Memory Card Experiences? - Page 2

dordale · 08-23-2008, 01:28 PM

I have a 2gb SD card (Patriot brand) in my 505. I don't notice any significant battery drain, but I also don't have very many files on it. maybe a couple hundred mbs at the most. So, I think Vivaldirules might be onto something regarding the amount of material on the card affecting the battery life.

dordale

leif · 08-23-2008, 05:22 PM

I would like to know who uses memory cards for music and how well this works and effects battery life.

acidzebra · 08-24-2008, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leif

I would like to know who uses memory cards for music and how well this works and effects battery life.

The music player is rudimentary at best and using it will drain your battery in mere hours. The only positive thing I can say about it is that while playing, it displays the album covers (if they are embedded in the mp3 file) which looks neat. But overall I would recommend against using the reader as a music player.

vivaldirules · 08-24-2008, 08:31 AM

As I recall, the Reader plays mp3s in order. Start with any one and you will hear the rest in the same order as usual. If that's okay with you, then I think it works fine as an mp3 player. But I prefer to use my Reader for reading and my dedicated mp3 player for music.

grimo1re · 08-26-2008, 09:46 AM

I tried a memory stick from a friend, couldn't get it to work. Gave up and never actually found I needed the extra memory. I don't keep my whole library on the device...

JimCuk · 08-26-2008, 01:03 PM

I'd like to add I have a 2Gb card and did experience power drain and since I wasn't using all my space I just decided not to have it in (but obviously if your away on holiday and want to stock up could be a good idea to take one full of books with you).

Jim

grimo1re · 09-01-2008, 04:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimCuk

I'd like to add I have a 2Gb card and did experience power drain and since I wasn't using all my space I just decided not to have it in (but obviously if your away on holiday and want to stock up could be a good idea to take one full of books with you).

Jim

On average I carry around 90-120 books with me, no memory card. I don't read that many books on a holiday

Aurora W · 09-01-2008, 11:19 AM

I had problems in the past using a SD card (believe it was a 1GB) - my 505 kept losing power. Switched over to a truly ancient 32MB Memory Stick (from my PSP) and haven't really had any issues since.

athlonkmf · 10-05-2008, 03:09 PM

I've used 2GB, 4GB SD (non-sdhc) cards. These works fine.

I've tried 8GB (kingston) and 16GB(transcend) SDHC cards. These works partially. Not all books are listed, and I've gotten some corrupted directories too.

DasFool · 10-06-2008, 06:35 PM

I've been using an SD card since I first started using my 505 (I knew I was going to load it up with manga which are significantly larger than normal ebooks). The first was a 2gb class 2 card (got it free last black friday). I recently upgraded to a 4gb class 6 card and I haven't noticed any real battery drain. This device lasts longer than most of my other battery powered electronics, which is to say approximately a week. Is that considered a fast drain?

mollybo · 10-06-2008, 08:39 PM

I wish to goodness I had kept using my SD card, because I just took a whole lot of books off my Sony to make room for more ... and my TabletPC hard drive died. Not sure if it's recoverable yet, and I had a LOT of books that I either need to reconvert or redownload.

pilotbob · 10-07-2008, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mollybo

I wish to goodness I had kept using my SD card, because I just took a whole lot of books off my Sony to make room for more ... and my TabletPC hard drive died. Not sure if it's recoverable yet, and I had a LOT of books that I either need to reconvert or redownload.

Sorry to hear that. This is actually the reason I just went out and bought a 500GB external hard drive and set it up as my TimeMachine (Mac auto backup software). Mainly so my ebooks would be in a safe place. The heck with my documents and tax returns.

movieking · 02-23-2009, 02:38 PM

I happened to see a 16G card on sale during Boxing Day so I got it, knowing that I could use it in my camera if it didn't work for the reader. I've got about 2 gigs on the card, and the thing just takes forever to load. I've yet to actually get it to load, because I get frustrated with it and go back to the main menu. What kind of loading time should I be looking at? Is it the amount of material, the size of the card, or a combination of both? Would a 2G card with one book load in the same amount of time as a 16G card with the same one book?

mjh215 · 02-23-2009, 06:20 PM

I used a 2gb Sandisk class 2 for awhile. I found that using the memory card seemed to correspond with the Reader being slightly unstable with large ebooks. And the bad part with that was if it reset it would take upwards of a half hour for it to boot. With the card at about 50%. Now I just use the internal memory, which disappoints me as I wanted the whole traveling reference library. I know I can still carry the card on me, but if I just want to look something up, waiting for a half hour would be a pain.

-MJ

murraypaul · 02-24-2009, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by movieking

I happened to see a 16G card on sale during Boxing Day so I got it, knowing that I could use it in my camera if it didn't work for the reader. I've got about 2 gigs on the card, and the thing just takes forever to load. I've yet to actually get it to load, because I get frustrated with it and go back to the main menu. What kind of loading time should I be looking at? Is it the amount of material, the size of the card, or a combination of both? Would a 2G card with one book load in the same amount of time as a 16G card with the same one book?

The scan time when you insert a card into the reader or disconnect it from USB is dependent on the number of books on the card, not the sizes of the books.

From an earlier post I made:

Quote:

With 990 books on the internal memory, a scan takes less than 2 minutes. The performance problems only occur with large numbers of books on memory cards. Adding a memory card with 500 books triggers a scan which takes about 4 minutes. Adding a memory card with 1000 books triggers a scan which takes about 15 minutes. Get up to 2000 books on a card and the scan will take over an hour, 2600 books takes ~1h45m. There is some sloppy programming at work in the Reader software, and it suggests they never tested it with large numbers of books, to have such a strong non-linear behaviour.

