In message , Mike Gasson
writes
Is a Lacie 7200 320gb USB 2 drive 'adequate' to capture from mini-dv or
is it only good enough for storage after capture with the IDE drive? I
believe USB 2 is 480Mb/s but I'm not sure what the 4200 drive would
transfer at.
XPH SP2 Athlon 64 3700+ 1gb memory 80gb 4200 HD.
Thanks.

For the last three months I've been using a £45 portable external
"slimline" 120GB HDD (USB2) for video work without problems. These are
currently available in substantial numbers on Ebay. They use the Toshiba
5400RPM 2.5" drive. I've had no problems whatsoever with all types of
video work.

Interestingly, drives have a novel (but simple) solution for those
laptops/desktops that have problems providing sufficient power for the
drive. The unit comes supplied with a special USB2 connector with one
normal USB plug for the HDD, but the computer end has one full USB plug
with a second USB plug with only the power supply connected. So if you
have any problems with the power issue, you can simply plug the second
plug into another USB port. I haven't had the need for the "power" USB
connector.

I've disposed with my desktop computer, now only using a Dell XPS M1710
laptop.

I've also gone completely wireless, with two 320GB central HDD running
in a Netgear SC101 drive enclosure. These drives, though 7200RPM, cannot
handle video directly because of the way they work on the network (they
use a proprietary Netgear filesystem), but allow archiving data from my
laptop's 5400 80GB and the external USB 5400 120GB drive.

All this is hooked up via a Netgear DG834G ADSL router. I've also got
two printers (one inkjet and one laser) wirelessly connected via a
Netgear WGPS606 Wireless Print Server.

I'm really pleased with the way the whole thing works - for video work
as well as all the other things I get up to :-)

And it gets better. I can now use my laptop's 17" display for viewing
full-screen while shooting via the Bluetooth on my Sony DCR TRV80
camcorder.

--
Tony Morgan

"Tony Morgan" wrote

Interestingly, drives have a novel (but simple) solution for those
laptops/desktops that have problems providing sufficient power for the
drive. The unit comes supplied with a special USB2 connector with one
normal USB plug for the HDD, but the computer end has one full USB plug
with a second USB plug with only the power supply connected. So if you
have any problems with the power issue, you can simply plug the second
plug into another USB port. I haven't had the need for the "power" USB
connector.

I have a USB drive chassis that has a similar setup. It can be powered by a
suitable AC adapter, but comes with an additional cable that will draw 5V
from either another USB port or the keyboard/mouse port.

To the OP: Any aspect of video work will be affected by drive speeds and the
throughput of their interfaces. However, the only speed-critical issue is
video capture, and most drives (even external ones) have the throughput to
deal with even uncompressed video. Beyond that, it's down to the speeds
you're willing to live with. You can process video with a USB 1.1 drive -
whether you can do it and maintain any semblance of sanity is another
matter...

In message , Tony Morgan
writes
In message , Mike Gasson
writes
Is a Lacie 7200 320gb USB 2 drive 'adequate' to capture from mini-dv
or is it only good enough for storage after capture with the IDE
drive? I believe USB 2 is 480Mb/s but I'm not sure what the 4200 drive
would transfer at.
XPH SP2 Athlon 64 3700+ 1gb memory 80gb 4200 HD.
Thanks.

For the last three months I've been using a £45 portable external
"slimline" 120GB HDD (USB2) for video work without problems. These are
currently available in substantial numbers on Ebay. They use the
Toshiba 5400RPM 2.5" drive. I've had no problems whatsoever with all
types of video work.
So a 7200 Lacie should keep up OK with the capture throughput.

Interestingly, drives have a novel (but simple) solution for those
laptops/desktops that have problems providing sufficient power for the
drive. The unit comes supplied with a special USB2 connector with one
normal USB plug for the HDD, but the computer end has one full USB plug
with a second USB plug with only the power supply connected. So if you
have any problems with the power issue, you can simply plug the second
plug into another USB port. I haven't had the need for the "power" USB
connector.
Sounds a god idea. I've already ordered the LaCie now though.

I've disposed with my desktop computer, now only using a Dell XPS M1710
laptop.
I went down a similar route, Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo A1630 (desktop
replacement), but it looks quite modest against your Dell!

I've also gone completely wireless, with two 320GB central HDD running
in a Netgear SC101 drive enclosure. These drives, though 7200RPM,
cannot handle video directly because of the way they work on the
network (they use a proprietary Netgear filesystem), but allow
archiving data from my laptop's 5400 80GB and the external USB 5400
120GB drive.

All this is hooked up via a Netgear DG834G ADSL router. I've also got
two printers (one inkjet and one laser) wirelessly connected via a
Netgear WGPS606 Wireless Print Server.

I'm really pleased with the way the whole thing works - for video work
as well as all the other things I get up to :-)

And it gets better. I can now use my laptop's 17" display for viewing
full-screen while shooting via the Bluetooth on my Sony DCR TRV80
camcorder.

