yeah, I'm going to do that I think. I just read anyway that the QIO transfers at a rate of 25MB/s for P2 cards on a Mac. Heck, even USB2 transfers at 50MB/s right? So it's slower? This is all news to me...news that I wish I had before making this purchase decision for the QIO. Hopefully this post helps someone else out like me on the fence about it all. Get the Panny reader. Maybe they'll come out with the USB3 version soon as well and I can upgrade.
Click to expand...

If a new version with USB3 does come out, I hope the x58 motherboard isn't the only thing it will run on like the intensity shuttle.
 
the usb reader AJ-PCD2 is a lot slower than the Sonnet. Its a pity when these issues are not solved . I would also consider getting a small 2.5" laptop drive with USB and use the USB Host mode to offload P2 cards. For me thats a real advantage when on the road!
 
The Sonnet was lambasted for really slow P2 transfer times. I've got the PCD2, and it transfers about 2gb/minute, which is about 35 megabytes per second, which is about as fast as most hard drives can go anyway.

I too look forward to a USB3 version of the PCD2, maybe NAB will surprise us with something like that, that and an SSD would make for a really fast transfer station.
 
Let me ask this: if I get two of the PCD2's, and I pop both of my 64 gb cards in each and do a simultaneous transfer, do you think that I'll get 50MBps from both to my RAID5 array (which is capable of I think 220 MBps transfer rates)?

Even if it's slower, does it help when spanned clips are on two cards that they both mount at the same time for editing systems to see the full complete clip (like FCP in log and transfer or Avid in AMA)?
 
Terry_Martin said:
I use the Amtron PCI to PCMCIA adapter.
http://www.amtron.com/reader/pcdtp110cs.htm
Less than $100, and works perfectly in a Win 7 64 PC. Way faster than USB2
Click to expand...
Hmm, according to the "system requirements" page on their website, it DOES NOT support 64-bit Windows 7:
  • One PCI expansion slot on motherboard. [If only PCI Express (PCIe) expansion slot (X1, X4, X8, or X16) is available on motherboard, please select PCIE-CB110.]
  • Windows XP, Vista, & 7. [Note: 64-bit (x64) editions of Windows XP, Vista, and 7 are not compatible]
  • Mac: OS X10.4 or later
 
Doyle said:
Let me ask this: if I get two of the PCD2's, and I pop both of my 64 gb cards in each and do a simultaneous transfer, do you think that I'll get 50MBps from both to my RAID5 array (which is capable of I think 220 MBps transfer rates)?
Click to expand...
Maybe, but you'd likely want to use two different USB buses to make it happen. As in, use your computer's built-in USB for one transfer, and install a separate USB2 card in a slot for the other transfer. That way you'll have full USB2 bus speed for both adapters.

Even if it's slower, does it help when spanned clips are on two cards that they both mount at the same time for editing systems to see the full complete clip (like FCP in log and transfer or Avid in AMA)?
Click to expand...
If you're editing direct from the cards it certainly helps. Don't know about whether it would make a difference for L&T.
 
@jpmulligan
You are correct about the warning, but I think it may be a mistake for win 7 64. Suggest contacting their tech support for clarification.
The card auto installed without needing any drivers, Win 7 pro 64 recognized it. Then I just installed Panasonic's P2 drivers... good to go. Also, hot swapping cards works just fine too.
 
As long as 64-bit drivers are available for the device and/or the P2 cards, it should work just fine. The fact that it reads the other types of cards perfectly just reinforces that. You're most likely missing the p2 driver.
 
The Sonnet QIO reader provides standard ExpressCard/34 slots and CardBus slots, which use standard Sony SxS drivers for the ExpressCard/34 slots and standard Panasonic P2 drivers for the CardBus slots. Under Mac OS X, Sony supports 32-bit and 64-bit mode, and Panasonic supports only 32-bit mode. The Sonnet Qio family also supports Windows Vista and 7. Under Windows, both the Sony SxS driver and Panasonic P2 driver support 32- and 64-bit modes. Although the Qio P2 read speed is only 25MB/sec under Mac OS, it is 50MB/sec under Windows in the same Qio device. Sonnet provides drivers for the Qio itself, the Qio's standard Compact Flash slots and the SATA ports, but the ExpressCard/34 and CardBus card drivers are provided by the proprietary card manufacturers–-Sony and Panasonic, respectively.

Note that Panasonic has released a Mac OS X 64-bit driver for their proprietary PCD35 P2 reader, but not for their CardBus P2 driver, which would be needed to support 64-bit mode in the industry-standard CardBus slot of the Qio.

I hope this helps clarify the situation.
Robert Farnsworth
Sonnet Technologies
 
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