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IO SD and external FW drives, am I missing something?
I’ve got an original IO SD box connected to a MacBook Pro’s (2008 unibody) FW800 port. I didn’t have an Express card handy, so I looped the IO through an external FW800 hard drive. I have been capturing and laying off 8 bit uncompressed for several days with no dropped frames or other problems. I have to render everything (I expected this with only a single 7200RPM drive), but otherwise things seem to be very stable. I have read here and elsewhere anything from this is not recommended to this just does not work.
Am I missing something or is this a workable solution? I am curious since the newly announced MacBook Pro’s no longer have the Express slot. Of course I don’t expect this to work in any form with HD, but am I safe with SD? Thoughts?
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6 Replies
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This is a enter at your own risk. Meaning if you get it to work fine, but it is doesn’t there is no support or solution other than to do as the spec recommends. Which is pretty cheap to do. You will always need to render footage that is anything other then gray on the timeline for Print (or Edit) to Tape.
BTW, the 17″ MBP still have Express34 card slots.
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Thanks Michael. I kind of figured this was a “roll your own” situation. I kind of wondered if anyone else has it working reliably. My guess is the 17″ MBP only has the Express slot because it is the last design rev, and when it gets freshened they’ll pull it as well. Of course Apple could get smart and put it back on all the MBP’s 🙂
Darryl
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the 17″ did get refreshed and they left it in, Phil even mentioned that there was high end users (audio) that needed the express slot. Without a way to add the extra FW/eSata channel the 15″ MBP really become not so Pro laptops IMO. I think it would have made more sense to put an eSata port in the 15″ over a SD port, you can buy a $20 USB SD card reader, no big deal to have it built in. Huge deal to not have a 2nd I/O channel. But once again Apple did not check with me before releasing the new 15″
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you are very very lucky.
I know that you would rather slit your wrists than buy this product –
https://www.sonnettech.com/product/fw800expresscard34.htmlbecause it retails at $99.95 (and cheaper from any mail order internet outlet), but hey – you can buy a gram of coke for $100 bucks, so why buy the right product to insure that you will never have problems, when you can have 30 minutes of fun ?
Bob Zelin
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The posting is somewhat directed towards the just announced MBP without the Express slot, and not just the existing MBP’s. I am finding I need the 8GB of RAM option since I regularly am required to run virtual machines for a different task. Since my MBP only accepts 6GB, I am looking at a new one. I also realize the Early 2009 MBP’s are supposed to work with 8GB although not certified by Apple. I could try to find one of those new or used, but if we’re eventually going to be forced into this new Apple model, I am just trying to find out if my meager editing station will work reliably.
Thanks
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Darryl,
The posting is somewhat directed towards the just announced MBP without the Express slot, and not just the existing MBP’sREPLY –
Darryl, this very subject is being discussed (with frustration) on the AVID-L2 list right now. I am often accused of being “mean” and an a@#hole on these forums, but all I am doing is “channeling” what Apple is doing (or other manufacturers) when you ask simple innocent questions like you are right now. So I will resort to my usual hysterical response when I answer you. No offense ………..Well Darryl, you are WRONG. The new MBP computers DO have an Express Slot – but it’s just the 17″ model. What does this mean – it means that video professionals that need the express slot (all of them) will spend MORE MONEY becuase they are VIDEO PROFESSIONALS – and for those of you that want to spend less, or have a smaller footoprint with the 13″ and 15″ models – well TOUGH NOOGIES – because it AINT gonna happen. Apple has decided for you, and there is nothing you can do about it, so crack open that wallet, because you need the express 34 slot, and the only way it’s gonna happen is with the 17″ MBP. End of story.
Happy now ?
Bob Zelin
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