[Mwhales]

Just my 2 cents: I have an ADS PyroDV drive. It’s my understanding that this unit is essentially made by Shining Technologies, maker of the Citidisk. Additionally, I believe the Quickstream units are also made by Shining (if someone out there knows differently, please feel free to correct me).

I bought the PyroDV several months ago because it fell within my budget at the time. Initially I had ordered a Quickstream, but backorders were forcing delivery to be 6-8 weeks, and I couldn’t wait that long. Hence, I went with the PyroDV.

The unit has been fairly reliable to a point, however, it’s recently required reformatting a couple of times; dropped frames and audio when capturing in the QT .mov format; and has occasionally indicated that it’s capturing when it hasn’t (immediately thereafter it’s needed a reformatting). The only reliable video file format I’ve successfully captured in on a consistent basis is Raw DV – which means I have to render the audio when importing files into FCE, this takes away a fair amount of the time saving aspect. Because of these issues, I recently bought a Firestore FS-4 Pro and have been very pleased with the unit. I’ve experienced none of the previously mentioned problems with the new device. The FS-4 Pro setup and operation requires a few more steps to set it for capturing, but it has been far more reliable than the PyroDV (and, I would imagine, its other siblings). In the past couple of weeks I’ve captured and downloaded 30 hours of footage from it, and haven’t had a single problem. The FS-4’s battery life is short, to be sure, but that’s rarely a concern for me. If it does become a concern, I’ll get the optional extended life battery.

Although I’m not discouraging you from considering the Quickstream, as I’m not sure of your needs and budget, please bear in mind that I believe your dollars may be better spent on a more reliable – and more broadly supported – device.