Nanoflash bitrate selection
 

I'm interested in finer control of Long GOP recording bitrate. Does the Sony codec chip allow for 5 or 10 MBps increments? Basically, I'm interested in using the Nanoflash for parallel recording with the 35 MBps Sony EX1 in a portable setup for sports with rounds of 1-3 minutes. I would like to record close to 140 MBps, but with prebuffering, the Nanoflash will run out first when a lot of shorter clips are used. Hey, I paid a lot for a Nanoflash, and I want my worth in higher bitrate. The way I've been using the Nanoflash (two 32 GB CF) +EX1 (one 16 GB SDHC) is to record until my cards, call for an intermission in the event to download the cards to two laptops for backup, then resume.

Dear Gints,

Yes, we have very fine control over the bit-rate options.

Currently, you can record at 140 Mbps, with a 4 second pre-record buffer.

At 100 Mbps, or lower, you get 7 seconds of pre-record buffer.

You now have your choice of SanDisk, PhotoFast, or Delkin 64 GB CompactFlash cards. All quality, fully qualified cards. 64 GB cards may reduce your need to call for an intermission.

Great. I'd like to see the finer increments in the bitrate menu. I don't mind scrolling through a lot of choices or even entering the rate in three digits with the up/down arrow keys. You've made a great product with a lot of flexibility and low operational complexity, but I think the bitrate choice is geared more towards visual difference and less towards operational constraints, namely flash card capacity.

How about an options file that is read on power up? If this file, say named useFineBitRateSelection, is present, then a bit rate menu with 10 MB increments is used in the menu. For other users that are content with a handful of bitrates, they won't be bothered.

The preroll buffer toggle method in the menu is somewhat unwieldy. It's the only menu option that's tricky to exit without undoing the selected value to exit after getting the check mark to show up.

64 GB cards are too pricey right now at the speed grades (60 MB/sec) I want. My next buy point is Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB 90 MB/sec at $250. These cards do not hold their value.