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Sony PHU-60 Problems
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Apparently another string of incorrect and downright misleading and untruthful information provided by Sony. I purchased 2 EX3’s on August 23 and neither have the new firmware 1.1. I called the day before purchasing (August 22) and was told and promised it would have the new firmware installed. Both came with 1.02 installed. I was also told the PHU-60 hard drive would work out of the box with the EX3, incorrect info again as apparently you need the 1.1 firmware upgrade for this feature to work…
PLEASE SONY GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!!! At least tell us truthful information even if it is not what the customer wants to hear. This untruthful information has been causing our business MUCH time and money and MANY unhappy clients. And ABSOLUTELY NO HELP from Sony. THANKS SONY, for caring about your customers!!! -
Also keep in mind that the PHU-60 will not record under/overcrank footage (according to Mr. Martinez) even with the latest firmware upgrade because of the USB 2.0 interface. The reason being is that the data rate is not high enough.
Personally, I wouldn’t consider using the PHU-60 anyway, because all hard drives will eventually fail. For me, solid state memory cards seem to be the most reliable repository for media. A past president of General Motors once said: “Parts left out cost nothing and cause very few service problems.” Still true today.
– Don
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If you’re still reading this, Matt, v.1.02 is the latest version of firmware for the EX3. Just got that info from Sony Service in SJ. So your PHU problems are not firmware-related.
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Dear Mike,
Thanks for the info. Some updates on the PHU-60. The firmware numbers for the EX1 and the EX3 are different. The PHU-60 should work out of the box with this unit. Somehow I supposedly got 2 bad units from B&H. I returned these units and of course they are out of stock so I do not know when I will be receiving my replacements. I am hoping the 2 new units will just work because we have alot of work on hold and the clients are foaming at the mouth….
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That’s really a bummer that you got two bad units. I just ran mine for 3 hours without a hitch. You usually get the “restore” message when a card goes in and out–wondering if the card/cable was not allowing itself to be seated properly. But 2 units sure makes you wonder about Sony QC.
In case other ex3 owners want to know their firmware, you check it by pressing the cancel/select/and menu buttons all at once–but NOT the ones on the handle, just the ones next to the menu button. Scroll down to IF. Latest build is 1.02_0078.
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Hi. I bought the last one unit from B&H, I didnt test it yet, because my camera is coming from another store. Is there some way to test this unit even without a camera? I Tried do conect into my computer and move some MOV files and it doesnt work. I export a Final cut project to the drive and the mov files in the hard drive cant be opened, neither on Final cut or quicktime. I dont know if this is a signal of problem.
Please help and sorry about my english.Thank you.
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Dear All,
Per users requests I am updating my saga on the PHU-60K Hard Drive for the EX3. I returned 2 non-working units and exchanged 1. I just got my replacement from B&H (they were out of stock, took me 2 weeks to get a replacement. I have had the EX3 for over a month now and have been unable to use professionally, but that’s another story). Upon receiving the unit I immediately tested it on my EX3. I recorded out the whole drive twice in 1080P with no Problems. I had a smaller shoot today so feeling pretty confident I received bad drives the last time, I decided to take the EX3 + hard drive. As luck would have it after recording about 5 minutes or so, I got the same ‘Media Needs to be Restored’ message. Luckily this time around when I restored the media it did not erase the clips I already had recorded. I switched the camera to 720P mode as I thought maybe it was the the 1080P that was overloading the hard drive. This seemed (again I have no clue if it was this or what) but I was able to record for another 100 minutes or so. Near the end of recording I got one more ‘Restore Media’ pop-up. I transferred the media to my laptop with no problems and restored media. Again it restored the hard drive without erasing the clips, something the last hard drive did not do. Upon completion all of my clips were there with no problems. Also as a side note I was able to overcrank at 60fps on the hard drive, (shot in 720P mode did not try 1080P) something it is not supposed to be able to do. The overcranking did not cause the ‘Restore Media’ prompt and all media seems to be present with no problems.
I am at a loss. I have had my EX3 for almost a month now and have been unable to use it. I desperately would like this hard drive thing to work as it is much cheaper than buying the equivalent SxS cards (the main reason in buying this unit). Is anyone else having these problems with this drive on the EX3. Am I doing something wrong? I would love to keep this unit, but the restore media prompts are scaring the PHU-60K out of me…
I am posting this as an update to DVI users as requested. I have a big job tomorrow that I will try the setup one last time (obviously I will have my main camera as backup) and post my results. Any advice / other stories about this unit are greatly appreciated. Thanks for listening.
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Hello dude!
Im sorry about your issue. I bought the last one unit from B&H, but i bought my ex3 from another store, and I coudnt test my HDD yet. Do you try to test this unit on another camera, ex3 or ex1? The problem could be your own camera.Best regards
Marx
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I will say that the PHU-60k has issues . I took it for a test drive on a shoot recently and got a “Media Needs To Be Restored” error after 2.5 hours of shooting. Though some people have reported restoring media does not harm the footage, others have said they have lost everything. I hooked mine up to the Macbook Pro, dumped it and didn’t use it again. That’s enough testing for me. This wasn’t a trying environment, no extreme temps, no earthquakes- if it fails in that environment then it will fail elsewhere when you have no time to dump.
Plus the cards are smaller, and less weighty. I am returning my unit tomorrow.
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I hate to say this but I am glad to hear your PHU-60K unit does not work (glad to hear you got your footage though:). This was my 3rd unit, and although better (it actually recorded for more than 5 minutes) it still has MAJOR issues. Took it out again recorded for about 100 minutes or so then BLAM!!! the dreaded ‘Restore Media’ prompt. Luckily, my footage was all there (WHEW!!!) but obviously these drives are not dependable. Thanks to much response, it appears USB2 it nowhere near ideal for these types of applications…
I guess Sony forgot to do their homework. Once again used their loyal customer base as guinea pigs (Hey sure beats expensive R&D!)
Thanks again for your info…Was starting to worry it was my camera…
Now to trade in for some ridiculosly overpriced SxS cards (or was this their plan all along?)
Death by SxS – Matty S
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