November 18, 2009
Handy and Dandy: This multi-format storage device is good to go.
By Ned Soltz
The video world in so many ways has returned to the way of film. Some of us remember shooting out a film load and then being handed the next by our trusted loader. In the tapeless world, we are confronted with carrying a finite number of storage cards, often limited by the budgetary constraints of media costs. Some might have the luxury of the “unloader” but, for the rest of us, especially in field situations, we often must both shoot and unload all by ourselves.
The Nexto DI Video Storage Pro NVS2500 (seen below) answers the prayers of all field shooters who must deal with solid-state media but may not have the opportunity to offload to a computer, or who are concerned that their intern or PA might not copy an entire card properly (as happens far too often). 
Nexto produces several devices that accept varieties of solid-state media and copy the contents to an internal hard drive (or SSD, depending upon the model). The ND2700 and ND2725 constitute these offerings. They are basic copying units that employ a fast X-copy routine to copy an entire card, in the proper directory structure, to an internal drive.
The NVS2500 goes well beyond the basic copying functions of Nexto’s lower-end units and is constructed in such a way as to assure shooters that the data will be there when going to edit. In fact, I will go so far as to say that the only unit which I can wholeheartedly recommend for field work is the NVS2500.
Before even discussing the features of the NVS2500, I’ll elaborate on my reason for this unqualified recommendation. The unit itself is ruggedized with a heavy hard-plastic enclosure and rubberized end caps. All of the I/O slots for the various formats of cards it supports are covered with a rubberized tab. Also, Nexto only utilizes a ruggedized hard drive which has passed their tests for field use. Options are available to support 2.5" hard drives up to 2TB in capacity. Incremental back-up capabilities are built in. Also available are models with up to 128GB SSDs. I would imagine that as solid-state memory capacities increase, they would be compatible with the NVS2500. In other words, you can offload that precious original footage without worries.
The NVS2500 will also back up data from any USB device, even without a computer. Thus it is even possible to connect cameras that offload recorded media via USB2 directly to the NVS2500 without even removing the card. It does defeat the purpose of having a card-offloading device, but at least it is possible.
Once the data is securely written to the internal drive and you’re back in your studio (or hotel room or tent or wherever you’ll be editing), the NVS2500 has multiple interfaces for transferring material to your computer. Choose from FireWire 400, USB2 or eSATA connections. The device is also forwardly compatible with the upcoming USB 3.0 standard.
Finally, the NVS2500 will play back video clips in most formats on its 2.4" LCD screen. The only format I found, in fact, which caused some difficulty was AVC-Intra 100, for which the NVS2500 only has limited support at the moment. (That should change with future firmware updates.) As it is, attempting to play AVC-I clips will produce a message that the NVS2500 has only limited support for AVC-I, followed by a choppy playback. It certainly is adequate to see what footage the clip contains. Other formats play back smoothly.
In a typical workflow, just remove the media from the camera after filling the card. Pop it in the appropriate slot in the Nexto or, in the case of Panasonic P2 cards, put the P2 card in the supplied P2-to-Express34 adapter. The NVS2500 will then automatically copy the contents of the card. Copying is quite fast and I have found that it can range anywhere from 1GB/minute all the way to even five times that speed, depending upon the card and interface. I have been able to off-load a full 16GB SxS card in a little over three minutes. SDHC cards are slower. It is then reasonable to conclude that SxS and P2 copy the fastest owing to the Express34 interface on the NVX2500. The internal battery is good for about 60GB of data transfer but I’ve been able to get up to about 80GB. Also included is a secondary external battery powered by AAs.
The NVS2500 will copy the contents of the card into a unique folder on the internal drive, identified by a date-time nomenclature. One of the most significant features is that it is possible to mix formats on the same drive. I have, for example, sequentially copied P2, XDCAM EX from SxS, XDCAM EX from SDHC, MXF files from CF and .MOV Quicktime files from both CF and SDHC.
The menu system is straightforward and there is only an on/off button and a joystick-style button for control. Commands are invoked by selecting menu items using the small front button and on-screen instructions tell the user whether to use a “short” or “long” push of the button. After only one attempt, I was able to get the feel of how short a push was needed for short and how long to hold it down for long.
The NVS2500 is currently shipping 320GB and 500GB versions. Since the price differential between them is only about $150, I would advise going for the 500GB model.
Weighing only about 1 lb., the NVS2500 is very portable and fits nicely in a travel case or even in a photog-vest pocket for carrying in the field. The P2 adapter fits into the Express34 slot and then requires insertion of the P2 card. That makes for a slightly larger and more awkward unit. But, in justification, Nexto is simply bundling a commercially available adapter. Engineering a different adapter would have added prohibitively to the cost and there simply was not enough room on the unit to include a PC-slot in addition to all of the other available slots. Personally, the little bit of added bulk while copying a P2 card is a non-issue.
Who needs this product? If you are a field shooter who needs to rotate media quickly, you need the NVS2500. If you are unable to offload your media to a laptop computer while in the field, you need the NVS2500. If you are simply on location shooting and have no computer available, you need the NVS2500. And I suppose that a dozen other reasons can be found. Nexto DI Video Storage Pro NVS2500
SCORE: 
PROS: Ruggedized. Fast. Reliable. Accepts every conceivable media from video
and still digital cameras and copies entire directory structures
properly.
CONS: Capacities currently only to 500GB. Only a storage device, not a play-through device.
BOTTOM LINE: Should be part of the kit of any field shooter who records to removable solid-state media.
MSRP: $1,995 (500GB model)
CONTACT: www.nextodiusa.com 
| COMMENTS (4) | | 10/28/2010 | | seems like the right tool in the right place, but remember that the HVX200 (and presumably, other Panasonic P2 camcorders) can control external hard drives directly via firewire, with no computer required. The camcorders transfer the contents of each P2 card to a unique folder on the HD. Way cheaper than $2k, if the 20-minutes-or-so of transfer time is o.k. |
| | 03/16/2010 | | Why they always need to complicate things like using these kind of storage device. Why can't we use simple storage disks and we can use any data we need to edit by simply importing it to the software in use. It could be more simple and cheaper without this complexity. Also i think using magnetic tapes for shooting is still better than using digital storage disks.
If you want to hear a reader’s feedback :) , I rate this post for 4/5.
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| | 03/16/2010 | | Why they always need to complicate things like using these kind of storage device. Why can't we use simple storage disks and we can use any data we need to edit by simply importing it to the software in use. It could be more simple and cheaper without this complexity. Also i think using magnetic tapes for shooting is still better than using digital storage disks. |
| | 11/21/2009 | | I don't understand why this device cannot be like Focus Enhancement's "Direct to edit" technology, where offloading to the NLE is not required. We should be able to just connect the device to your NLE's machine and edit without needing to ingest.
In inasmuch as this article states that the device plays video on a 2.4" LCD screen, I would think that you could that but I guess not.
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