FW800 & FW400 hookups while Mac Book Pro editing at the same time

[Gary Adcock]

[PDPost] “My question of the month is this – if I go with the external Lacie using FireWire 800, can I still use my AJA Io LA using FireWire 400 without any problems? I’ve learned that having two FireWire 400 sources at the same time makes FCP burp.”

Hey Pat
Both of those connections are on the same bus- it is not FCP –but your hardware that cannot keep up. Add a FW card and you will not be having any more issues with FCP.

gary adcock
Studio37
HD & Film Consultation
Post and Production Workflows

[Steve Eisen]

These are the PCIe FW cards and Express Card/34 for the MacBook Pro.
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/add-ons-and-hubs/pci-pcmcia-cards

Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Director-At-Large
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group

[Pat Defilippo]

Hi Gary and Steve,

Thanks for your help with this!

So, it sounds like either way I go (the SATA drive that Steve suggested or the FW800 drive that Steve said will work), I’ll need to get a card for the MacBook? A 34 card then, either for SATA or Firewire? I’d need the FW800/34 card in order to get the FW400 AJA Io LA to work simultaneously because it’s on the same bus?

I guess that, if this is the case, I might as well go for the 1TB SATA for $620 or so instead of the 500GB FW800 for $370 (both prices including MacBook Pro cards). By going with the SATA/34 card, too, I’d have the additional flexability of adding that capacity at potential client’s facilities instead of just a second FW800.

Thanks again for your help!
-Pat

G5 Quad 2.5 Desktop with 4GB Ram, 500GB HD & Fiber Card ~
30″ Cinema Display & 17″ Sony SVGA ~
Swift Data 200 Internal 1.6TB SATA II RAID 0 ~
AJA Io LA ~
Final Cut Studio ~
Sony UVW-1800 Beta-SP ~~~

P D Post Productions, Inc. ~
TV~DVD~VHS~CD~WEB
for Corporate Communications, Commercials, Infomercials, Television Programs, Family Occasions since 1983 ~
E-mail PD@PDPost.com ~
Website http://www.PDPost.com ~
Business/Cell Phone (847) 275-5671

[Tony! Hulette]

[PDPost] “I guess that, if this is the case, I might as well go for the 1TB SATA for $620 or so instead of the 500GB FW800 for $370 (both prices including MacBook Pro cards). By going with the SATA/34 card, too, I’d have the additional flexability of adding that capacity at potential client’s facilities instead of just a second FW800.”

Yep, sounds like a good plan. I’d take SATA RAID over the FW 800 myself even without the additional compatibly bonus.

Tony!

[Steve Eisen]

Pat check this out:
https://www.macworld.com/2006/10/reviews/lacietwobig/index.php
The only diadvantage I can see is the PCIe card not being compatible with other SATA drives. GREAT PRICE from Provantage.
https://www.provantage.com/lacie-301081u~7LACI07N.htm

Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Director-At-Large
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group

[Pat Defilippo]

Hi Steve, Tony and Gary,

Thanks again for you help with this! I’ll be buying the Mac Book Pro 17″ 2.33 probably at some point on Friday or Saturday, just before the 1/1 deadline.

I’ve checked out all of the web sites that Steve mentioned and have learned that the OWC SATA solution for $495 comes with only a PCI card, and my Quad is PCIe. However, I found that they do sell the 1TB do-it-yourself kit without the card for $450.

Similarly, I found a Lacie Big Disk Extreme FW800 1TB for $450. You might initially think that the SATA then would be faster if the price for both it and the FW800 are the same anyway, but both the SATA and the Big Disk Extreme have a 100mbs maximum transfer rate. Is there another benefit to the SATA over the FW800 that I’m not thinking about (perhaps reliability) or, if this was the case, would I be more versatile at more facilities going wth FW800?

The cost of the 34 cards for the MBP via OWC is pretty much the same – $120 for the SATA and $100 for the FW800. However, it just occured to me that I’ve had my Lacie Big Disk hooked up to my Quad via the FW800 port and the AJA Io LA hooked up through the FW400 port and both have been powered on with FCP running without any problem. From what Gary pointed out, though, it sounds like the hardware might burp once I try to capture footage (if I didn’t get the 34 MBP card).

Steve’s recent link to the LaCie Two Big 1TB Hard Drive with PCIe SATA card (perfect for my Quad) at $538 is about $90 higher than the other solutions, however that’s about the price of the PCIe card anyway. I don’t really need the card for my Quad, I only need it for the Mac Book Pro. However, having the extra 1TB for the Quad is worth the $90. Its average read speed of the LaCie Two is 95 mbs and write speed is 143 mbs, so it looks like a faster alternative than the others mentioned above for about the same money. The SATA 34 card for the Mac Book Pro at OWC supports up to 150 mbs.

So, thanks again for your help! If you see anything else that I should consider (especially where to buy this stuff at the best price), please let me know! If not, I’ve found where to buy the MBP, LaCie Two Big 1TB SATA and SATA 34 card for the MBP thanks entirely to you!

Thanks again!
-Pat

G5 Quad 2.5 Desktop with 4GB Ram, 500GB HD & Fiber Card ~
30″ Cinema Display & 17″ Sony SVGA ~
Swift Data 200 Internal 1.6TB SATA II RAID 0 ~
AJA Io LA ~
Final Cut Studio ~
Sony UVW-1800 Beta-SP ~~~

P D Post Productions, Inc. ~
TV~DVD~VHS~CD~WEB
for Corporate Communications, Commercials, Infomercials, Television Programs, Family Occasions since 1983 ~
E-mail PD@PDPost.com ~
Website http://www.PDPost.com ~
Business/Cell Phone (847) 275-5671