Nexto or CF reader

[Jeff Anselmo]

Hi Nicholas,

After a bit of research, I think your model, the Nexto Video Storage, supports P2 and SxS cards with an adapter. Whereas the Nexto extreme does not. (I have not confirmed this with Nexto however.) Your Nexto model also comes with additional accessories, like an external battery and car charger.

But the decision all came down to my final budget. I know I eventually need to buy additional CF cards, but I think 2 16G Hoodman cards, plus a Nexto, will do for now. (And I budgeted for Doug's XF cam training DVDs)

This would also be my first experiences with tapeless capture and workflow for our personal business. I'm realizing now the value of detailed video file management; and slowly the paranoia of lost or corrupt files, or error messages, is starting to creep in :)

Best,

[Nicholas de Kock]

Jeff I think you are right, my Nexto allows USB connectivity to my EX1 however I never make use of the feature. I actually just bought it because it said "Video Storage" I could have saved quite a few dollars if I knew this before I got mine - sucks! I share your fear when it comes to tapeless but I've had enough of tapes.

[Jeff Anselmo]

Originally Posted by Nicholas de Kock

Another great feature for those looking for redundancy - the Nexto allows you to attach any portable usb hard drive and will then make a backup/sync between drives for peace of mind.

Hi Nicholas,

Have you tried this feature yet? I realize USB isn't fast, but wonder how long a 16G card will backup to an external drive.

I shoot with an XDCam disc cam at work (Sony F335), but we don't re-use the discs. So in effect, the XDCam discs are archived, which is sorta the same workflow I used to do for my personal business: shoot SD miniDV, and archive the tapes.

But with the XF300 cam and using compact flash media, I won't be able to archive the media like miniDV tapes (unless "good" CF cards drop prices really soon :) So I'll need to be mindful of how I save, backup, and archive (and save again) files.

Best,

[Nicholas de Kock]

Jeff I quickly did a test and my Nexto DI Video Storage unit won't power an external 2.5" hard drive even with the AC power plugged in so you will need to power an external HDD. I have not actually used the back-up/sync feature I've only read about it in the manual. Personally I still copy everything to my PC and make back-ups from there. I guess it's only useful if you want to bypass going through a PC in the field.

When it comes to archiving I've been contemplating deleting my raw footage and only keep the edited masters but I haven't had the guts to actually delete any footage yet. It's a real problem! I'm constantly running out of space. In 4 years of filming I haven't actually gone back to old archived tapes (I have a closet full of tapes) maybe I should take the plunge.

[Jeff Anselmo]

Hi Nicholas,

Just received my Nexto yesterday afternoon (along with an XF300 camera), but have yet to shoot anything yet (aside for a 20 sec. clip of our dog :)

I definitely voice your concern about archiving and deleting footage. Up til now, the only footage I've deleted were from six years ago, but the video is still archived on miniDV tapes. I think I have around 8 external hard drives, ranging from 160G to 2TBs. And with a tapeless workflow, I'll probably need quite a few more :)

I think what I want to do is backup to an external harddrive, then make blu ray disc copies. I read somewhere on here that that's the cheapest alternative for backing up and archiving.

Best,

[Jeff Anselmo]

So after a couple days of shooting with the new XF300 cam and uploading footage to the Nexto, all I could say is that I'm duly and truly impressed!

I hadn't filled up my 16G CF card; but after a few minutes of shooting, I'd upload footage into the Nexto. Pop in the CF card, power up the Nexto, it instantly recognizes it, press a button, and presto copio :) I still can't believe it's so easy. (I guess now I've jinxed myself.)

The only thing I'm worried about is the one touch button: pressing for less than a second for one command, and pressing for longer than two seconds gives you another command. Maybe being out in the field, one can get confused and press the button in the wrong manner (or it could just be my paranoia talking).

I am glad that I bought the 500G version (although it shows at the outset of 465G available), as I could really backup alot of files with that thing.

Best,

[Ming Song]

I own a xf305 and after some horrendous experience, I decided I need to invest in a nexto as another backup mechanism. I already backup to 2 location separately, and I intend to use the nexto as a field dump-out.

My low cost idea is to purchase the ND2730 which was meant for photos but since it copies cf cards at 70mb instread of 80mb for the nvs2500, it is still very decent for a fraction of the cost. The downside is I am blind to what I am backing up though.

What do u guys think?? I can easily afford more units of nd2730 than investing in one single unit of the 2500.

[Jeff Anselmo]

Hi Ming,

Congrats on your Canon XF305! I'm curious what "horrendous experience" you had with your XF. Was it backing up in the field?

I would make sure that the Nexto model (ND2730) you want supports video formats.

Personally, I've never had a problem (crossing fingers) backing up to my Nexto. And I've backed up my two 16G CF cards all day to the Nexto while shooting cowboys herding cows.

If you have the budget, I would buy any of the NVS models for the LCD feature and for the peace of mind.

If you're in a limited budget, I'd buy the eXtreme model, and buy more CF cards instead :)

Best,

[Ming Song]

horrendous because ... thought already backed up, but in fact backed up a card twice, and omitted one card. I guess i don't have to go into details, u guys can imagine it.

I am currently trying out the NVS 1501, is that the exTreme model?? It works as advertised. Backing up my stuff and allowing me to copy stuff out with the faster firewire interface.

I guess the next lower end model these guys might wanna go for, is easily removable hardisk with lesser "shockproof" features. Reason why i am going for the ND2730 or maybe the ND2700 is because after the hdd is filled, i will just take it out and keep in my cabinet, and not touch it until i really need to.

Already have 10 x 32GB CF cards in my arsenal. I think its time to get a field backup system. Lets discuss in our XF forums the appropriate ways to do proper backup.

