List of approved SD cards for the Video Assist

[Tony Rivera]

Here is a link to the list of SD cards approved for use with the Video Assist.

You can also find more provided in the Video Assist Manual.

One of the cards recommended for the BMD Video Assist is the San Disk Extreme Pro UHS-1. These come in either a U1 or a U3 – actually on the images of the cards the 1 or the 3 is enclosed by the ‘U’. The symbol gives the UHS speed class with the U3 being faster than the U1.

My guess is that it would probably be better to go for the faster card however I would be grateful for any advice.

I use the U3 faster cards, more reliable, but the 80mbs cards do work.

In my post above I was wondering which type of San Disk 95 MB/s UHS 1 cards would be the better card for the BMD Video Assist. Further information on the U1 and U3 classification can be found here: -

https://www.sdcard.org/consumers/speed/https:/

That last link seems to be broken Alaistair.

Does anyone know if the Video Assist is UHS-3 compatible - apparently it needs to be to get the advertised speeds out of those faster UHS-3 cards.

Sorry Blackmagic, but your list of functional cards is truly pathetic. There are dozens of options available, especially in the larger sizes (64GB and up) which will be of special interest to VA users, but your list of tested cards is extremely limited, especially for larger sized cards.

Also, is there really a difference between cards approved for 1080i vs 1080p as you've listed them separately ???

In case it's useful, I've now tried a whole slew of cards from 8-128 GB in size, all class 10. Most work for up to 30 fps from DSLRs, but connected to a Canon XA20 at 1080 60P, I got a little bit of red text on the VA saying it was "dropping frames" which sounds like a speed issue.

Yes Hamish my link was incorrect, sorry about that it should be https://www.sdcard.org/consumers/speed/


I have had an answer from a BMD technical Support representative re the choice between U1 and U3 cards: -

"It all boils down to you needing a Sandisk Extreme card that is both UHS-1 and U3. It's really as simple as that".

I am hoping this clarification will be added to the comments on card selection.
Please note that the numeral (either 1 or 3) is written by San Disk as a U containing the number.

Thanks Alistair,

Good to hear that Blackmagic replied and thanks for sharing their comments. To be frank, it sounds like a snarky reply from a college intern who isn't taking this aspect of the VA's functionality seriously. There are at least 5 major SD card brands, each with 4+ capacity options, as well as multiple speed options - so at least 30-40 viable candidates. Lots of people have stacks of cards for other purposes, so investing hundreds of dollars in new cards for a $500 device like the VA would be nice to avoid, if possible.

Put another way, one of the key features of the VA is that it records to inexpensive, widely available SD cards ... but what's not mentioned is that it simply will not work properly with the vast majority of the existing cards and BMD can't be bothered to test and publish a comprehensive list compatible cards.

Note also that Mr. "it really is as simple as that" hasn't addressed the key question about whether the VA is even compatible with the higher speed UHS-3 (or from your link the UHS-II) systems. If not, it's certainly not worth the additional cost of those cards.

I've ordered a 128gb UHS-3 card which I'll test tomorrow and post here if it's fully compatible with the VA at all resolutions.

Thanks!

The VA has a UHS1 interface, so it will not be able to access the faster speeds of the UHS2 card, which requires a UHS2 interface to do this ;they have two rows of pins). So just save your $ and get UHS1 (U3) cards, like the SanDisk Extremem Pro 95mps shichmwill work on the VA at all fps settings.
Cheers

Dear Denny et al,

Many thanks for replying in detail about the UHS interface.

I'm not clear why you refer to UHS1 cards and then added (U3) afterward. Those cards appear to have a 3 inside the U symbol suggesting they're UHS3 compliant which apparently isn't needed as those speed advantages aren't available on the VA.

In terms of cost, those SanDisk cards you mention (extreme pro) are actually quite a bit more expensive than others with similar specs (128gb = $80 at Amazon, others are $50 for the same stated size and speed).

For what it's worth, I just bought a PNY Elite Performance 128GB class 10, UHS-3 card claiming 95MB/sec from Amazon ($50 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WWBCQEI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00). I've tested it on a Canon 5d mk iii, a gopro hero 4 Black, an XL-H1, and a XA20. After messing about with formatting (only HFS+ seemed to work) everything seemed to work at all levels of resolution EXCEPT for the XA20 which 'dropped frames' at both the ProRes and ProResHQ resolutions.

