Odd story here. I ordered AirMail the first hours they took orders. US Customs has been holding it since Dec. 24 and to date has not released it and no release date is offered. The US Post Office has not been able to give me any further information. e-films has also tried to get info on this. I'll probably continue this is the Taking Care of Business section.

Interestingly I sent a 4x4 filter to a customer in the USA on 4th november, and it is still in US customs. yet I have sent the same customer quite afew filters since and they have received them within a week of posting them out. I had to file a form and expect a refund through the postale insurance. Have written the filter off as pilfered.

the guy gets his money back, I am minus 1 filter! Hope it turns up for you.

I don't want to hijack this thread so I've started a new one specific to this in the Taking Care of Business sections

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/taking-ca...-my-order.html

I'd like to know more details on how you handled this so do head over that way to discuss.

Ross, I intend buying a couple of your MxR cards in the near future after all the Christmas hooha ends, but I just wanted to extend my congratulations to you for all the hard work you have put into the development of this product. As a fellow Aussie it makes me feel proud to see something as ingenious as this come from the humble Northern Beaches of Sydney. I'd love to shake you by the hand one day!

Hi Shaun,

As with anything, it's a team effort, I'm just the one out front at the moment.

You know I've heard a lot of people from around Sydney use words to describe the Northern Beaches and the people that live there, but I don't recall any of them using the word humble.

I try to get along to the AVPA (Australian Video Producers Association) meetings here in Sydney, which are held every three months or so, maybe I could buy you a Crownie there.

I just got my cards
 

They work great. I love them. Thank you.

I have an Extreme III 16 GB card that has been working absolutely perfectly without errors for a couple of months. The first 16 GB Ultra II I got gave me errors almost every time I inserted it into the camera and was obviously faulty. I got it replaced and the new card works OK. Sometimes though I get a media error when inserting the card. I have to take it out and put it back into the camera to fix the problem. Don't know if I have been unlucky but I have a bad feeling with the Ultra II-cards.
Mind you - I have only used the card with the Kensington adapter. My "Ross-cards" are in the mail. I'll report back if they affect stability.

Anything special to do the first time you run this system?
 

Happy New Year, everyone.
I have ordered this wonderfully new device and it is on its way. I too concur with others that having affordable media can make the difference in the decision to purchase the EX1/3 camera. So, Sony, please take note and thank you for allowing the free marketplace to flourish!
When my MxR card reader arrives and I buy the correct media for it, what steps do I need to do to activate it? More specifically, will the EX-1 automatically load all my settings on the card that I have stored? If not, how do I go about that?

Thanks,

Phil

Yes, I remember you posted you had a problem with the Ultra II 15MB/s SDHC.
No one else has reported any issues with these cards.

There's no benefit with the EXtreme III since the bottleneck is the coding for USB via the EX which limits around 8.5MB/s.

I ordered 4 readers today. I hope to have them in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to using more affordable memory in the EX1.

You are right of course Ross. Having lived in the Northern Beaches myself for 15 years before moving up the coast, humble isn't a word best describing the Beaches. Perhaps I should have placed inverted commas around it!

I am not a member of AVPA, but I have been considering joining for a while now. Meeting you may just be the impetus I need!

Ola, never a problem with either Sandisk Ultra II's or the cheaper but perfectly fine Transcend cards here.

Using with Kensington and cheap 16-in-1 Taiwanese adapters from eBay. Life is good.

I'm sure Ross's adapters are fine too, judging by the early reports of users who bought them.

Hm... I wonder if it could be one of my Kensingtonadapters. Really strange that I've had problems with two cards and nobody else. I'll report back when I get my Ross-cards.

New Boot
 

Cards work brilliantly .. had no problems over cranking 50 frames with 16 GB ultra ll's.
Great product thanks Ross for all the effort.

Received two and both work.. haven't much tested overcranking but with sandisk ultra II 42/25P works.. 45/25P gave error after 15 minutes or so.

Testing MxR with Sandisk Ultra II 32GB cards. They cost $150 US each.
Card shows 118 minutes when formated.
Did a series of quick start top records. No problems.

Set to 720p30 and tested overcranking. At 720p30/60 it would result in Media Error just before 30 seconds. This was consistent on several attempts. Clip itself played (was not corrupted though).

I can not play ANY clips back in camera. 3 second record review results in error and a black screen. Going into playback mode on camera and the icons show but any attempt to playback results in media error and black screen.

Anybody else actually attempt to playback clips from Sandisk Ultra II? This might be frustrating if client wants to review takes.

Recorded one super long clip the full 118 minutes and there were no record issues.

Once recorded I inserted the Sandisk Ultra II 32GB card in a Sandisk 12 in 1 card reader hooked up via USB2 to my MacPro 8 core. Using ClipBrowser with CRC checking on it took a few seconds over 1 hour to copy (1:00:30). Basically it was 2x realtime. Doing a straight drag and drop of the BPAV to my hard drive took 26:30 to copy which was just over 4x.

Craig, it's possible the reason why you had trouble playing back those takes was due to the media error you intentionally created overcranking at 60 frames. Reformat the SDHS card and use it under HQ mode.

