News:

2box forum: accident-free since the last one.

Main Menu

SD card compatibility list

Started by Manfred, December 03, 2011, 11:02:22 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

fishmonkey

#15
another thing to know about flash storage, including SD cards and USB flash drives, is that the access times and transfer speeds often vary between different sizes of the same model card or drive.

for example, an 8GB version may be slower (or sometimes faster) than a 4GB version. this is do with the way flash memory works, the size of the memory chips, and the memory management used.

so you can't assume that the performance of a particular model card is the same for all capacities...

Jman

So the bad news is: Not easy to find a 32GB card that works flawlessly with the module.
But the good news is: Once you have the right card it does work superb! I am probably doing a good job of stress testing. When I first began building my dsnds from sample libraries I would load up the max number of hits DsoundTool will handle for most instruments. And max no. of transitions for HH's .... Huge dsnds for rides, cymbals, and larger toms ... Since I have done tons of dsnds now, I have found you don't need 99 hits on everything and some of the more compact dsnds can perform just as well.... But I still have a lot of those huge dsnds in kits on my card that sound fantastic by the way .... and with the "right" card there is nothing I can do to cause the sounds to screw up ..... play as fast as possible and it just plays fantastic!

Just as an example on my Vistalite kit I have 5 toms ranging from 40MB to 170MB, HiHat at close to 300MB,  Rides between 300 and 400 MB. Crashes between 150 and 200mbs ea. etc..... Basically if you tried to play one kit like this through a Redbox .... it would catch fire and self destruct in 30 seconds! ;D
I could tell you where to stick that piezo! :D ;)
http://stealthdrums.com/

Jman

So the search/nightmare continues ...... The new Sandisk Extreme cards arrived today and despite what I was assured they were the HD Video labeled cards not the ones like pictured in the auction and not what the jackass assured me....!!!!!! >:(
I did go ahead and load one up just to verify .... and NO DICE ... acts just like the other HD Video ones I tried!

Because of this little Sandisk adventure I have been doing a little research on these 32GB Sandisk Extreme cards .... it seems most of these HD Video cards are discontinued SDSDRX3-032G-A21 model cards .... an Older model ..... relabeled. The newer card is the SDSDX3-032G-A31 .... Read some of the 1 star Amazon reviews about the bait and switch:
http://www.amazon.com/Sandisk-Extreme-SDHC-Cards-SDSDX3-032G-A31/dp/B001TDL34Y

It just gets more confusing ... they still show the pic with the labeling like mine has on the Sandisk website .... The actual cards do not have a model no. on them, just the packaging has the part no ... So, finding ones like the ones I already own that work perfectly may not be an easy task. The more Expensive Extreme Pro doesn't work any better than those HD Video cards ...  :-\
I could tell you where to stick that piezo! :D ;)
http://stealthdrums.com/

3drum

I was also a victim of the bait and switch. When my card arrived I took a gamble and opened it knowing full well that it wasn't what I had ordered.  I hoped that it was just a newer/ better model. No such luck...... I bought it from SF Planet on ebay. Where did you get your latest batch of cards from Jman? Let us know so we can cross them off our list also. I'm getiing pretty bummed out about this, as this quest for the holy grail is a very expensive proposition. The new Panasonic cards at BH Photo have supposedly blazing speeds, but are pricey. I'd gladly buy it no matter what the cost if I would be guaranteed it worked. There is a company called Pretec that makes cards. They used to even custom make stuff to spec. I bought a bunch of linear flash from them years ago for my ddrum3. I'm the only person I know of who owns 28 meg cards. They have a very fast card with great specs that might work with our module and the price is right. Let's not let this thread die till we can find what we need. The original 4 gig card is just way to small.......Oh by the way......they now have class 16 cards. What's that all about?

Manfred


Hi,

same happened here when i was ordering my Sandisk card. Description and picture on amazon.de showed the old card but received the new HD-Video version.

My next card will be a Silicon Power 16GB or 32GB because it still looks promising and is available at the local computer store.

I also thought about the Toshiba card because i read they use SLC technology:

http://www.amazon.de/Toshiba-SDHC-Secure-Digital-Speicherkarte/dp/B003F127SY/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt

I don't know if that makes a difference in speed because i think speed is more depending on the controller chip. But most consumer cards use MLC technology where industrial grades often use SLC. Looks like Toshiba is one of the very few manufacturers using SLC at consumer cards. Anyway, i read that only in descriptions at online shops but couldn't find a confirmation at Toshibas website.

The problem is really that you never know what you get with consumer cards. Even if the label and ordering number are the same there might be a different controller chip inside. The industrial grade cards are not really an option in terms of the price.

So i'm afraid the expensive trial and error continues.

Regards, Manfred

Jman

Quote from: 3drum on December 31, 2011, 08:59:57 AM
I was also a victim of the bait and switch. When my card arrived I took a gamble and opened it knowing full well that it wasn't what I had ordered.  I hoped that it was just a newer/ better model. No such luck...... I bought it from SF Planet on ebay. Where did you get your latest batch of cards from Jman? Let us know so we can cross them off our list also. I'm getiing pretty bummed out about this, as this quest for the holy grail is a very expensive proposition. The new Panasonic cards at BH Photo have supposedly blazing speeds, but are pricey. I'd gladly buy it no matter what the cost if I would be guaranteed it worked. There is a company called Pretec that makes cards. They used to even custom make stuff to spec. I bought a bunch of linear flash from them years ago for my ddrum3. I'm the only person I know of who owns 28 meg cards. They have a very fast card with great specs that might work with our module and the price is right. Let's not let this thread die till we can find what we need. The original 4 gig card is just way to small.......Oh by the way......they now have class 16 cards. What's that all about?


