Flash Memory Wars: Sony Strikes Back with SxS

Las Vegas, NAB, April 18, 2007- This week at NAB, Sony announced a new solid state flash memory media, SxS. Co-developed by Sandisk, the SxS (pronounced “S-by-S”) flash memory card is compatible with a PCI express bus connection, and is designed to store high quality footage. Expected to be available in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities, the cards were co-announced along with the new Sony XDCAM EX camcorder, the first to use SxS. Though no official date or price has been named, the cards are likely to become available by estimated fall ship date of the XDCAM EX camcorder.

Sony claims they are implementing the new form of flash media into their XDCAM line to provide filmmakers and broadcast companies an alternative to optical disc or tape, Sony’s prevailing media. However, the general opinion is that the company has chosen to go toe-to-toe with Panasonic’s popular P2 cards, in use on four Panasonic camcorders. 

The major selling point behind the SxS card, the one that Sony hopes will put it over the competition, is its ability to support high-speed data transfer rates for large video files – a maximum data transfer rate of 2.5 Gbps, twice the speed of a P2 card (the actual target transfer speed is a more conservative 800 Mbps). 

	The new Sony XDCAM EX

Panasonic’s P2 flash memory cards have been available since 2003. The first 2GB P2 card retailed for roughly $3,000. Now, according to Panasonic, a 16GB P2 card can be purchased for $900. Panasonic boasts a line of P2 camcorders ranging from their handheld $5995 AG-HVX200 to their top of the line broadcast level AJ-HPX3000, which retails for $48,000.

All Panasonic P2 camcorders use a 4:2:2 color space and employ intraframe encoding, meaning each frame is independently recorded. Sony’s new XCAM EX utilizes a 4:2:0 color space, and encodes via long GOP interframe compression, in which the camera’s processor must fill in the motion gaps between key frames.

Sony reports that two 16GB SxS cards are capable of holding up to 122 minutes of video, but was unable to disclose what format or quality this estimation corresponded to. A single 16GB P2 card can store up to 16 minutes of footage in the highest record quality mode, and Panasonic recently announced a 32GB P2 card to be available within the year, which should double that capacity. Although the storage capacity on a P2 card is not ample, the P2 camcorders feature multiple slots (up to five) for housing numerous cards for continuous recording.

The SxS card is compatible with a PCI express bus connection, while the P2 card connects via a more dated PCMCIA bus. For P2 cards, a PCI express adapter can be purchased for around $100 in order to comply with newer computers.

Sony’s SxS cards are expected be available with the release of the XDCAM EX this fall with no disclosed price at the moment. A 4GB P2 card retails for $600, $700 for an 8GB, and $900 for a 16GB. The 32GB P2 model is expected to be released later in the year for $1,800.