#Micropolis HD & DPS PAR
21 messages in this thread
Forgive me if I am posting an old question, I'm still new to the ASOFT Forums.
Why is it that whenever I hear of purchasing dedicated hard drives for the DPS
PAR that the Micropolis is the only one I ever hear of? Are other HD's not
compatible for some reason? Normally I would not be concerned and would
purchase the recommended drive, but with the current talk about Micropolis
drives and heat problems I have become a little gun shy. Thanks to those who
have already shed some light on this subject and those who will…
Kevin
Kevin –
I think the Micropolis drives are considered good for several reasons –
> They have good throughput at sustained rates
> They have little problem with thermal recalibration (six months and no known
instances of it for me)
> They are still the largest and fastest IDE drives that are readily available.
Micropolis is reportedly planning the release of a larger, 2 & something Gig
drive; and DPS is reportedly preparing support for SCSI drives. (But then,
they've been planning sound support for about two years).
Ron R. up here has reported many problems with his Micropolis IDE drives, and I
have heard of problems with the SCSI, non-AV drives – but mine has worked fine
for over six months – with its own personalized fan so that it doesn't feel
lonely and commit suicide. 🙂
Hope that helps.
Bob
Bob,
Thanks for the info. I learned alot. First of all I was not aware that
the DPS PAR only currently supported IDE. So I guess I'll need to contact DPS
and find out what they expect for a timeline on SCSI support.
I called Micropolis today and the salesman boosted my confidence. I
guess the drive we're interested in (the 4221AV) has an MTBF of about one
million hours (computer room, controlled environment…).
One thing I don't understand is that he said the AV doesn't have thermal
calibration. Is this a problem? He said that that was how the AV was able to
get sustained data transfers between 4 and 7MB/s. So much knowledge, so little
time….
Thanks again, Kevin
Kevin –
The Micropolis AV drives actually have "continuous" thermal recalibration –
kind of like a frost-free refrigerator "defrosting" itself continuously. Let me
know when you get any word from DPS on SCSI support. I'm picking up a 3.6 gig
DEC drive this week – would be handy for the feature film I'm planning to
product on the PAR <bg>.
Bob
Bob,
I liked the frost-free refrigerator analogy. Makes the concept easier to
understand. The salesman made it sound as if it bypasses thermal calibration
altogether. But that didn't sound right…
See Ya, Kevin
>>>Why is it that whenever I hear of purchasing dedicated hard drives for the
DPS PAR that the Micropolis is the only one I ever hear of?<<<
>>>with the current talk about Micropolis drives and heat problems I have
become a little gun shy.<<<
I felt the same way. I went ahead and got the PAR, 2217, and TBC IV in December
94 and haven't had any problems.
If you are in no hurry I would wait till April to see what comes up at NAB. I
think several systems are going to be announced there. NewTek will probably be
announcing their PC products. They have a NLE now for the Amiga that can be
converted quickly, their Toaster is more closely tied to the Amiga, but I think
they will be showing a Toaster equivalent for the PC.
Tim,
Thanks for your reply. It's good to hear favorable stories on ones
potential drive of choice.
Unfortunately I am hoping to make a move on my new system within a week
or so.
But then again, haste makes waste.
But he who hesitates is lost.
What to do…?
Thanks again, Kevin
Tim;
>> April to see what comes up at NAB.
Do you or someone have information on this? I have heard of it, but haven't
had the information on where it is, or costs, etc.
Thanks,
Dennis
Dennis,
NAB is the National Association of Broadcaster show. It is held
in Las Vegas. Starts on April 10th. You can call NAB at the offices
in Washington DC. I don't have the number with me unfortunately.
Jamie Carr
in:sync
Jamie;
>> NAB is the National Association of Broadcaster show. It is held in
>> Las Vegas.
Thanks,
Dennis
I have had the PAR and MC 2217A for about 5 months without problem. Hope it
stays that way.
Christophe,
Appreciate the input. I should be able to make an informed decision with
the additional info.
Thanks, Kevin
Kevin,
Actually, the only currently manufactured drive certified for the PAR is
the Conner 1275A (1.2 gig IDE). The Micropolis drives (2210A & 2217A) were
previously certified, but have been discontinued by Micropolis. In fact,
Micropolis is dropping ALL IDE drives and will be heading for the high end of
the drive market with new SCSI drives. Micropolis does make a 4110A, and may
have an IDE version of the 4221 (2.1 Gig), but these seem to have performance
not suitable to PAR use. Supplies of the 2217As is limited to whatever
distributors or liquidators have remaining stock, until sold or turned into
coral reefs.
Kevin Krell – Computer Support Associates
Kevin,
Uh, oh. Another Kevin.
Please explain what you mean by saying that the 4221 may not be suitable
for PAR usage. We are considering the 4221AV and wonder what you mean. Is it
overkill, or not compatible?
Kevin
The 4221AV is an SCSI drive or not, you can not use SCSI drives at this time
and for the moment we are stuck with 3drives usable
Micropolis 2210A and 2217A
Conner I forgot which one, although new drives will probably be supported in
the coming months at least some people are talknig about it.
Christophe Van Oyen
Christophe,
I will post any info I can find on additional drives that are now or
will be supported shortly by the PAR. See Ya, Kevin
Kevin,
The 4221AV is a SCSI drive, and can't be used with the PAR at all. I'm
not sure if there is a 4221A (no V), which would be an IDE version of the same
drive. Based on info about the 4110A (the 1 gig version), speed
characteristics would not allow very high quality compression levels on the PAR
before file corruption occurs. It is definitely NOT certified by Digital
Processing Systems, and when I asked, they said it was tested but not suitable,
whereas the 2210A & 2217A were fine (although discontinued). At the moment,
this leaves the Conner CFA1275A (1.2 Gig IDE), and any of the 2217A you can
still find (although they run hot). The 2210A seems totally out of stock,
unless some liquidator has gotten ahold of some. Have I answered your
questions?
Kevin Krell – Computer Support Associates
Yes, you have answered my posted questions. Of course with every answered
question there are others that arise as sort of a byproduct- now I must find
out from DPS what the future holds as far as supported drives…
Thanks, The other Kevin
Kevin –
That's news to me about the 2217A and the IDE line in general at Micropolis.
Good reason to make that jump to a 2217A for my second drive! (I'm not a big
Conner fan – and it's a smaller drive!)
Thanks for the info.
Bob
Kevin;
>> Why is it that whenever I hear of purchasing dedicated hard drives for
>> the DPS PAR that the Micropolis is the only one I ever hear of?
This has probably already been answered, but—-
There were only a few drives that were recommended for use with the PAR. I
believe that these were only some Micropolis Drives, and some Seagate drives
initially. Since then, I think some Conner Drives have been added to the list,
but I'm not sure.
It is not to say that others wouldn't work, but I wasn't willing to spend $$$
for a drive that might be incompatible with the PAR.
Those mentioned above had been tested with and worked well with the PAR.
As far as heat goes, if you put a small fan ($5.00 to $12.00 each) next to the
HD, it stays cool. I have had two 1.6 Gig drives in operation for about 10
months. 9 of those months without a fan.
I don't have the number handy, but call DPS or post to them here, and ask what
the latest compatible drives are for the PAR.
Hope this helps, and if I said anything wrong, someone feel free to correct me.
Dennis
Dennis,
I located the DPS number in one of my magazines and called them.
Apparently they eat lunch, too. So tomorrow maybe I'll try again and pass on
info on any to be supported HD's. See Ya, Kevin