Memory Card File System

[teko]

As most of us already know, most memory cards (and Cameras) nowadays use/support the FAT16 or FAT32 file systems. This has been fine until HD movie recording feature comes in. As we've read, the Nikon D90 is only able to record 5 minutes (or 2GB) worth of 720p video. This is caused by the limitation of the storage's file system.

File size limit: FAT16 (2GB), FAT32 (4GB)
Volume limit: FAT16 (2GB), FAT32 (8TB)

What do you guys think will be the best solution to this problem, as more cameras will eventually have HD recording feature.

My thoughts:

Possible Solution 1: Write on multiple files
If the video exceeds 2GB, the camera will automatically switch to a 2nd file.
Possible drawbacks: a few seconds lag/gap between each file, or possibly more, depending on the memory card's speed.

Possible Solution 2: Use a NTFS
NTFS has the storage and file limit of 16EB. That is in Exabytes, or 1 million terabytes.
Possible drawbacks: licensing cost, not 100% compatible with Macs and other non-Windows OS.

Possible Solution 3: Use a ext2 file system
With 16GB-64GB file size limit (depending on the block size), the ext2 is almost as good as NTFS, in terms of storage capacity.
Possible drawbacks: Though it's a more open format, it requires additional drivers for Windows and Mac OS X.

Too bad there's no one open and widely-supported file system out there. While the ext2 seems like a nice alternative, it makes viewing the memory card in random computers a pain. You will need to install the driver first before it could run. Alternatively, perhaps the memory card can be split into 2 partitions. First one in FAT, containing drivers, and second in ext2 for storage. Am I overthinking this too much? :P

Thoughts, comments? Any better file system that I missed?

[Rhys]

Microsoft screwed it all up by insisting that NTFS is licensed. FAT32 is copyright but pretty open. Microsoft OSs will not recognise anything other than FAT or NTFS. Linux and OSX will read/write to just about anything. Most people use Windows so basically we're stuffed.

[teko]

I know. If only they would open the NTFS, it will lead to much technological advancements in storage media :(.

Perhaps when WinFS comes out in Windows 7 or other future Windows, Microsoft will open the NTFS format. But that won't happen before many years.

[S_p_i_d_e_r]

Micro$oft... :(

[Rhys]

On the other hand, we'll be well into the gigapixels before we max out filesize for FAT32! Don't forget also a little-known format - FAT 64.

[James DeRuvo DHQ]

I say #1 is your best bet. Reason being? Insurance. Any memory card can fail or become corrupted. And when you're on vacation the last thing you want is to lose the opportunity to take pictures until you can recover that media card with a software utility. If your card goes bad, swapping another one for it at that moment is of advantage so you can keep taking pics. Then, later when you're in front of your PC, you can use a utility like "F-Recovery" (http://www.filerecoverytools.com/products/fr_sd/) to get back your pictures and recover your card.

No need to lose the moment because you relied on one card one when several can solve that problem.

[pianoplayer88key]

Option #1 kind-of concerns me. How do you, while shooting a 1080p movie, prevent it from dropping a frame or an audio sample when switching from one file to another?

I actually like the idea of using NTFS or ext2, though, or something like that.

[James DeRuvo DHQ]

I don't see that as an issue. Dropped frames tend to be a memory issue. These days, computers have more than enough RAM to handle the workflow. But just to be safe, memory is cheap enough ... why not double your RAM before getting started?

[teko]

I don't see that as an issue. Dropped frames tend to be a memory issue. These days, computers have more than enough RAM to handle the workflow. But just to be safe, memory is cheap enough ... why not double your RAM before getting started?

Just so we're on the same page, we're talking about cameras and their memory cards here...

When recording 1080p videos on a decent computer, switching files may not be a problem, but how about on your camera? Maybe when recording in Motion JPEG it won't be a big problem, but using H.264/AVC will require a lot more processing power.