Tablet to transfer MTS files from camcorder to external hard drive

[drbill]

My old laptop is heavy and my new one too valuable to want to carry with me when I'm traveling internationally. I'm looking for a tablet that is capable of attaching an input cable and a hard drive via USB ports so I can transfer MTS files from the internal flash memory on my Sony CX550V to an external hard drive via the tablet. This is easy with my laptop, but something light weight that also gives me WiFi would be great. NOT looking to edit the video files on the tablet, just transfer them. Included software would have a file manager app that could select files from one device (the camcorder) and copy them to the external hard drive. TIA.

 

[rreconnu]

I use my ipad mini in a similar way, but I save the files to the cloud so I don't have to worry about the an external hd dying or getting lost or stolen. I have the camera connection kit which allows for either direct sdhc card reading or USB. The bonus is I can view or edit photos and video, surf the web, make Skype calls and just about anything else I'd normally do on a laptop.

It could save to an external drive if you wanted it to as well.

There's always something like this if you want to keep it really basic: Wholesale Digital Camera Photo Bank - Storage and Memory Card Drive From China

 

[sinistar]

My old laptop is heavy and my new one too valuable to want to carry with me when I'm traveling internationally. I'm looking for a tablet that is capable of attaching an input cable and a hard drive via USB ports so I can transfer MTS files from the internal flash memory on my Sony CX550V to an external hard drive via the tablet. This is easy with my laptop, but something light weight that also gives me WiFi would be great. NOT looking to edit the video files on the tablet, just transfer them. Included software would have a file manager app that could select files from one device (the camcorder) and copy them to the external hard drive. TIA.

I just did a week long dive trip doing close to what you asked. I now use a Surface tablet (RT version for $500). It has one standard USB port and is very open as it will allow me to connect directly to a camera, to my universal card reader and my usb powered external drive. My routine each night was to plug in a small hub, card reader and external drive. Then I just copied my CR2 raw stills and MOV files from the card to the drive. The arm based version of the tablet is not as fast as a PC so the transfers will be noticeably below the USB2 maximum speeds. it took several minutes to dump 8Gb of data. But then again it did it all without needing a single power cord and didn't even put a dent on the surface's battery (which I did not have on the charger). One nice perk, the surface plays the 48Mbit Canon 5D2 movie files flawlessly - great for in the field review! It will also open the 24MByte raw photos and let you fully zoom and pan the, but it takes about 40 seconds to open one. Another quirk (its Microsoft after all) is that after about 60sec of non use, the external drive will spin down which is probably to do with power management - but this beats my ipad that doesn't want to even use it because of power consumption and directories and that don't exactly match a camera card. if you want could try opening an mpeg transport file for you to see if its supported. Downside, at $500 you can get a netbook with more cpu, drive, etc. But it will be heavier and not have the battery life.

 

[diversteve]

It might be possible with a USB2.0/OTG enabled tablet. OTG stands for On-The-Go. It's a protocol supported in Android 4.XX that allows you to connect USB devices to some tablets.

Samsung enables it on their Galaxy line (technically you could use it on a Galaxy SIII smartphone afaik) from what I've read they're one of few mfr's that enable output file sharing also. The Nexus tablets have OTG but it's only to add external mice/keyboards. The Kindle Fire's don't support it at all.

The cables are sold for a few $ on Amazon. My buddy has a Galaxy Tab 10" and we were able to transfer MTS files from his Canon MF200 to it. There's a USB/OTG file mgr needed, it's called Stickpoint? or Stick-something. It's on the Android Market.

On my buddy's tablet, he also has a removable microSD slot so you could then transfer files to that. I don't really see why you couldn't also transfer all the files from the camera to the tablet then plug a flash drive into the cable and move them to it.

Somewhere I've read that you can't use a FAT32 portable hard drive though as it's incompatible with the Android OS. But IDK if that's true, I have a Kindle Fire with a USB cable - when I plug it into my computer, I can copy files from an external WD drive I have installed. But it's possible the Kindle O/S (Android 2.2) handles that for me and Win7 handles the disk I/O.

Also, unless it's changed in Android 4.2, I believe there's a 4GB file size limit you'll have to deal with. It would seem to me that in a pure transfer, that wouldn't matter but IDK.

Personally I like the netbook idea. A 10" netbook isn't much bigger than a 10" tablet, and they're cheap now since tablets are dominant. There's an Acer (slower processor) with 1GB ram and a 320GB hard drive on Amazon for $229. If you wanted it even faster/more battery life pay someone to swap an SSD drive into it. They're in the $150 range now.

The 7" Galaxy is $200 so by the time you add storage media, the netbook is cheaper. Either has wi-fi, with the OTG cable you can add cellular service to either also if your phone is compatible - or if it functions as a Wi-Fi hotspot you don't need the cable. I don't use Stickpoint, I use WiFi File Express - as the name indicates I can transfer files wirelessly across my network to the Kindle. Never tried from it though.

hth, let us know what worked for you.

 

[danvolker]

My old laptop is heavy and my new one too valuable to want to carry with me when I'm traveling internationally. I'm looking for a tablet that is capable of attaching an input cable and a hard drive via USB ports so I can transfer MTS files from the internal flash memory on my Sony CX550V to an external hard drive via the tablet. This is easy with my laptop, but something light weight that also gives me WiFi would be great. NOT looking to edit the video files on the tablet, just transfer them. Included software would have a file manager app that could select files from one device (the camcorder) and copy them to the external hard drive. TIA.

The new Surface Pro by microsoft. Should be great for you...and you could edit with it. I would use one of the new monster thumb drives by Kingston if you needed way more storage than the 128 gig Surface offers.. 100 gig thumbs are not too expensive, the new 260 gig one is a bit pricey, and they have one at a terrabyte that is more expensive than the Surface Pro

 

[sinistar]

I forgot to mention that even on the surface (RT version) you get the exact same file manager as you have on windows 8, 7, xp, etc. you can browse network drives, etc. so copying files is identical to any windows box and does not require any tablet apps or jailbreaking a device. and rather than use an expensive flash drive, just buy a cheap 500gb 2.5" laptop drive and a $10 usb powered drive enclosure. hard to beat that price per gig.

 

[Divealpha]

I use a Galaxy Tab 10 with the native cardreader and USB adapter. But that means I first have to copy from the card to the tab, and then to the USB. Guess I Will buy an external HDD with card reader for my next trip, more convinient... Nice to not have to bring my laptop, only the tab on diving trips....

Sent from my GT-P7500 using Tapatalk 2

 

[danvolker]

I forgot to mention that even on the surface (RT version) you get the exact same file manager as you have on windows 8, 7, xp, etc. you can browse network drives, etc. so copying files is identical to any windows box and does not require any tablet apps or jailbreaking a device. and rather than use an expensive flash drive, just buy a cheap 500gb 2.5" laptop drive and a $10 usb powered drive enclosure. hard to beat that price per gig.

I think the Surface Pro will be one of the most significant new products of the decade..it should usher in a new era of full power computing with the tiny form factor of barely more than an IPAD ( the IPAD being a sick joke to someone hoping to use it as a Work computer) .. Work can be anywhere, and the home uses are virtually anything you could do with a desktop.
I have already had a conversation with a videographer that is editing with Sony Vegas on a Surface Pro..not blazing fast, but very acceptable compared to laptops.

 

[drbill]

MANY thanks for your advice, folks. Some good ideas to consider... so I'm doing just that!