Very impressive, hoorah for new technology, I say!
--
bertieboy

In message , G Hardy
writes
"Tony Morgan" wrote

Interestingly, drives have a novel (but simple) solution for those
laptops/desktops that have problems providing sufficient power for the
drive. The unit comes supplied with a special USB2 connector with one
normal USB plug for the HDD, but the computer end has one full USB plug
with a second USB plug with only the power supply connected. So if you
have any problems with the power issue, you can simply plug the second
plug into another USB port. I haven't had the need for the "power" USB
connector.

I have a USB drive chassis that has a similar setup. It can be powered by a
suitable AC adapter, but comes with an additional cable that will draw 5V
from either another USB port or the keyboard/mouse port.

To the OP: Any aspect of video work will be affected by drive speeds and the
throughput of their interfaces. However, the only speed-critical issue is
video capture, and most drives (even external ones) have the throughput to
deal with even uncompressed video. Beyond that, it's down to the speeds
you're willing to live with. You can process video with a USB 1.1 drive -
whether you can do it and maintain any semblance of sanity is another
matter...
I'm currently able to capture quite happily with the onboard laptop 4200
drive but I don't have enough space left for serious editing, hence the
LaCie. I well remember USB 1.1, it didn't do my hair styling much good!
--
bertieboy

On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 17:44:52 +0000, Mike Gasson
wrote:

Is a Lacie 7200 320gb USB 2 drive 'adequate' to capture from mini-dv or
is it only good enough for storage after capture with the IDE drive? I
believe USB 2 is 480Mb/s but I'm not sure what the 4200 drive would
transfer at.
XPH SP2 Athlon 64 3700+ 1gb memory 80gb 4200 HD.
Thanks.


I would like to ask a question not too closely linked to this post but
about external drives. Hope you don't mind.

Does the size of the external drive have any bearing on BIOS
limitations regarding size or will the fact that the connection is via
USB mean that the full size of the drive will be seen regardless of
the age of the motrherboard or Operating system used?

km

"bertieboy" wrote in message
...
In message , G Hardy
writes

snip

To the OP: Any aspect of video work will be affected by drive speeds and
the
throughput of their interfaces. However, the only speed-critical issue is
video capture, and most drives (even external ones) have the throughput to
deal with even uncompressed video. Beyond that, it's down to the speeds
you're willing to live with. You can process video with a USB 1.1 drive -
whether you can do it and maintain any semblance of sanity is another
matter...

I'm currently able to capture quite happily with the onboard laptop 4200
drive but I don't have enough space left for serious editing, hence the
LaCie. I well remember USB 1.1, it didn't do my hair styling much good!

I was doing that as a matter of routine: Defrag, capture to C:, move video
to USB drive, capture to C: etc. I just assumed that capture straight to USB
would be fraught with problems so I never bothered. I had a bit of spare
time, so I happened to try the USB capture and it worked fine, after all.

In message , G Hardy
writes
"bertieboy" wrote in message
.. .
In message , G Hardy
writes

snip

To the OP: Any aspect of video work will be affected by drive speeds and
the
throughput of their interfaces. However, the only speed-critical issue is
video capture, and most drives (even external ones) have the throughput to
deal with even uncompressed video. Beyond that, it's down to the speeds
you're willing to live with. You can process video with a USB 1.1 drive -
whether you can do it and maintain any semblance of sanity is another
matter...

I'm currently able to capture quite happily with the onboard laptop 4200
drive but I don't have enough space left for serious editing, hence the
LaCie. I well remember USB 1.1, it didn't do my hair styling much good!

I was doing that as a matter of routine: Defrag, capture to C:, move video
to USB drive, capture to C: etc. I just assumed that capture straight to USB
would be fraught with problems so I never bothered. I had a bit of spare
time, so I happened to try the USB capture and it worked fine, after all.


Certainly USB 2 gives a whole new dimension to computers these days,
lots of kit around now.
--
bertieboy

On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 17:44:52 +0000, Mike Gasson
wrote:

Is a Lacie 7200 320gb USB 2 drive 'adequate' to capture from mini-dv or
is it only good enough for storage after capture with the IDE drive? I
believe USB 2 is 480Mb/s but I'm not sure what the 4200 drive would
transfer at.
XPH SP2 Athlon 64 3700+ 1gb memory 80gb 4200 HD.


It isn't really about drive performance, or about theoretical port
speeds. It's about how a particular computer deals with simultaneous
input/output and how it allocates resources for USB, Firewire etc.
Suck it and see. Maybe you'll fly. Maybe you'll have to capture to
internal. You can then transfer to external for editing if you want.

In message , Laurence Payne
writes
On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 17:44:52 +0000, Mike Gasson
wrote:

Is a Lacie 7200 320gb USB 2 drive 'adequate' to capture from mini-dv or
is it only good enough for storage after capture with the IDE drive? I
believe USB 2 is 480Mb/s but I'm not sure what the 4200 drive would
transfer at.
XPH SP2 Athlon 64 3700+ 1gb memory 80gb 4200 HD.


It isn't really about drive performance, or about theoretical port
speeds. It's about how a particular computer deals with simultaneous
input/output and how it allocates resources for USB, Firewire etc.
Suck it and see. Maybe you'll fly. Maybe you'll have to capture to
internal. You can then transfer to external for editing if you want.
Understood, thanks. I'm just about to capture after I've formatted the
LaCie.
--
bertieboy