Tech: Memory cards.

Subject: Tech: Memory cards.
From: Fergie
Date: 26 Mar 11 - 02:15 PM

Hi all.

Just came into possession of a TASCAM DR-1 portable digital recorder. It uses a memory card to store the recorded information for uploading to my PC for editing. The memory card is a 4GB SanDisc Ultra and is about the size of a postage stamp, it is exactly the same as the memory card in my digital camers.

When I wish to upload photos from my digital camera to my PC I insert the memory card into a memory card reader and plug this into a USB port and hey presto a window comes up and guides me through the process.

When I insert the memory card from the digital record into the memory card reader and plug it into the PC, nothing happens. Do I need to get some software that will recognise the digital recordings? If so, what do I need and where can I get it on-line? Any help or advise will be very welcome.

Fergus

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: Richie Black (misused acct, bad email)
Date: 26 Mar 11 - 02:22 PM

Try downloading Codec it may help.

Best wishes

http://dl.video-buzz.com/Download/index.aspx?s=ffdshow&c=2660629&SessionId=8d4f3882-521d-4316-b89c-9e428ff47bfa&BrowserMapId=3611&fn=Vd3LDYtsC&adid=4302746090

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 26 Mar 11 - 02:48 PM

Although the memory card is the same, the format needed may be different.

Digital cameras generally include the ability to have the camera format - or reformat - the card in the camera. A camera card should NEVER be formatted by the PC, since a "camera card" needs to have imprinted information that's specific to the particular camera and the settings you've applied for your picture taking.

The recorder may have the ability to format its own memory. It probably came with a user's manual that will tell you whether the card needs formatted - or reformatted - in the recorder or whether you can do it in the card reader using a PC format.

RTFM.

Most cameras, whether the camera is connected to the USB port or the card is put in a reader for connection, do not appear in the list of devices when you click the "Safely Remove" icon. You can unplug them without using the safe removal step, but ONLY if they don't appear.

Memory cards for other uses may or may not appear in the safe removal list, but if they are shown there, you need to click before removing them. If they aren't properly "dismounted" before you unplug, they may fail to show or may be incorrectly identified the next time you connect them. If this has happened, usually rebooting with the reader NOT CONNECTED, and reinserting the reader USB so that the computer "rediscovers it" may help. If you've disconnected repeatedly without properly dismounting, eventually the file that records USB identities may become corrupted and, in technical terms "yer screwed."

Memory from some kinds of devices may appear only as an added "drive" and the card may not contain an "autorun" or "autostart" file with instructions on what to do with them.

Best advice when that may be the case is, again:

RTFM.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: Stanron
Date: 26 Mar 11 - 03:12 PM

Go into explorer. Look for files with a .wav extension. It may be a different format but .wav is a good bet. You can download free programs for audio processing. I bought a prog called wave lab but there are freebees that do most of the same stuff. Windows media player will play wav files but you will need some thing extra if you want to edit them. Good luck.

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: Fergie
Date: 26 Mar 11 - 03:14 PM

Hi John

No manual

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: gnomad
Date: 26 Mar 11 - 03:57 PM

Manuals Online may be able to help.

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: Stanron
Date: 26 Mar 11 - 04:10 PM

Fergie,
You recorder produces both wav and mp3 files. If you have done some recordings put your card in the reader and plug it into your PC.
Right click on the start button and select Explorer or Windows Explorer.
Navigate your way to the card and have a look at what files are on it.
If you see any .wav or .mp3 files, clip on one and see what happens. Windows media player should play the file.

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: Stanron
Date: 26 Mar 11 - 04:16 PM

Me again,
You may have done this already but I just googled 'tascam dr1 manual' and a pdf version was at the top.

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 26 Mar 11 - 04:45 PM

Click on My Computer/Computer, find out what your computer is calling the card (removable drive F or something), open it by right-clicking, highlight the files you want to copy, right-click on "copy", open the program you want to put the files into and paste 'em in.

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: IvanB
Date: 26 Mar 11 - 05:11 PM

Like, most digital cameras, Tascam recorders insist on formatting the memory card in the recorder, so it may not be a format your PC can recognize. In that case, you'll have to connect the recorder to the PC by its USB cord, then read the card contents through that connection.

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: Bernard
Date: 26 Mar 11 - 07:02 PM

Just a thought... is your PC standalone, or do you have more than one networked together with shared drives, and/or possibly one or more NAS devices?

A peculiarity with WinXP is that it will sometimes put a USB drive on the same drive letter as a Windows share. A way to fix it is to RIGHT click on 'My Computer' and select 'Manage'. Go into 'Disk Management' and find the drive (card) - usually easy to spot because it has a lot less capacity than the other drives, and FAT or FAT32. Right click on the drive and select 'Change Drive Letter and Paths', then select a drive letter high up in the alphabet, such as 'X', which won't clash - XP assigns drive letters 'lowest available' first, even if it isn't available!