This would suggest that the best way to use the reader for a complete library is to have a large number of small memory cards, and divide the library up in a logical way between them. With 500 books per card you are never more than 5 minutes away from a book.

As the time taken for the card scan seems to be related to the number of files, my current test is to combine all books in a series into a single lrf file, with a TOC jumping to the start of each book. The reader shows no problems opening or navigating a 10000+ page book, although the conversion time with txt2lrf increases dramatically as the size of the input file goes up.

View Poll Results: Have you had trouble with extra memory? What capacities have you used stably?
I HAVE had trouble with adding extra memory	13	13.68%
I have NOT had trouble with adding extra memory	49	51.58%
1 Gigabyte	19	20.00%
2 Gigabyte	49	51.58%
4 Gigabytes	14	14.74%
8 Gigabytes	6	6.32%
16 Gigabytes	6	6.32%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 95. You may not vote on this poll

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08-23-2008, 01:28 PM	#16
dordale Wizard Posts: 1,731 Karma: 3472866 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Sony PRS-650 & 350; Kindle Voyage; Kobo Aura HD, Aura One, and Forma	I have a 2gb SD card (Patriot brand) in my 505. I don't notice any significant battery drain, but I also don't have very many files on it. maybe a couple hundred mbs at the most. So, I think Vivaldirules might be onto something regarding the amount of material on the card affecting the battery life. dordale

08-23-2008, 05:22 PM	#17
leif Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: PRS-505	I would like to know who uses memory cards for music and how well this works and effects battery life.

08-24-2008, 08:31 AM	#19
vivaldirules When's Doughnut Day? Posts: 10,059 Karma: 13675475 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Houston, TX, US Device: Sony PRS-505, iPad	As I recall, the Reader plays mp3s in order. Start with any one and you will hear the rest in the same order as usual. If that's okay with you, then I think it works fine as an mp3 player. But I prefer to use my Reader for reading and my dedicated mp3 player for music.

08-26-2008, 09:46 AM	#20
grimo1re Geekette Posts: 435 Karma: 3335 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NSW, Australia Device: Sony Reader PRS500, PocketBook 360	I tried a memory stick from a friend, couldn't get it to work. Gave up and never actually found I needed the extra memory. I don't keep my whole library on the device...

08-26-2008, 01:03 PM	#21
JimCuk Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 18 Join Date: Dec 2006 Device: Prs-500	I'd like to add I have a 2Gb card and did experience power drain and since I wasn't using all my space I just decided not to have it in (but obviously if your away on holiday and want to stock up could be a good idea to take one full of books with you). Jim

09-01-2008, 11:19 AM	#23
Aurora W Addict Posts: 208 Karma: 2435146 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: back in the Midwest, USA Device: PRS-950, iPad, Nexus 7	I had problems in the past using a SD card (believe it was a 1GB) - my 505 kept losing power. Switched over to a truly ancient 32MB Memory Stick (from my PSP) and haven't really had any issues since.

10-05-2008, 03:09 PM	#24
athlonkmf Guru Posts: 714 Karma: 1014039 Join Date: May 2007 Device: Sony PRS-500, Sony PRS-505, Kindle 3, Sony PRS350, iPad 64GB	I've used 2GB, 4GB SD (non-sdhc) cards. These works fine. I've tried 8GB (kingston) and 16GB(transcend) SDHC cards. These works partially. Not all books are listed, and I've gotten some corrupted directories too.

10-06-2008, 06:35 PM	#25
DasFool Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2006 Device: Sony PRS-505; Kindle DXG	I've been using an SD card since I first started using my 505 (I knew I was going to load it up with manga which are significantly larger than normal ebooks). The first was a 2gb class 2 card (got it free last black friday). I recently upgraded to a 4gb class 6 card and I haven't noticed any real battery drain. This device lasts longer than most of my other battery powered electronics, which is to say approximately a week. Is that considered a fast drain?

10-06-2008, 08:39 PM	#26
mollybo Connoisseur Posts: 79 Karma: 2896 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: Rocket eBook, Gemstar, and Kindle 3	I wish to goodness I had kept using my SD card, because I just took a whole lot of books off my Sony to make room for more ... and my TabletPC hard drive died. Not sure if it's recoverable yet, and I had a LOT of books that I either need to reconvert or redownload.

02-23-2009, 02:38 PM	#28
movieking Member Posts: 23 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2008 Device: Sony 505	I happened to see a 16G card on sale during Boxing Day so I got it, knowing that I could use it in my camera if it didn't work for the reader. I've got about 2 gigs on the card, and the thing just takes forever to load. I've yet to actually get it to load, because I get frustrated with it and go back to the main menu. What kind of loading time should I be looking at? Is it the amount of material, the size of the card, or a combination of both? Would a 2G card with one book load in the same amount of time as a 16G card with the same one book?

02-23-2009, 06:20 PM	#29
mjh215 Guru Posts: 988 Karma: 12653 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: None of your business	I used a 2gb Sandisk class 2 for awhile. I found that using the memory card seemed to correspond with the Reader being slightly unstable with large ebooks. And the bad part with that was if it reset it would take upwards of a half hour for it to boot. With the card at about 50%. Now I just use the internal memory, which disappoints me as I wanted the whole traveling reference library. I know I can still carry the card on me, but if I just want to look something up, waiting for a half hour would be a pain. -MJ