« M&S is coming up... | Main Index | Taking data loss to the Maxx »
January 17, 2007
Storage problems and solutions; a cautionary tale
I think I’m having a premature mid-life crisis. I can’t imagine what else it could be; a few months ago I bought a digital multi-track recording device with the aim of freeing the frustrated rock star in me and writing and recording some tunes. This of course entailed the traumatic experience of seeking advice from in-store staff at some specialist music shops, who seem to only have two default settings when ‘helping’ out a novice such as me; distain or thinly veiled contempt. And then there was the predictably farcical delivery process – it’s still very much a hit and miss affair and the sooner the IMRG’s Internet Delivery is Safe kitemark becomes the de facto standard for quality of service the better.
Then I was plunged into the murky world of memory cards; of Compact Flash, SD Cards, and all that jazz. The product I finally chose, a Korg D4, took only Compact Flash cards, and thus began my epic quest to find the best manufacturer. CF cards are of course more well known for use in digital cameras, camcorders and the like, and the problem I soon found out was to find one compatible with the Korg.
Time was when these little matchbox sized cards cost a small fortune but the technology has now developed to such an extent that it is yet another commoditised product in a highly crowded market, so in theory there should be little to choose between various brands. Being a born cheapskate, my default setting is that any old brand normally does the trick; that the so-called market leaders only occupy that position because they were there first and IT consumers tend to be an irrationally loyal bunch etc etc. So I opted for a MyMemory 2GB card…and lo and behold it didn’t work, despite being advertised as Korg compatible. After similar problems with other makes, I settled on SanDisk’s Extreme III.
Even within the firm’s portfolio there are is a confusingly wide variety of cards, from the Standard all the way up to the Extreme IV. My baby is nearly the fastest at 133x, and may have been on the market for a couple of years but is still pretty reliable, from my experience. In hindsight the Ultra II – at the next price and performance step down – was probably equally suitable, as the Extreme III is designed for professional photographers whose storage requirements are likely to push this product a little harder than I have been doing so far. But because larger capacity cards tend to be slower than smaller ones, it made sense getting a faster one; in fact read/write speed seemed more than twice as fast as the Korg-branded card provided with the machine. While this isn’t strictly essential for recording music, it does make things a lot easier; as did the speedy formatting.
And it came with a cute little case and data recovery software that I hope I’ll never have to use, but knowing my luck probably will. So sometimes it pays not to go for the budget options, at least not with compact flash. Now all I have to do is learn how to sing in tune; that could be a bit more tricky.
Hi Phil! I came across this blog regarding the Korg D4 and CF memory cards because I, too, wanted to upgrade the card which came with the device. I looked through both the physical (hard copy) and online (Adobe PDF files) manuals and the latter did not say much about the type of CF cards one should use, however, the hard copy did say that type II and III cards were not supported. And so, I went out "in search of" for a 2GB CF card to see what the local retailers had in stock. (Meanwhile, in the back of my mind, I remembered that whole scenario about vendors telling me how most devices are selective about using certain "Ultra" and "Extreme" Compact Flash memory, and some can not handle either of them!) I had read your blog on this, so I figured why not try the "acid test" myself?... I went to BestBuy and saw that they did not have ANY type I CF cards in stock (in their digital camera department), so I asked for a salesperson to help me since they only seemed to have type III Extreme SanDisk cards: 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB. The 1GB was around $89, the 2GB was even cheaper than the 1GB at $84 (does that make any sense?) and then the 4GB was about $129. The salesperson said that these cards were just the same as the type I and II, only faster. And then he waltzed back to some other potential customers. So, I thought, why not try the 4GB Extreme III? So, I purchased that card and then went off to COSTCO for some food shopping, and saw that they had the SanDisk 2GB Ultra II (Type 1) CF for about $35. I thought (that's what I will probably end up with... and of course, I was right), but I figured, let's see what happens with the Extreme III card I had just purchased with the D4. When I arrived home, I put in the new card and turned on the D4. Immediately, it prompted me to format the card so I said "okay, do it!" The D4 then said "working..." (and it said that for a long, long time). In fact, it never said anything else, such as, "Done!" What it should have said was, "Working, struggling, dying, etc.", because it just couldn't handle it. Then I remembered another scenario such as when you put floppy disk into your computer which was formatted for another system (like a Yamaha Disklavier or Electone) and then it prompts you to format that disk with the assumption that there isn't anything on it (when in fact, there is, only not for your PC system). And so, my friends, I returned the Extreme 4GB to BestBuy, picked up some nice movies (with exchange on my rewardzone coupons since I had used those for buying the card), and then headed back to COSTCO and got the Ultra II card for the D4. Plugged the card into the slot, powered-up the D4 and it immediately recognized it without any formatting needed, and prompted me to start a "New Song" (to which I said "yes") and that was all that was needed. What I think is "wrong" is that these CF specs on the manual are not reflected on the Korg's website's versions. Perhaps they have modified these specs in their "Korg D4 Tips & Tricks" Section, but I haven't looked at that yet (but I probably will, of course). It's also a bit confusing because the "Ultra II 2GB CF" is really a "Type I Memory Card", and not a Type II. I would have used different designations so that the consumer would not ask, "Why is a Ultra II a Type I?" or "Is an Extreme III a Type II, or Type III?" Agreed? Why not use "Type A, B and C?"
I agree Mark...
Device compatibility is unfortunately still beyond the comprehension of many technology vendors, and nowhere more so than in the memory card space. A bit more clarity all round would help no end...and I'd support any call for making things simpler for IT buyers.