I just returned a set of the Extreme 32GB SDHC HD Video cards from Adorama Camera a few days back. They were the SDSDRX3-032G-A21 model. The ones that were misrepresented on the eBay picture that I am returning today were also the SDSDRX3-032G-A21 model. That auction is here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/190616123216?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

There have been a couple other Extreme 32GB SDHC 30MB/s cards from Sandisk: Model: SDSDX3-032G-A31, SDSDX3-032G-X46, and I guess: SDSDX3-032G-P31
The problem with the Sandisk cards I bought that all work perfect: I bought them in June and Sept of 2011 from the same seller on eBay who has no more. They were new but loose and not in any packaging. The auction description did not specify what exact model they were. I do have an email into the seller to try and get more info. But even if he does have the exact model, it could be impossible to still find and buy the correct model now at all.
I could tell you where to stick that piezo! :D ;)
http://stealthdrums.com/

Jman

Just to clarify .... All these Sandisk Extreme Cards (A21) and also the Extreme Pro card will work in the module and you will probably not even notice a problem on larger kits/files immediately ..... But if you play something like say a fast solo ... it will feel like you are screwing up after a little while on your timing ..... Latency.... the sounds can't keep up. You may get distorted pops, clicks ... you may not ... But the latency problem is there.
I could tell you where to stick that piezo! :D ;)
http://stealthdrums.com/

ytchi

#22
Update 03/01/12  - I'll leave this post in for future reference, but the problem turns out to be caused by me not saving the kit after making a change. So, basically it was 'user error'. Again  :-[


**********************************************************************************

I have noticed latency using the stock SD card when playing fast stuff where multiple hits occur simultaneously. The easiest way to reproduce it is to play an even beat using all four limbs striking together - after a few hits I'll notice that one the notes plays slightly late and it'll keep happening at a random rate whilst the beat is continued.

The curious thing though is that it only seems to occur if I'm playing a kit that has been edited on the module, i.e., I've changed the snare sample or something. If I create that same kit with the swapped the snare using the PC editor and load it into the module it plays fine. It doesn't seem to matter if I'm using stock dsnd files or ones I've made although the non-stock ones do tend to be bigger which I think makes the problem more noticeable. Also, as far I can tell, making changes to any setting in the 'unit' screens doesn't cause the problem - only if I change stuff in the 'kit' pages.

I'm trying to work out exactly what's going on and some of what I've said may turn out to be incorrect but the basic problem is definitely there - latency with the stock 4gb card. I haven't altered the hardware in anyway.

fishmonkey

fragmentation on the card would affect access and transfer times...

Jman

#24
OK Gang, we can add this one to the list. I researched lots of benchmarks, and assuming the Read Access time is important I went ahead and bought the Lexar 32GB Class 10 SDHC card as pictured. I copied all my files from my existing Sandisk Extreme card to the Lexar. When Firing up the 2Box module it loaded in almost identical time as the Extreme, maybe even a fraction of a second faster. No latency, lag time .... performs excellent, no problems .... So add this one to the list .... By the way, the benchmarks, (access time) is almost identical to the Silicon Power 32GB Class 10. So along with the other recommendation on the Silicon Power 32GB Class 10 we can now add the Lexar 32GB Class 10
I went ahead and edited my earlier post and added this pic.


I could tell you where to stick that piezo! :D ;)
http://stealthdrums.com/

duckers

Thats great news! Thanks Jman for all your effort in this critical area. Have you had time to do some extensive testing of the Lexar card? Does it work without pops and clicks even when you play fast solos with your huge custom dsnd kits?

Regards,

Duckers

Jman

#26
Quote from: duckers on January 12, 2012, 07:33:05 AM
Thats great news! Thanks Jman for all your effort in this critical area. Have you had time to do some extensive testing of the Lexar card? Does it work without pops and clicks even when you play fast solos with your huge custom dsnd kits?

Regards,

Duckers

I have only had a half hour or so testing ... but with the problem cards it has been apparent in just a few seconds when playing fast combos, and yes, playing the exact same kits/dsnds as I did when I noticed problems on the other cards .... I'm confident these are good. No lag, no clicks, pops, or problems! The other tell tale sign is the quick load time with these when you power up the module (at least that seems to be a pattern, as the cards that take longer to load have been the ones I have problems with) ..... these are a smidge faster from power up than the trusty batch of Extreme cards I have from earlier last year. I suppose it couldn't hurt to give it a few days of testing ... but I feel good about em .... J
I could tell you where to stick that piezo! :D ;)
http://stealthdrums.com/

ROB219

Good stuff Jman, I picked up a Sandisk Class 10 32Gb (NOT the video one!) the other day and did the SD mod on my module as soon as I got it.

Came fitted with a class 10 4Gb card, so we'll see how it goes with the 32Gb in it.

Slap the drummer

#28
Quote from: fishmonkey on December 31, 2011, 09:57:38 PM
fragmentation on the card would affect access and transfer times...

Yes, so I'm thinking if you've ended up adding files, deleting some, etc etc....
then it wd probably be a good idea to reformat the card (to blank it) from time to time
and then copy across your files again in one fresh batch.... ?

3drum

Yesterday I picked up the Lexmark card Jman recommended. Loaded up all my files and it works superbly!