Memory Card options

[64Guitars]

maybe boss could update their firmware to allow for larger cards

It's possible, but I think it's unlikely. See my FAQ for reasons why:

https://songcrafters.org/64guitars/BR/FAQ.html

and this message I posted in the Yahoo! BossBr group:

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/BossBr/message/790

Other manufacturers are starting to release new recorders with FAT-32, which can theoretically address cards with several terabytes (1TB = 1,000 GB). So I expect that the next generation of recorders from Boss will have a FAT-32 file system rather than FAT-16, eliminating the 1GB limit. I'm hoping Boss will announce a new recorder at the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, California which is just three weeks from now (Jan 17th - 20th). If they do, my guess is that it will replace the BR-900CD which is several years old now. The Micro BR and BR-600 are relatively new, so I don't think they'll be replaced just yet.

Anyway, the point is that Boss may soon be trying to sell recorders with FAT-32, so they probably won't want to update existing models to give them the same capabilities. I'm sure they'd rather have us upgrade to the new machines.

[64Guitars]

The 4 hours remaining is just an estimate and, in this case, may be way off because the Micro BR probably calculates the remaining time based on the card's actual capacity (2GB), even though it can only use 1GB. So, when you eventually get the Card Full! error message, it might still show several hours remaining time.

That's interesting, Micro BR recognizes the SD card has being a 2GB but doesn't use it as one. I don't really get this move by BOSS. What do they win with this? Or is it a technical barrier? Makes one wonder...

It's a technical barrier due to the FAT-16 file system. See my FAQ for an explanation:

https://songcrafters.org/64guitars/BR/FAQ.html

I assume that the Micro BR gets the memory card's size from information it retrieves from the boot sector of the card. If so, the file system wouldn't be a factor. So it will get the correct size no matter how big the card is. However, the FAT-16 file system will prevent it from accessing more than 1GB of the card's capacity.

There may be one slight advantage with your 2GB card. Memory card manufacturers state card capacities in decimal megabytes or gigabytes. So a 1GB card has a capacity of 1,000,000,000 bytes. But the FAT-16 addressing scheme used in the Micro BR works in binary and 1GB is 2^30 or 1,073,741,824 bytes. So, in theory at least, you should get an extra 73,741,824 bytes (73.7MB) of usable space with your 2GB card, compared to a 1GB card. It's not much, but it should be enough for one or two songs (or about 18 MP3s). It doesn't really justify the extra expense of a 2GB card versus a 1GB card, but 1GB cards may become hard to find in the future as device capacities increase and prices decrease, so it's good to know that a 2GB card will work in case that's all you can find when shopping for a new card.

But that just happens with a 2GB card? Doesn't it also happen with the 1GB? I'm a bit confused now.

In theory, the Micro BR can address up to 1.73GB (expressed in decimal gigabytes rather than binary). So, you obviously would need a card that's bigger than 1.00GB to access the full 1.73GB. That's why a 2GB card could potentially have 73.7MB more space available to the Micro BR than a 1GB card. But this is just theory - I haven't tested it.

[Ed_R]

I initilaized a 2-gig card in the BR and now when I put it in Windows it won't  recognize that it's a 2-gig card. How can I fix that?

Update: I fixed it by going to sdcard.org and downkloading the Panasonic SD card formatter.

[Steve61]

I have been reading posts here for a while, but this is my first post.

And it may be a dumb question, but maybe someone can help.

My PC has several SD card slots.  I use a couple of them for different devices.

Will the SD card from my BR work in one of these card slots to transfer data to the Boss WAV Converter (without the BR connected)?

I was thinking that a card reader was a stand alone device.  It never dawned on me that I may be able to use the one on my PC.

Any info would be appreciated.  (And thanks for all of the info I have gotten from your posts.)

[guitarron]

Yes-it should be able to read/write your MBR's SD card

[robsmith]

Hello,

You can use the SD card in the PC if you subst a driveletter to the SD Card (fooling the wave converter into thinking that the BR is connected), or use 64 guitar's BR explorer program.

See this thread for more info ...

http://microrecorders.org/community/general-discussion/tip-convert-files-using-local-disk-backup-instead-of-connecting-via-usb/0/

Bob

[jack]

 I bought sansdisk 2gb cards online for 7.99 each. does anybody know if they will work or did i waste my dough. do I need ultra or hispeed or anything special or will any ordinary sd card work? I did notice that Lexar cards were twice as much. Why?

[BossMicroBRew]

I think the MicroBR is supposedly only "compatible" with 1GB cards and below. However, many claim they get 2GB cards to work. If yours work, I am assuming the MBR will only be able to use 1/2 of the card capacity. You might check post #3 of this thread on page 1. 64Guitars' further clarification will probably be of assistance.