I tested the card on BMD's Disk Speed Test and it indicated in the "will it work?" section that it should work (read and write) for 10 bit YUV 4:2:2 in NTSC and PAL as well as 10 bit RGB 4:4:4.

Denny, since you seem to have SanDisk cards handy and state they work at all settings, can I please ask that you try them out on a camera like the Canon XA-20 which shoots native 60P to see if those cards drop frames at ProRes and ProResHQ as mine did?

Many thanks,

Hamish

Hamish,

U3 is not the same as UHS-3. Actually, there is no UHS-3. UHS-1 and UHS-2 are different physical connections on the card; U1, U2, and U3 are minimum speed guarantees. So the proper description for the fastest compatible cards is "UHS-1 U3".

--Quentin

Thanks for the correction Quentin, too many 3s running around in my head.
Hamlisch, a SD card is more than its speed test. I have a SanDisk 32GB 80mbs card that does not work, drops frames in ProRes HD on the Pocket camera. But, the 64GB Extremem 80mbs cards do work in the VA. That is why BM tests individual cards, but cards on the BM Pocket Camera SD list should also work in both the BMPCC and the VA, even at 60fps.

The Canon XA-20 is a MPEG4/ AVCHD camera and has only a 28/35MB/s bit rate, because Of the codec compression. I did not have,the Canon, but I do have a Panny AF100 that will record (I have tested this) at 1080p60 on all the SanDisk Extreme cards, including the 32MB card,that did not work in themPocket camera. Both the Pocket cam and VA have much higher bit rates than these cameras, as ProRes is not compressed very much, HD the least. So a card may work on the VA at 1080p30 recording ProRes4.2.2 but will drop frames at ProRes HD, like the SanDisk 32MB Extreme 80mbs card does.
Cheers

Hey Mr. Smith, I assume you mean GB not MB. But with regard to your general point, I must absolutely agree that proper, independent testing is quite necessary in determining meaningful minimum speed numbers for cards, at least above the basic speed class rating. One thing that might explain the discrepancy you are seeing between the two similarly spec'ed cards is the larger size of the better performing one, as generally larger NAND chips deliver better read/write speeds. Furthermore, given these are manufacturer claimed numbers as opposed to actually useful speed tests, they aren't all that meaningful as you imply except as a general comparison, whereas the speed classes are much more tightly regulated and a good sign of the minimum performance for any general model, though for any particular individual card or speeds above the basic speed class individual testing of a particular card unit is still valuable.

Yes, Thanks Chris, my finger got stuck on the M key! Fixed my "typos". Yes, I was using the rated speeds as a means of comparison. But, nothing beats thrid party testing.
Cheers

Has this been updated for 4k Recording for the VA 4k?

[Tony Rivera]

The link in the original post is directly to the list of supported SD cards that was updated on 4/18/2016.

Hi Tony,

Any word on a supported 256gb card? Going by specs alone we can only shoot 9mins @4k25p per 64gb card..

[Tony Rivera]

I am not aware of the brands/models of cards that have been tested but I do know at some point, they will test a majority of the cards that are available and fit the specs required for recording. The ones approved will be updated on the list as they are cleared.

Question: The table found in the Video Assist 4K documentation mentions that a Transcend 180MB/s card can be used for recording in 4K while they list a Sandisk 280MB/s card only for recording in HD 60fps.

Is there any reason why the you can't use the Sandisk 280MB/s for recording 4K?

Thanks, Netsrac

They are not fast enough, and are only UHS 1 cards. You need UHS 2 cards for 4K, as the data rate is 2X HD/60fps.
Cheers

Hello.
Asks a simple question. Is the card, Sandisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s,
can handle 1080p/60f proresHQ without dropped frames.
Can handle on maximum settings in VideoAssist.

Regards Chris.

Yes it does, however you want to use at least the 128GB Extremem Pro card, for doing 1080p60 HQ recording. The larger capacity cards tend to drop frames less, and can transfer data a little faster.
The BM Approved SD Card list also has New cards posted to it, with additional UHSII and UHS 1 cards being added.
Cheers