murrays 0 #1 January 15, 2003 Is anybody using external Firewire drives for storing video? What brand/capacity are you using? Any problems editing video stored on the external drive? What speed are you using - 5400 or 7200 rpm? Any problems with noise, power supplies, etc?I am thinking that the 120gb models are about to be end of life'd and some good deals should be available. I need some more hd space, I spend way too much time archiving stuff to make room for more video projects.-- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newshooter12 0 #2 January 15, 2003 if you don't already have one you could always pick up a DVD burner to archive stuff. my brother is about to clean out the harddrives and install another 120 gig on the editing system we use this weekend. so we'll be up to 400 gigs or about 23 hours of video storage drives. matt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nacmacfeegle 0 #3 January 15, 2003 I use a Maxtor external hard drive, 40Gb, its kinda old now, but it still works fine, its no noisier than any other drive. It requires a separate power supply, and the Firewire port must be OHCI compatible (any modern firewire card will be compliant as opposed to dedicated video cards such Raptor etc. Works fine no problems with dropped frames etc. You can chain 20 or so firewire devices together. On the archive front, I use minidv tapes to backup projects, they are cheaper than DVDs, and if its video you are storing, they are better resolution. Project files such as EDLs, graphics, titles,choons etc I backup on good old fashioned CDrom. PM me if you have any queries....-------------------- He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #4 January 15, 2003 I bought a maxtor 80 GB @ 7,500 RPM. It was branded as the Personal Storage 5000DV. The DV signified a faster disk, mine spins at 7500 RPM while others spin at a slower 5,000 RPM. While I've never used one of the slower ones, I wouldn't think they'd be a good idea. The 5000DV works great for me. It is easily able to keep up with the DV output from my Camera, even when they're sharing the same firewire port. Coupled with my laptop and a PC-Card firewire port, it makes a half decent 'on the road' editing station. _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kris 0 #5 January 16, 2003 This is what you want! http://www.lacie.com/products/product.cfm?id=D9D5898F-01A6-11D7-98250090278D3ED0 800 MB! *drool* KrisSky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
murrays 0 #6 January 16, 2003 QuoteThis is what you want!http://www.lacie.com/products/product.cfm?id=D9D5898F-01A6-11D7-98250090278D3ED0800 MB! *drool*KrisYeah baby!!!Too expensive right now but one of those would certainly be nice! How long before ordinary systems are sold with terabytes of storage? I'm gonna say 2 years....and that might be conservative.-- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vidiot 0 #7 January 16, 2003 Have a look at http://www.maxtor.com/en/products/external/personal_storage_5000/personal_storage_5000xt/index.htm. 250GB for 400$. Sounds reasonable - Mine is ordered already :-) KlausMy Logbook Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #8 January 16, 2003 Did you consider getting the 5000DV - the one they market specifically for video? It's the one I got, but I just assumed the extra speed is necesary... _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vidiot 0 #9 January 16, 2003 QuoteDid you consider getting the 5000DV - the one they market specifically for video? Andy, I had a look at it, but preferred the extra 50Gig over extra speed. As I'm already succesfully using 5400rpm discs for DV editing, only using 50% of the disks' bandwith, I do not expect any problems. And if there are, I can always return it for a full refund... Did I mention I I love german mail-order laws? :-) KlausMy Logbook Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
psw097 0 #10 January 16, 2003 I use an Atech Digilog enclosure. It is $65 and you can put any drive in it you want. It is small and works great. Makes for a cheap/flexible upgrade. I've heard good things about the Pyro enclosures also, but they are more expensive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
murrays 0 #11 January 17, 2003 Are either of these the ones that you can swap drives out of by buying a few extra carriers?-- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vidiot 0 #12 January 17, 2003 Paul, I have considered this approach for some time but was reluctant as I read of problems with drives larger than 120Gig and the Oxford 911 Firewire/IDE bridge which is used in most of the enclosures. So when I saw the external Maxtor drive the decsion was easy. The price is similar to a home-build dive plus you have a ready made drive with guarantee! K.My Logbook Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
psw097 0 #13 January 17, 2003 Both Atech and ADS make several different models. I think ADS makes a Pryo 5.25" model that you can swap out the drive from the front. The one I have is a 3.5" bay with a simple plastic case with a powersupply/controller. Not much to it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
psw097 0 #14 January 17, 2003 I had not heard that problem. But, when I got mine 120GB was about as big as you could get. I got it because I had more drives than would fit in my 2 computers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #15 January 18, 2003 QuoteSo when I saw the external Maxtor drive the decsion was easy. The price is similar to a home-build dive plus you have a ready made drive with guarantee! Plus, I figure once the waranty has expired, and my external disk is WAY too small, opening it up and replacing the disk should be relatively straight forward. _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tinystiletto 0 #16 January 19, 2003 USB 2 is even faster than firewire. If you have a newer mobo it probably has the USB 2 interface built in. Jazz Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