[Karen Schwartz]

Originally Posted by Ming Song

I own a xf305 and after some horrendous experience, I decided I need to invest in a nexto as another backup mechanism. I already backup to 2 location separately, and I intend to use the nexto as a field dump-out.

My low cost idea is to purchase the ND2730 which was meant for photos but since it copies cf cards at 70mb instread of 80mb for the nvs2500, it is still very decent for a fraction of the cost. The downside is I am blind to what I am backing up though.

What do u guys think?? I can easily afford more units of nd2730 than investing in one single unit of the 2500.

Hi Ming,

If you're shooting with the Canon xf305, you might want to check out the Nexto DI NVS1501 (new product). The NVS 1501 is less expensive than the NVS 2500/ 2501.

The NVS 1501 supports CF and SDHC/ SDXC cards--but NOT Sony SxS or Panasonic P2 cars.

The NVS 1501 backs up CF cards at about 80MB/second. Plus, the NVS 1501 supports video preview via a low resolution LCD viewer (just like the NVS 2500/2501).

Of course, your backup would be safest if you perform a bit-by-bit verification ("copy & verify"). This bit-by-bit verification will compare every bit on your memory card with the contents on the internal HDD of your NVS 1501.

You can check out the Nexto DI NVS1501 at:

Nexto DI - Next Generation Storage with Digital Interface

USA readers can check out the NVS1501 at:

NEXTO DI U.S.A. Video

Sorry to hear about your bad backup experience!

karen

[Karen Schwartz]

Originally Posted by Ming Song

horrendous because ... thought already backed up, but in fact backed up a card twice, and omitted one card. I guess i don't have to go into details, u guys can imagine it.

I am currently trying out the NVS 1501, is that the exTreme model?? It works as advertised. Backing up my stuff and allowing me to copy stuff out with the faster firewire interface.

I guess the next lower end model these guys might wanna go for, is easily removable hardisk with lesser "shockproof" features. Reason why i am going for the ND2730 or maybe the ND2700 is because after the hdd is filled, i will just take it out and keep in my cabinet, and not touch it until i really need to.

Already have 10 x 32GB CF cards in my arsenal. I think its time to get a field backup system. Lets discuss in our XF forums the appropriate ways to do proper backup.

Hi again, Ming,

SORRY, I just realized that you are already trying out the Nexto DI NVS1501.

The NVS1501 is not the eXtreme model...it is far more like the NVS 2500/ 2501.

The main difference between the (less expensive) NVS1501 and the NVS 2500/2501 is that the NVS1501 does not support SxS or P2 cards.

The NVS 1501 offers the ability to verify capture via a low res LCD viewer. As you mentioned, the NVS 1501 computer interface is via Firewire 800 and USB 2.0.

The new Nexto DI ND2730 is a replacement product for the now-discontinued ND 2700 eXtreme. You are correct. The ND2700 does not offer video preview for confirmation of capture.

However, the ND2730 does support "bit by bit verification" (copy & verify). You can ensure that your footage has been recorded by performing a bit-by bit- verification. The ND 2730 will compare the data (video) on your CF card with the data on the ND2730's internal hard drive.

Your backup experience is every camera operator's nightmare. Unfortunately, I've heard that story so many times.

best,

karen

[Ming Song]

Hi Karen,

appreciate your response. I just placed an order shipping from Korea 2 units of ND2730. Am doing Same-Day-Edits, thus will make use of these units to speed up my workflow in transferring footages from CF cards to hardisks.

Will actually intend to use the ND2730 as actual operating hardisks for the edits. As I try these stuff, I may actually invest in additional unit of NVS1501 to do the backing up process.

Thanks for taking the time to answer all our queries.


Cheers
MS

[Larry Seong]

Hi Jeff

The new ND2730 can copy every data stored in CF & SDHC/SDXC to internal hard drive.
The copy speed of CF is fast if you using 7200rpm HDD, i.e., upto 70MB/s while SD copy speed is slower 15MB/s.

You can use it with XF3xx series.
Actualy it does not matter the type of data.
What it matters is the formmat of memoty card.
ND2730 supports FAT12/16/32 & exFAT formatted memory card and every data stored in memory card.

almost every camera(inclusing CANON DSLRs and XF30x series) format the CF card to FAT32, so no problem with ND2730.

We have two line up.
Nexto Photo storage : ND2730
Nexto Video Storage : NVS2525 / NVS2501 / NVS1501 / NVS2500.

NVS2500 was firewire400 as Nick indicated, but other than NVS2500, every device listed above has both Firewire800 and USB2.0.
ND2730 is also Firewire800.

In our old models, there were ND2725 which was called Nexto Video Storage.
This model is different from NVS series which can preview video.
This ND2725 was variant of old ND2700(nexto extreme) which supported XDCAM through USB cable.

I attached the link for individual device here.
The ND2700(Nexto extreme) and ND2725 is discontinued and ND2730 replace it.
But ND2730 does not have USB host functionality as other model does, so cannot make secondary copy to external USB HDD without computer.

Photo Storages
ND2730(Nexto Photo Storage) : Nexto DI - Next Generation Storage with Digital Interface
ND2700(Nexto extreme) : Nexto DI - Next Generation Storage with Digital Interface
ND2725(Nexto Video Storage) : Nexto DI - Next Generation Storage with Digital Interface

Video Storage
NVS2500 : Nexto DI - Next Generation Storage with Digital Interface
NVS1501 : Nexto DI - Next Generation Storage with Digital Interface
NVS2501 : Nexto DI - Next Generation Storage with Digital Interface
NVS2525 : Nexto DI - Next Generation Storage with Digital Interface

Thank you

[Jeff Anselmo]

Hi Larry,

Thanks for the Nexto info! Much appreciated.

Best,