#data tape advice
11 messages in this thread
Perhaps the Exabyte 8200 might be a good compromise price-wise. Too bad about
lack of standardization amoung DAT's. When will industry listen to what users
want? Ian.
Hey Martin,
Take a look at the new Exabyte E120. That should solve your problems for the
rest of your life. (It's a 1.2 Terabyte beast…)
I bought an 8200 last December and then I had to go out and buy an 8500 a
couple of months ago because the 8200 was so useless.
Please don't waste your money on an 8200. For the extra $500, you'll actually
get something that works (and works very well).
– G
What was the problem with the 8200? Features or performance?
Ian.
Both. It's incredibly slow, stores half of what the 8500 stores, and has ZERO
support for seeking, so it can't store more than one shot on a tape (even if
that shot is only 30 frames long). It's useless… I don't even think the ASDG
converter supports it.
– G
Gary:
>> has ZERO support for seeking, so it can't store more than one shot on a
>> tape
Methinks you maybe complaining about the software you happened to use with
your 8200, not the hardware!
I can seek, and append to the end of a tape, and have been for over a year
with the 8200!
Don't get me wrong, I'm about to trade it in for a 8500 (I need the extra
size for my network backup, 2.3 gigs just won't cut it anymore! But we've
stored lots of animations on it, and appended to them, and pulled them off
without a hitch!
I can't complain about it, it was the best on the market when we got it,
and, like other products, now we have a better (but more expensive)
alternative! Since the newer 8500 can read the files created on an 8200,
the 8200 market still has some life in it! And there will be some good
deals on them over the next few years!
Greg Pyros
I wasn't referring to gross seeking to the end of the tape. I was referring to
having the ability to look for a specific frame and call it up to check it. A
VERY indispensible feature when you're putting stuff on the Exabyte for later
conversion to an Abekas DDR.
Have you used your Exabyte for this yet? Or are you only using it for backup?
– G
Gary:
>> having the ability to look for a specific frame and call it up to check it
We do this all the time with the 8200. A requirement for a backup system,
if you think about it! Not directly, of course, we restore it to disk and
then call it up. Like I said, it was the right decision at the time, and
since the 8500 can read the 8200 tapes, it will provide a lower cost
solution for some people.
Haven't gone to the Abekas yet, when I find a client willing to pay for it I
will. I've been real happy with the Laser Disk recorder, and there is
nothing like having it in-house for test purposes!
That's one thing that scares me, a lot of people just sending stuff off
without a way to really see what they are sending first! And I see the lack
of in-house testing availability hurting the industry as a whole.
I guess that's why I'm a bit scared of the technology. I've seen way too
many people having no idea what they are getting until it gets laid down by
an outside firm, and then there is usually no time (or $$$) to change it.
Greg Pyros
This issue is moot… if you ever get the chance to compare dumping files to
the 8200 vs the 8500 for transfer to the Abekas, I'm sure that you'll dump the
8200 in a NY minute.
– G
Gary:
No question about it! But there are many people out there who wouldn't mind
waiting longer to save the $1,000 difference between the units!
GregP
WARNING!!!
The EXB-8200 may be attractive due to its lower price but it comes with a very
serious drawback. When used as an Abekas digital video tape drive, it cannot
fast forward. Or rather, it can fast forward but only at the same speed at
which it reads. Seeking from one frame to another on an EXB-8200 can take
HOURS.
The EXB-8500 does the same task in seconds, holds 2.5 times as much, and does
not cost that much more these days.