Even if you don't have a network, 'Manage' will at least confirm whether the system is seeing the card or not.

There is also a chance that the card reader design is too old to be able to interpret the card, and a newer reader will solve the problem. There's a wide variety of SD and MMC cards - they are not all created equal!

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 27 Mar 11 - 07:35 AM

Fergus, I am by no means sure whether I understood your problem, and what you mean by "nothing happens".

I guess your camera manufacturer has made you install a so-called "service" on your PC which permanently checks for SD cards containing the special folders of that camera. It seems you appreciate such a "service", but it is not the usual way to deal with SD cards.

If your TASCAM has recorded properly, the card will contain either WAV or MP3 files. On plugging in your card reader, Windows will mount it, i.e. assign it a drive letter such as "F:". Start the Windows Explorer (e.g. by clicking "Start"-"Execute" and entering "explorer"), click experimentally until you find that drive containing files of suitable name suffices. Double-click to listen; copy and paste to the harddisk if desired.

If that is not your problem, please be more specific about it.

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: Tootler
Date: 27 Mar 11 - 04:46 PM

Cards often appear on the list of drives under the makers name. Go to my Computer and see if there's a drive called "SanDisk" or something similar. If so that will probably be it.

In my experience (such as it is) memory cards are usually formatted as FAT: FAT16 for smaller capacity cards and FAT32 for larger ones. These are standard Windows formats so if you are running Windoze your computer should read it. FAT formatted cards can also be read by other OS's and so far I have not had any trouble reading cards from various devices on my computer which runs Ubuntu Linux.

It's also possible you have a faulty card.

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Mar 11 - 05:47 PM

I sent off for some Sandisk cards from a marketplace dealer on a website named after a well-known large river and they were fakes. They were not in little plastic boxes, let alone blister packs, and arrived loose in a little resealable plastic bag. The labels looked amateurish and were stuck on crooked. And, of course, they didn't work properly. Caveat emptor.

I got my money back, btw.

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 27 Mar 11 - 08:01 PM

The memory card is a 4GB SanDisc Ultra and is about the size of a postage stamp, it is exactly the same as the memory card in my digital camers.

Insufficient information for the conclusion stated.

"SanDisc Ultra" is a "brand name" that does not necessarily describe the specific memory card.

The majority of cards sold using that name apparently will be SDHC, but SanDisk Ultra appears to be a name applied to some other variants, including an SDC or SDCHC that includes a switch on the card to limit capacity to 2GB for compatibility in some devices. The only "information" (a euphemism here) that I've found on the use of the "ultra" name is meaningless sales blather; but it appears that there may be other variations sold under the "SanDisc Ultra" name.

It is quite possible that two "SanDisc Ultra" cards that fit into the same reader slot might be significantly different in "spec," and that that what "looks like" identical to another could be a different animal entirely.

Does anyone who has a "TASCAM DR-1 portable digital recorder" know what memory cards are actually specified for that device? - and/or what, if any, additional card specifications are sold as "SanDisc Ultra" cards?

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Mar 11 - 08:16 PM

SanDisk Ultra are good quality SD cards, a step up I believe in terms of speed from SDHC cards. As long as you have the genuine article you should find these are fine.

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 27 Mar 11 - 09:27 PM

SanDisk Ultra are a brand of memory cards, more akin to to Chevrolet or Ford, or perhaps more a "model line" like Bel-Air or Edsel. A Chevvy (SanDisk) can be an all-electric flea-powered toy or a 15 ton truck. They have different uses. The "ultra" just means this year's model.

SDHC is a specification for a format, signal processing method, physical size and shape, and connector layout, and is one of many available for devices like cameras and recorders. The SD signifies a "secure data" format for the exchange of information with other devices, and the HC is for "high capacity" specifying ability to handle larger amounts of data.

The majority of SanDisk Ultra cards advertised are SDHC cards, although it is implied that other card configurations are available within the "line."

The speed rating is specified separately by a "Class number" with cards - in nearly all formats/configurations - being currently available as Class 2 through 10. The SanDisk Ultra appears to be in Class 6 or higher but SanDisk appears to call their Class 10 cards "SanDisk Extreme" (for now).

IF the device requires an SD card, then you must use an SD card - regardless of who you buy it from, and the speed class doesn't matter too much for many kinds of devices. Class 6 is generally recommended for video above lowest resolutions, and is probably a "good enough" choice for most people in other kinds of devices. Cheaper still cameras are unlikely to push that speed even if they offer a "continuous frame" cycle and/or movie capability, since the movies they take usually are not at the highest resolution the cameras are otherwise capable of providing.

If the device does not specify that an SDHC card may be used, then an SDHC card may not work at all, or may only use part of the card capacity (usually 1 or 2 GB) - which is the reason for the switch on the SDCHC cards. An SD card generally will work okay in an SDHC spec device, but gives rather limited amounts of memory.