I've been playing recording and playing back (on the camera) takes on a half dozen Ultra II cards without any problems.

Steven, standard clips, not over cranking would not playback. No clips of any duration and standard frame rate would play back even when card had no over cranked clips at all.

In other words, reformatted card, one 1080p30 clip 10 to 15 seconds long. It won't play back for example. No clips play back under any circumstance. All generate a media error. This is on a clean reformatted card.

I don't think there have been many tests with 32 GB Ultra II cards. In theory the reads should be easier than the writes but nothing plays back in the camera. I tried this with two MxR cards tested at varying times in either A and B slot. I've only tried one 32GB card though. I do have another to test.

Hi Craig,

I wish I could test a 32GB card so I could follow along to find where the error, is. Unfortunately we won't be getting the cards here in Australia until 9 Jan.

I did try to purchase from some of the suppliers I have seen people mention, but none of them will supply to us here in Australia. Which if you recall from one of my earlier posts was the reason we produced the MxR card.

So, I was wondering if you could try a couple of tests for me, to see if we can work out where it is going off track.

1. Start with a fresh card, or one where you have gone in using Explorer / Finder and removed the BPAV directory.
2. When you insert the SDHC into the MxR and into the EX1, (how's that for some acronyms), then you should get a format media message. Go ahead and format.
3. Set recoding to HQ, and record one clip. Let the record light above the card go from red to green, usually takes about 5secs on Ultra II 16GB.
4. Now try and review the clip, by firstly using clip review in camera mode, and then try play clip in media mode.

I'd like to know if you get anything at all here.

A) If you do can we go to a new test, same as above but try overcranking but limit it to 45frames for now, and try the same as above.
OR
B) If you see nothing after the first test, do you have another card that we can use to test. I'd prefer to use a 16GB Ultra II as this eliminates the MxR functionality, and means we can concentrate on why it doesn't work for you on 32GB.

I did read elsewhere where one of the forum members had tried the 32GB card and it had worked successfully. I'll post him and ask if he has tried the same thing you have attempted.

True Craig, I do not have the 32GB Ultra II cards. I'm using the 16GB cards.

Also, could you run the Crystal Disk Mark free program to measure the 32GB read/write data rates?

Ross, I've done the above several times. Same results.
1. Remove BPAV
2. Reformat Card
3. Set to 1080p30 and records about 10 seconds
4. Set camera for 3 second clip review and show media error
5. Set camera to media mode and I see pic icon. Attempt to play and get media error

Note that when remove SHDC card from MxR and putin Sandisk 12 in 1 reader and connect to computer via USB, ClipBrowser sees and plays clip straight from card.

Card can playback the clip. Camera can't.
I'm also noting that sometimes the card fails format on the first try and always makes it on the 2nd try.
I'm testing the same card in both MxR and both A and B slot in camera.

I have a 2nd Sandisk Ultra II 32GB card to test. A friend of mine also has Sandisk Ultra II and Transcend cards he'll bring over for me to test later.

Just to be clear, the recordings are fine. They can't playback in camera. The SDHC itself can playback the recording when hooked to Computer through Sandisk 12 in 1 reader (sans MxR).

I recorded overcrank 720p30/45 for one minute. Again the clip generates media error when attempting to playback in camera.

Someone did mention they "successfully" used 32GB card but did they try playing back in camera? That's the issue. Recordings are fine. Playback in camera is not working. I'm noting that format often doesn't work on first attempt. Reinserting MxR results in successful formating.

Could it be a "contacts" issue with MxR? Again testing with 2 MxR cards. I'll try 2nd 32GB card and additional cards from friend so we can narrow this down.

I'll also try the speed test utility recommended a couple of posts back.
I don't think it's playback speed of the SDHC card because the card plays back the clip without issue when hooked to computer (ClipBrowser) with 12 in 1 reader (sans MxR).

!!!

I'm seeing same issue with SxS cards! Can someone post how to reboot the camera? Is it simply the All Reset in the bottom menu or is there something more fundamental?

thanks ross
 

Received my 5 cards xmas eve day... didn't touch them until yesterday... formatted four out of the five with sandisk sdhc 16gb cards with no probs whatsoever... haven't recorded anything yet, but I plan on shooting over/undercrank with SxS so don't anticipate any issues.

Thanks for a affordable solid state recording solution.

Greg

Craig, I believe it's the ALL Reset.
That's odd.
Please report back.

Thanks. Just tried that. It didn't fix the issue. No playback from SxS either.

Hi Craig,

Have you tried removing the BPU-30/60, then remove the Lithium Ion back-up battery. It is right under the bottom of the camera.

I had to do this on a shoot where I lost all zoom, focus auto and manual functions. It's probably not recommended, but I pulled it out to make sure I got a complete "Cold Reboot". I don't know how to remove it nicely, I was panicking when I did it during a shoot, so had no time to read the manual, or look for the right tool.



One other thing to check is which version of the Firmware you are running? You probably already know how to check it, but in case you don't, you hit the <Cancel> <Select><Menu> buttons together, and that will open the Maint Menu. Scroll down to <IF> and you will see it there.

