User Manual

Atomos Ninja V – User Manual Edition 1: November 2018 4
2. What you also need
Media
We have worked closely with Angelbird and Sony to develop new media
designedspecicallyfortheAtomosNinjaV.ThenewAtomXSSDminiis
smaller than a standard SSD, but utilises the same SATA connection as
normal HDD/SSD media and is compatible with all Atomos recorders and
dockingstations.AtomXSSDminitsdirectlyintotheNinjaVwithoutthe
need for a Master Caddy II.
Widely available 2.5” SSDs are the basic storage media for Atomos 4K
Monitor Recorders. We work closely with leading drive manufacturers to
qualify as many options as possible. SSDs are required for 4K recording or
for more demanding production environments that may not be suited
to spinning hard disks.
Which drives should you use?
There are so many drives available, and newer models appear all the
time. To avoid potential data loss and/or write/read errors, Atomos only
recommends the use of approved SSD media only.
We are not able to test all drives but here are some guidelines.
Solid State Drives (SSDs) are recommended for all recording up to
4kUHDp30andspecicdriveswithsustainedhighperformancewrite
speeds for 4kDCIp60.
Spinning Disk Drives (HDD) are not recommended.
HDDs are not suitable for 4K recording or for use in environments or
situations where they are subject to movement.
Speed and reliability are the main factors. Here are a few things to
bear in mind:
• Disk drive data rates tend to be given in megabytes per second,
and codec data rates are normally given in megabits per second.
It’s very easy to get confused. But there’s no need to be, because all
you have to do to convert megabits to megabytes is divide by 8. So if
you’re recording at 220 megabits per second, that’s going to result in
220/8 megabytes per second, which is 27.5 megabytes per second.
• With 4K recording your data rate is approximately four times that of
HD recording, so please ensure your drive is capable of keeping up
with 4K write speed requirements.
Atomos regularly tests hard drives – please check this link before
purchasing drives: www.atomos.com/drives
Mechanical shock and vibration for Spinning Disk HDDs
Hard disks are precision mechanical devices that need to be handled
carefully. The use of mechanical drives or Solid State drives will vary
dependingontheintendedlmingapplication.
We can’t give rigid guidelines because there are so many different kinds
of drives, each which has different mechanical properties. You may even
ndvariationsbetweendrivesofthesametype.
What we have found is that mechanical drives are suitable for most
purposes that don’t involve harsh vibration or mechanical shocks. We
would not advise using mechanical disks if there is a likelihood that they
might be shaken or dropped onto a hard surface.
Here are some things that you should bear in mind when using
spinning disks:
• Even though spinning drives can withstand substantial shocks when
they are not in use, they are more vulnerable when running. Harsh
treatment that may not actually damage the drive may interrupt
recordings at a much lower level of severity. We recommend that you
experiment with your drives by testing them in the conditions that you
normally work in.
• Do not bang or jolt the Ninja V while recording.
• Do not use spinning drives (HDD) for recording 4K video
• Youwillndnoticeabledifferencesintheabilityofdifferentdrives
to withstand shock and to continue recording during vibration and
movement.