Comparable Oxford Chipset?

[TheSteve]

Greetings!

I just could not pass up a deal on an Acomdata E5 series FW400 (7200rpm) HD to use with my PT's LE rig. When I asked about the bridge chipset, I was informed: "Unfortunately our E5 Firewire drives do not use the Oxford chipset. They do however use the Initio chipset, which is a comparable brand that should work perfectly fine with Pro Tools." Upon searching the Digdesign Support/Compatability area, I found this from Digi: "Check with the drive manufacturer to verify that their drive has the "Oxford 911", "Oxford 912", "Oxford 924" or comparable chipset & drive speed of 7200 rpm."

My Question: Can anyone tell me if this Initio chipset is one of Digi's mentioned 'comparable' chipsets? I have not done much work with this drive yet, but it seems to operate fine (at low track counts, primarily editing, etc.). Anybody have any general comments on the E5 Drives?

Sometimes 60% off is too good to pass up... at least I can put a bunch of pix and misc on 'er!

Thanks in advance for your replies,

Steve

MacBook Pro, 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo, OSX 10.4.9, 2GB ram, Digi002, PTLE 7.1.1cs2, MP Toolkit

PS: I did install the 'patch' to PT's after inadvertently installing OSX 10.4.9, and the rig is working fine, but I want to avoid problems, or be aware of any issues...

[Dan the Sound Man]

I just got the Acomdata 500 GB Mini Pal, with a four port USB bus and three FIREWIRE 400's.

It was only $150.00 and it's 7200 RPM, <9ms seek time, etc. Their website says it's "comparable" to the Oxford 911 chipset - made by Initio, like you mentioned. I figure it's worth a shot, hooking it up now, just got it... Will report back...

[Jay_uk]

Hi, This may or may not be relevant but i stumbled upon this while digging for digidrive info yesterday.
I only post this as it mentions the "initio" chipset.
http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?...4&itemid=23131

[soundonsound]

I would AVOID Initio chipsets at all cost. These don't work well with Pro Tools or at all when streaming audio in my experience, lots of buffer underruns and errors. But can cost less than Oxford, so people end up with Initio.

Stick to Digi's recommended Chipsets, these play well with all DAW's that I've came across:
FW 400 on Oxford 911 or FW400/800 on 912 and 924 is supported on Mac:
http://digidesign.com/index.cfm?lang...4&itemid=23114

[fredson]

where can i buy external drive compartible with pro tool in u.k ?????? pls i mean cheap ones , i can find them all in us but not u.k ,any idea pls ?

[DigiTechSupt]

Originally Posted by fredson

where can i buy external drive compartible with pro tool in u.k ?????? pls i mean cheap ones , i can find them all in us but not u.k ,any idea pls ?

http://duc.digidesign.com/showthread...=jonboi&page=3

[WishingDigiJosh]

Originally Posted by soundonsound

I would AVOID Initio chipsets at all cost. These don't work well with Pro Tools or at all when streaming audio in my experience, lots of buffer underruns and errors. But can cost less than Oxford, so people end up with Initio.

Stick to Digi's recommended Chipsets, these play well with all DAW's that I've came across:
FW 400 on Oxford 911 or FW400/800 on 912 and 924 is supported on Mac:
http://digidesign.com/index.cfm?lang...4&itemid=23114

I definitely agree. Oxford chips are not only preferred by Digi, but they are specifically designed for A/V usage. You're playing with fire if you go with anything else. Some people like the Prolific brand chipset, but I've found it to be hit or miss.