Thanks Craig.

Ross, removing the lithium battery is a legit user function. It's on page 119 of EX1 printed manual.

I removed and reinserted lithium battery in the camera. Turning on camera asks for time/date which of course verifies the batter was removed and reinserted.

Unfortunately I still get Media Error after recording a clip for a few seconds and attempting to playback (SxS card).

When I go into Media mode after recording multiple clips I can see them all. I can get clip info and move from clip to clip in that mode. So it's clear the camera does see the clips and obviously can display the meta data on the clips. In Media mode when I hit play I get black screen and flashing read tally light on back of camera. The only way to get out of that is to turn off camera.

Ross - not to take focus away from the rest of the discussion, but wanted to let you know that I received my MxR in the mail today and shot some test footage using the SanDisk Ultra II 15MB/s card.

I shot 1080p30 (regular speed) and 720p60 over 30fps (overcranked). The latter was shot for about 1.5 minutes. No problems whatsoever. I viewed the footage in-camera after recording, pulled the footage using Sony's XDCAM Transfer and Clip Browser off my MBP (ExpressCard inserted directly into computer), and ingested the footage and played it back in After Effects to test some motion tracking stuff without an issue. Not a single issue anywhere during this test.

I have it loaded as my primary card at this point and will be shooting on it regularly as I shoot over the next couple of weeks (no major planned shooting right now, though).

Just a quick note to let you and others know that there's another success story out there, including full overcrank.

I foresee myself picking up another couple of cards from you in the near-term - this is a GREAT solution to the Sony SxS cards at 1/8 the price point (for 16G)!

Thanks again, Ross!

Hi Craig,

Can I just confirm that when you go from record to review, that the card has finished it's TOC writing, ie that the slot has a green light over it, not red?

We found that with slow media, like Lexar SSD, we ended up getting media errors when going to preview as the camera had not finished doing it's TOC writing.

Have you tried going into Media mode ie opposite to Camera mode and tried playback from the thumbnail screen? Do you still get the same errors?

Sorry if you have already covered these areas, just wanted to be on the same page as they say, because I hear there is a 3 week turnaround at some Sony places.

TOC done light is Green before playback is attempted.
In Media mode seeing and advancing through thumbnails works. Playback does not.
BTW this issue is BOTH SxS and MxR so I don't think it's your cards at issue.

My friend dropped by and we tried some "irrational" tests and we FOUND the pattern!

Turn YPbPr/SDI Out Select - OFF
Playback WORKS. Both SxS and MxR last clip review WORKS. Media Mode Playback WORKS.

Turn YPbPr/SDI Out Select - SD or HD
Playback does NOT WORK. Both SxS and MxR last clip review results in Media Error. This has no impact on going right back into record or anything else
Media mode playback does NOT WORK. Black screen when attempting playback. Cards is briefly accessed (light goes Red the goes Green and stays Green) and tally light flashes. Camera locks up and must be shut off.

My guess is that there is either an issue with Sony's install of the new firmware or they screwed up the hardware.

Just confirming that with YPbPr/SDI Out Select - OFF - All playback and clip review works NORMALLY.

BTW there is over 3 week turnaround at Sony here locally. It does seem to be an issue with Camera and not cards though.

Hi Craig,
Just curious did you install firmware upgrade yourself or Sony did it? I know someone who did it himself and his camera lost some functionality. I suspect that there was a bug.

Sony did it since I needed battery drain and fading back panel also addressed. I'm wondering if Sony did a "funky" firmware install unless there's a bug in the firmware itself.

Ryan,
Actually if you had tried to overcrank 24P at 60FPS, it would of failed.

Overcranking 30P at 60FPS, takes less data rate than overcranking 24P at 60FPS.
24P needs about 20% higher datarate to overcrank.

Wow... nice find.
This is odd since I've been monitoring using SDI and playing back on my EX1..?

This is the same software Sony installs. MANY have installed it themselves and have no issues.

Craig, this may need to be a new topic.

It's obviously important.

BTW, have you been viewing footage on the EX1, or was this your first with the new software 1.11?

It seems to work fine on my camera with 1.11. As I mentioned above, I've also been playing back media from the EX1 and viewing on both the EX1 and SDI out.

New thread started. It does not seem specific to MxR as SxS exhibit this too.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/sony-xdca...tml#post988464

Received mine yesterday (QC'd personally by Ross). Limited testing reveals all 4 units functioning just fine with Transcend SDHC6/16GB cards. The fit is a bit more snug than SxS cards (EX1) but doesn't appear to be a problem. And the door closes!

I never imagined we would have such inexpensive media within a year. $28 for almost an hour's worth of HD at best quality? I've paid a lot more than that for 60min BetaSP tapes. My P2 friends are amazed. Moore's Law with a vengeance!

Nice work, Ross.

I got my hands on 2 pieces with yr QC sticker. They r a little tight in the SxS slot and the SD spring mechanism is a little tight too. However they do work very well and the door closes!

NICE.. I wun be missing the kensington...