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Maximum file size of MPEG-2 files from Sony Camcorders on SDHC
I have a Sony HDR-CX350V camcorder. I am videoing college soccer games and transferring the files at the field from my SDHC card to a friend’s computer for upload to a video system used by the conference. For SD files in MPEG-2 format, what is the maximum file size that it stores on the card?
When I was doing HD, it was 2 GB and when I used PMB at home, it would merge the files. At the field, I would normally have four files for a 90 minute game and it wouldn’t merge since he got the raw files from my SDHC card.
The customer said the HD file format was not compatible with the system he is uploading it to so I will try to change to SD to test. One option might be to load PMB on the customers laptop but I would like to avoid that if possible. If the MPEG-2 file size is one piece for a 45 minute half, then I would just give him 2 files, one for each half.
Mike Yoneda
High Angle Video
Mililani, HI -
3 Replies
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I suspect the 2Gb limit is due to the card being formatted in FAT32.
Steve Mann
MannMade Digital Video
http://www.mmdv.com -
Stephen,
I believe you’re correct. The solution for me is to load the PMB software on the University’s laptop and do the file transfer using PMB so it correctly puts together the files.
If I do use PMB, I no longer have to record to the SDHC card. I can use the internal memory and just use a USB cable.
Mike Yoneda
High Angle Video
Mililani, HI -
FAT32 is actually a requirement of the SDHC specification. And the maximum file size, as always under FAT32, is 4GB (not the large “B”; “B” == Byte, “b” = “bit”).
So Sony’s breaking files at 2GB, that’s pretty much their issue, not a FAT32 factor.
Vegas can re-assemble many file splits correctly, using the Device Explorer. Obviously, PMB does this two. Either should work from an SD reader or your camera attached via USB.
Most SDHC camcorders will act just like SD readers via USB — the internal memory is often treated just like another SD card, but you can probably read the SDHC card itself through the camera, if there’s no SD reader on the PC being used (the only real advantage to a PC-based reader: it might be faster, depending on the camera… and of course, you can read the card while someone else is using the camera).
A few cameras show up as MTP (Media Transport Protocol) devices, rather than the usual USB device. This is fairly transparent under Windows 7, because Windows 7 has what’s essentially an MTP network handler built right in. This is more common for digital still cameras than camcorders, and may lead to problems on older versions of Windows.
-Dave
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