Replacing Costly SxS Media With Inexpensive SD Cards

I plan on buying a 16GB ATP ProMax SDHC Class 6 card from MxM in Australia. The data transfer speed for this card is up to 22.5MB/sec... verses a SanDisk Ultra II SDHC class 4 at 15MB/sec.

ATP ProMax SDHC Class 6 card:

1. -Samsung NAND Flash (Best in class),
   

2. -SMI Controller (Best in class)
   

3. -SIP (System in Package): Wafterproof, dust proof, shock proof, ESD
   

proof, extreme temperature resistant

- Data transfer speed up to 22.5MB/sec. (read)

SanDisk Ultra II SDHC class 4 card:

- Flash : running change (cheaper NAND flash): not consistent in quality.

- Cheaper controller:    not consistent in quality

- SMT: No waterproof, no dust proof, no shock proof, no ESD proof, no extreme temperature resistant.

- Data transfer speed up to 15MB/sec. (read)

MxM is about to release a newly designed card reader which will support 32GB memory cards.  I’ll post more info soon...

SxS Media Case

Porta Brace PB-SXS Memory Card Organizer

This case was designed to hold 9 SXS memory cards. 

It’s made of 1000-denier Cordura and has clear plastic pockets.

There is a belt loop on the back and touch fasters to keep the pouch closed.

What is SxS Media

SxS™ memory cards were developed by both SanDisk and Sony.

The SxS™ memory card specification uses flash memory and complies with the ExpressCard™ industry standard, and the card connects directly to computer systems through the high-speed PCI-Express™ bus. ExpressCard™ has been rapidly adopted by PC manufacturers to replace the legacy PC Card™ form factor, giving the SxS™ memory cards broad support in post-production hardware.

Sony will adopt this high-speed SxS™ memory card specification in its “XDCAM EX™” series professional camcorders.

SxS Cards = FAQ

GENERAL

What is ExpressCard™?
ExpressCard technology is the name of a new standard introduced by PCMCIA in September 2003. The ExpressCard standard is thinner, faster and lighter modular expansion. ExpressCard was developed to achieve high performance compared to PC card. The transfer speed by serial transfer is 2.5x that of the PC card with the PCI Express bus as the interface. There are two card sizes, ExpressCard/34 module (width:34mm) and ExpressCard/54 module (width:54mm). ExpressCard/34 module, at half the size of the PC card, was adopted by SxS PRO.

What are the differences between SxS PRO and other ExpressCard flash memory cards?
SxS PRO adopts PCI Express Interface, while other ExpresCard flash memory card use USB 2.0 interface.* It also employs a special protocol used to optimize the speed at which data is relayed/communicated between the XDCAM EX camcorder.
*As of November 1, 2008, Source: Sony Corporation.

What is the difference between PCI Express interface and USB2.0 interface from transfer speed's of view?
PCI Express interface which SxS PRO adopts is about 4 times faster than that of USB2.0.

Can SxS PRO be used by devices other than the Sony XDCAM EX camcorder?
SxS PRO can be used on any PC with an ExpressCard slot (standard equipment) as long as SxS device driver is installed. And also can be used with reader/writer (SBAC-US10) which is manufactured for SxS PRO.

Can I write other data/files (Excel, Word, PDF), other than only data shot using XDCAM EX hardware, to a SxS PRO memory card using a PC?
Yes, you can.

Can I turn on the write protect switch while the SxS PRO card is inserted in PC?
No, do not turn on the write protect switch while the SxS PRO card is inserted in ExpressCard slot of PC. In certain cases, the OS will not allow data to be written to the card even when the write protection switch is turned off.

What will happen if I remove the SxS card from the hardware during reading/writing?
Data may be destroyed. Do not remove the SxS PRO memory card while data is being read/written to it. Stored data on memory card could potentially get destroyed.

OS RELATED

What is the required Windows OS?
<Recommended Windows OS>
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 or later/ Windows XP Professional
Service Pack 2 or later/ Windows Vista Ultimate/ Windows Vista Business/
Windows Vista Home Premium/ Windows Vista Home Basic
*Operation is not guaranteed for all computers even if they comply with the recommended environment.
*The operation system mentioned above must be installed on the computer when shipped from the factory

What is the required Macintosh OS?
<Recommended Mac>
MacOS X v.10.4 (10.4.9 or later）

Do I need to install the device driver when I use SxS PRO with a PC?
Yes, you do. You can download the device driver from the drivers page

Can I utilize Ready Boost function of Windows Vista?
No

Why doesn't my PC react when I remove the SxS PRO memory card from Mac OS?
Do not remove SxS PRO while data while reading/writing to the memory card. OS may become unresponsive.