murrays 0 #17 January 19, 2003 Even though Apple just released their new Powerbook with Firewire800 which I believe is twice as fast as existing Firewire isn't the limiting factor how fast your hard drive can write data? I don't think hard drives can keep up with Firewire let alone anything faster....so I guess I don't fully understand the present need for a faster connection standardRight now I'm using my iPod to store video and make room while I create projects. I just finished a large project last night so when I finish burning everybody's DVDs I'll be able to free up some more room.Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences with external drives. I think I'll sit tight for a little while and snag an external 120gb 7200 rpm drive with Oxford 911 chipset when they have their end of life price drop. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 15 #18 January 19, 2003 Your camera only outputs at about 100mbs so the camera is the limiting factor in it.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cameramonkey 0 #19 January 20, 2003 QuoteBoth Atech and ADS make several different models. I think ADS makes a Pryo 5.25" model that you can swap out the drive from the front. The one I have is a 3.5" bay with a simple plastic case with a powersupply/controller. Not much to it. I have one of the pyro kits. isnt the prettiest thing when adding a removeable hard drive cart system. the receivers are about 1.5 inches too long, so they stick out and dont mount right. I didnt care and hot glued mine in. It works, but not well aesthetically. and I was quite surprised with bandwitdth issues. My camera passes thru the drive (camera connected to drive, drive to the PC) and I have NO issues.Two wrongs don't make a right, however three lefts DO! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mountainman 0 #20 January 20, 2003 [reply... I was quite surprised with bandwitdth issues. My camera passes thru the drive (camera connected to drive, drive to the PC) and I have NO issues. One of my friends makes documentaries professionally and has his setup this way. He has no problems with it. http://www.brandonandlaura.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kris 0 #21 January 20, 2003 Quote USB 2 is even faster than firewire. If you have a newer mobo it probably has the USB 2 interface built in. USB 2.0 is currently rated only 80Mbps faster than IEEE-1394(FireWire). But, here's the catch, supposedly no USB 2.0 device has ever been able to transfer at their top rated bus speed of 480, 420-440 seems to be about the limit. FireWire is already road-mapped to 800, 1600, and 3200 transfer rates with FireWire2 (125Gbps) right around the corner. The big disadvantage of USB is that it requires a controller (the PC) to do all of the work and initiation to the USB devices. With FireWire, everything on the pipe is a device, including the PC. They operate in a true peer environment and the comms protocols are controlled on a per-device basis. USB 2.0 is also inferior in how it allocates bandwidth to devices. If you have three devices connected on a USB bus, each is allocated 1/3 of the available bandwidth even if that device is not being used. FireWire bandwidth is allocated by need and priority. KrisSky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nacmacfeegle 0 #22 January 20, 2003 Video cameras don't have USB2 connections on them yet, so I'll stick with firewire, which is plenty fast for video editing. Currently there is no reason to go USB2 unless it is to satisfy gear lust, or something like that. -------------------- He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Craig 0 #23 March 1, 2003 QuotePaul, I have considered this approach for some time but was reluctant as I read of problems with drives larger than 120Gig and the Oxford 911 Firewire/IDE bridge which is used in most of the enclosures. So when I saw the external Maxtor drive the decsion was easy. The price is similar to a home-build dive plus you have a ready made drive with guarantee! K. FWIW the Maxtor external drives use the Oxford 911 chipset. I am pretty sure the chipset is capable of handling up to 260GB Maxtor drives. http://maxtor.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/maxtor.cfg/php/enduser/olh_adp.php?p_faqid=991 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Craig 0 #24 March 1, 2003 Just curious, does anyone actually run their editing software off the external drive? What would be the benefits or downsides of doing this (except for using some space for the actual software). It is a 260Gb drive and I was thinking about partitioning it allowing space for stills, downloaded video clips, and the software. The majority of the remaining space in its own partition would be dedicated to DV captured for editing. Thanks for any ideas. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 15 #25 March 2, 2003 I'm wondering if Serial ATA is'nt going to replace firewire drives since they are capible of 150 meg per second, hot swapable, RAID (biggie for me after losing a few ide drives) and what seems to be cheaper prices and compatibility with IDE interfaces. Anyone try video editing from a serial drive yet?Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