Sony devices generally DO NOT use SD or SDHC cards, but have their own configuration called "memory stick."

Olympus and Fuji cameras have generally used a separate spec that they developed called "xD Picture Card," although more recent models may use SDHC.

The SD and SDHC configurations are also available as "Micro SD" and "Micro SDHC," used especially in some compact cameras and telephones. The description in the first post here suggests that a "Micro" type is used in both devices.

The majority of SLR-Digital cameras formerly used a card configuration called a "CF," although some of the more recent models have migrated to SDHC.

You can also get an "Eye-Fi" card that is claimed to "work in most cameras that use SD/SDHC cards" with which the card will connect to your wireless-capable printer to download your pictures without plugging in.

So far as is known, SanDisk makes all of the above, and may put the "ultra" name on all of them depending on the speed class - or not. Until someone can show that "SanDisk Ultra" always means "SDHC Class 6" (I'll give some latitude on Class) that name alone is pretty much meaningless.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: Gurney
Date: 27 Mar 11 - 09:43 PM

Fergie, I just had exactly that problem with a new-to-me camera. It takes perfect photos (on the LCD screen), but I couldn't get them to the PC via USB nor in a card reader. The camera has no internal memory, so the pictures were on the card, but just absolutely no recognition nor acknowledgement by either method.
A new card, formatted in the camera, and everything works!
Cards are very cheap, nowadays, particularly at the 2Gig size.
SD cards, the (read)manual says, have a limited service life and are fragile.

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: IvanB
Date: 27 Mar 11 - 11:35 PM

I have a Tascam DR-100 and, when I put the card either into my computer's SD slot or a card reader, it shows up as "DR-100 (F:)" in Windows Explorer, "F:", of course, being the assigned drive letter. You can download a manual for the DR-1 as well as a tested SD card list, firmware upgrades and other information here:

http://tascam.com/product/dr-1/downloads/

Your digital camera may have installed a program on your computer to automatically bring up your picture files when you insert its card into the computer. To my knowledge, Tascam does not. When you insert the card from the Tascam into the card reader and connect it, you should see the drive listed under "Computer" or "MY Computer" in Windows Explorer.

I'd advise you to download the manual as well as any other pertinent goodies you might want from the website above and read them well. Tascam's products aren't the most intuitive to use and it's well to know what's what when you're trying to use them.

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: MikeL2
Date: 28 Mar 11 - 10:24 AM

HI John

<"A camera card should NEVER be formatted by the PC, since a "camera card" needs to have imprinted information that's specific to the particular camera and the settings you've applied for your picture taking.">

I didn't know this and over the past few years I have used several different makes of cameras and camcorders eg Sony,Panasonic,Sanyo and JVC.

I have used my PC's to to delete records from the cards after downloading but I am not sure whether I have used to PCs to re-format. But now that I have read this I will make sure not to.

Many thanks.

Cheers

MikeL2

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: EBarnacle
Date: 28 Mar 11 - 10:36 AM

I own and enjoy my Tascam DR 1. I allow the unit to download directly to the computer [with XP Pro] and have never had a problem. Use the USB port on the recorder and everything will work. I also have a couple of larger cards.

In general, I try to use smaller cards [500 mb] so that if I wish to record the entire file to a disk, I do not exceed the parameters of the disk , especially if I am recording in WAV mode.

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 28 Mar 11 - 01:20 PM

My recorder will not use cards over 2GB, as JohninKansas has suggested above: you can still get a lot of recording on a 2GB card!

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: treewind
Date: 28 Mar 11 - 01:26 PM

If the card's 4Gb it must be SDHC.
Maybe your memory card reader is too old to read SDHC cards.

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: zozimus
Date: 28 Mar 11 - 04:31 PM

Hi Fergus,
If you bring your card reader along on Friday I'll see what I can do for you. I'll bring my Laptop which has programmes that will read anything. Meanwhile, I don't have a contact for Ann Buckley to invite her to Saturday nights gig. If you have her number could you let her know?
                      See you Friday or Sat
                                        Tony

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 28 Mar 11 - 07:09 PM

Yet another idea: there are various types of SD card; older card readers cannot deal with newer types since they are not downwards compatible. If that is your problem, a new card reader will solve it. See Wikipedia etc.

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 28 Mar 11 - 08:34 PM

MikeL2

If the card is already formatted, most PCs - including Linux should be able to modify them, and that does not tamper with the 'format'. If 'new', then the 'default format' selected by whatever PC etc that is NOT the device itself and then created by it, thus may not be the preferred one.

Hope that explanation helps...

Subject: RE: Tech: Memory cards.
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Mar 11 - 02:43 PM

hi FoolesTroupe

Yes That does explain it to me so that I can understand.

I could save me some money cos I have lots of cards from 4Gb thru to 32Gb as I use them for shooting lots of video. I need this amount cos I am much quicker at shooting video than I am in processing it and creating DVDs etc.

Many thanks

Regards

MikeL2