Error message appears when I remove the SxS PRO memory card from Mac OS
For Windows: Do not allow PC to go into sleep mode while data is being written to SxS PRO card. For Mac OS: Do not allow Mac to go into sleep mode while data is being written to/read from the card. The following problems could occur:
An icon may not appear although SxS PRO card has been removed/inserted when the PC returns from sleep mode.
The message "File is used' may appear if the card is replaced with other cards when the PC returns from sleep mode.

Are there any precautions when inserting or ejecting an SxS PRO memory card if my PC is in the sleep mode (dormant state/standby mode)?
Do not remove or insert SxS PRO when PC is in sleep mode. OS may become unresponsive

When using SxS PRO memory card with a MAC OS, are there precautions that should be taken with constant removal and insertion of the card?
If memory card is removed without following the correct method, Mac might freeze

FORMAT RELATED

Can I use my PC to format my SxS PRO memory card?
Formatting SxS PRO using a PC is not recommended. (Operation is not guaranteed because of the following issues: data cannot be recorded by XDCAM EX camcorder; transfer speed may be slower or user capacity may be changed.) Be sure to format the SxS PRO card using an XDCAM EX camcorder.

Are there any precautions I should be aware of when formatting my SxS PRO memory card?
Yes. Data will not be deleted completely by using the "format" or "delete" function on the hardware. If you want to delete the data completely, use commercial software or destroy the card physically at your own risk.

SPEED

What is the read/write transfer speed?
The following results are realized under normal test conditions using benchmark software:
Read: approx. 800Mbps (approx.100MB/s)
Write: approx. 640Mbps (approx.80MB/s)

And, the following results are realized when copying a file. Transfer speed measured using a movie file size of approx. 6.6GB.
Read: approx.400Mbps (approx.50MB/s)
Write: approx.448Mbps (approx.56MB/s)

Copying file is slower than that of benchmark software because transfer speed depends on the HDD of PC.

<Measured environment>
PC：VAIO VGN-AR92US
CPU：Intel Core 2 Duo T7600 2.33GHz
OS：Windows Vista Ultimate
Chipset：Intel 945PM Express chipset
RAM：2GB
HDD：80GB × 2 (RAID 0)

(*) Transfer speed may vary depending upon the file size, OS, processor and other conditions.

PC RELATED

Drive is not recognized even though SxS PRO is inserted into the slot.
If SxS PRO is repeatedly removed and inserted quickly, drive may not be recognized. In that case, please reinsert SxS PRO or try rebooting.

The device is left in "my computer" though memory card is removed from the PC.
Please remove SxS PRO by clicking the "Safety remove Sony SxS PRO".

SxS PRO is not recognized when SxS PRO is inserted during sleep mode.
Please do not insert SxS PRO during sleep mode.

The screen goes blackout after the PC returns from standby mode when I insert SxS PRO memory card
Please do not insert SxS PRO during sleep mode.

DRIVER RELATED

PC does not recognize SxS PRO.
When SxS PRO is not recognized, please remove and insert it again. Also, SxS device driver is required to be installed when you use SxS PRO with PC. If SxS device driver is not installed, install it into PC first. You can download it from the driver page for free

I cannot install the SxS device driver.
If your PC doesn't meet the system requirement, SxS device driver cannot be installed. Please confirm the system requirement on the driver page.

Q：How can I un-install the device driver for Mac PC?
A: The procedure to un-install the SxS Driver is as follows:

1. Double-Click the file "SxS_Device_Driver.dmg", the device driver for Mac PC.

2. Confirm the folder "SxS Device Driver" on the desk-top of your Mac PC.

3. Double Click the file "SxS Device Driver Uninstaller.app" provided in the folder "SxS Device Driver".

4. Follow the steps instructed by the un-installer, and do complete the un-install operation.

5. Restart the OS.

SxS™ memory cards were developed by both SanDisk and Sony.

The SxS™ memory card specification uses flash memory and complies with the ExpressCard™ industry standard, and the card connects directly to computer systems through the high-speed PCI-Express™ bus. ExpressCard™ has been rapidly adopted by PC manufacturers to replace the legacy PC Card™ form factor, giving the SxS™ memory cards broad support in post-production hardware.

Sony will adopt this high-speed SxS™ memory card specification in its “XDCAM EX™” series professional camcorders.