|
|
Posted by Frank on 10/17/16 11:46
On Sun, 30 Apr 2006 14:28:09 -0400, in 'rec.video.production',
in article <Re: Hard drive recorder question>,
"Mike Kujbida" <kujfamNoSpam@xplornet.com> wrote:
>HC wrote:
>> I'm looking for a hard drive (or preferably an enclosure that I can
>> install a drive in) that I can connect via FireWire to a MiniDV camera
>> to record video instead of using tapes. I've seen them around, but
>> now that I want one, can't find any.
HC: There are lots of companies offering hard disk drive (HDD)
enclosures, and with a variety of interfaces including FireWire 400,
FireWire 800, USB 2.0, and even eSATA, but you *cannot* connect such a
drive/enclosure combination to a FireWire-equipped DV or HDV camcorder
and record directly to the HDD because the protocols involved are
vastly different.
DV over FireWire 400, for example, is IEC 61883-2 while a HDD over
FireWire is SBP-2.
The reason why your idea won't work is because the camcorder has no
way of controlling the HDD, let along formatting the data properly
into an .avi or .mov file, for example, let along an understanding of
the file system (FAT32, NTFS, etc.) into which the HDD's partition has
been formatted.
HDDs in external enclosures only work because of the presence of a
"bridge chip" mounted on a small PCB (printed circuit board) within
the enclosure that performs the required protocol conversion. The
reliability of any given enclosure tends to be dependent upon not only
the ability of the enclosure to keep the drive cool temperature-wise,
but also the quality of the particular bridge chip used. A bridge chip
with buggy code is not a pretty sight. (I've been there and done that,
but am so far very pleased with a 400 GB Glyph Technologies GT 050Q
external drive that I acquired a few weeks ago.)
The closest thing that I can think of that meets the requirement that
you've outlined would be a not-yet-available product called the
Catapult from Bella Corporation. The Catapult is a small box which
sits between your FireWire-enabled camcorder and a HDD with a USB 2.0
port. The Catapult will contain firmware to receive over FireWire the
DV datastream from the camcorder and control the USB-attached HDD,
which is user-supplied and could even be an Apple iPod. In effect, the
Catapult will almost look like a host computer to the HDD.
As an alternative to the above, you could do one of two things: a) use
a computer -- notebook, desktop, or workstation depending upon the
circumstances of the shoot -- and "capture" (transfer, actually) in
realtime over FireWire to the computer's HDD using any number of
programs and in the file format (wrapper) of your choice or b)
purchase a dedicated HDD designed especially for this purpose from
companies such as Focus Enhancements (FireStore DTE), MCE Technologies
(QuickStream), ProCon Technology (nNovia QuickCapture), Shining
Technology (CitiDISK), etc.
>http://www.digitalproducer.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=40232 is a link
>to an article on 3 different models of these.
Great, Mike, another link to add to my HDV Web page! :)
(P.S. It's been done.)
>Shining Technology & Focus
>Enhancements are shipping their products. Bella Corporation promises to be
>shipping theirs soon.
Let's hope that it's not a vaporware product.
>Safe Harbor at http://www.sharbor.com/ carries the first two product lines.
>They're not cheap though. Starting price is $725.00.
>The Bella, at a suggested list of only $300.00, has gathered a lot of
>interest.
The interest is quite understandable given that it's a lower cost
solution than even the Shining Technology product, and you have your
choice of drive.
>I plan to wait and see if it lives up to its promise.
Agreed.
>Mike
--
Frank, Independent Consultant, New York, NY
[Please remove 'nojunkmail.' from address to reply via e-mail.]
Read Frank's thoughts on HDV at http://www.humanvalues.net/hdv/
Navigation:
[Reply to this message]
|