A Sound Investment
Posted on Jul 23, 2024 by Pro Moviemaker
The Samsung Portable SSD T9 is an essential buy whether you need it for video, audio or both
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When it comes to making a successful film, crystal-clear audio is crucial. Viewers will put up with less-than-ideal visuals if the sound quality is superb – but not the other way round. It’s no surprise the number one complaint big streaming companies get about the quality of their programmes is poor sound.
As most filmmakers don’t come from an audio background, it’s an essential skill to master the basics. But to go one better, or for more complex projects, it’s always best to go to an audio expert like Sam McLeod. He was the man called on to make sure all the sound was superb for a video of the Leisure DB Evolve 2024 event, which brings together the key players in the UK’s fitness and leisure industries at an annual conference in London.
With handheld reporter mics, headsets, wireless kits and an in-house PA system added to the mix, McLeod’s job was to make sure everything worked well for the audience in the conference and also ensure the speeches were recorded to go with the video being shot of the event.
With 32-bit float recorders capturing the sound, as well as 32-bit float backup recordings made to the internal memory in wireless transmitters, reams of important data had to be kept safe – with no second takes or room for error.
Working alongside a filmmaking crew who exclusively use Samsung portable drives for on-site backups, McLeod put his trust in the fast and rugged Samsung Portable SSD T9.
“The crew swears by this for its speed, huge 4TB capacity and solid build,” begins McLeod. “That is just what I need when recording audio.”
Luckily, the flexibility of the Samsung portable drives was ideal for the different processes used by a sound recordist. “The camera crew just plugged the Samsung Portable SSD T9 into their laptops using the Thunderbolt cable – and it all worked perfectly. But it’s not quite that simple for my work,” he explains.
He uses a 48-channel digital mixing desk with 16 mic inputs, 12 analogue line outputs and direct recording to USB. “As a backup drive for memory cards, it worked perfectly and I could just drag the files into it. But to make it work with the mixing desk, I plugged it into my laptop and did a full format to make it compatible with the operating system. It worked right away.”
That’s because Samsung engineers ensured the Samsung Portable SSD T9 is compatible with lots of popular products. It has been verified in 64 devices including PCs, mobile phones, TVs, games consoles and cameras, and had perfect results, largely since it’s developed as a dedicated PCB design rather than an M.2 SSD.
The Samsung Portable SSD T9 comes with a USB-C connection with a choice of two cables, one to connect to a USB-C or Thunderbolt drive and a second for legacy USB-A devices. The connection is the USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 interface, which delivers up to 2000MB/s transfer speeds. A TurboWrite buffer size of up to 180GB ensures maximum performance for longer when transferring large files – such as high-resolution video or audio.
“The mixing desk has a USB-C output, so could record the full audio mix directly to the portable drive – which gives real confidence that the data is safe. During breaks in the conference, I could copy the data from the memory cards in the recorders – and the cameras – to the drive via my laptop,” he says. “I had a complete backup of everything and didn’t have to worry about transfer times since it’s so quick, or the space.”
The portable drive can transfer a 4GB video in two seconds, so it is incredibly fast. It also comes in three different capacity options to fit the needs of every user – either 1TB, 2TB or 4TB.
Even when it is used on massive files, it does not get too hot thanks to Samsung’s Dynamic Thermal Guard. This efficiently minimises any performance drops that can be caused by overheating, ensuring consistent and fast transfer speeds. And for high-end work where safety checks are mandatory, the Samsung Portable SSD T9 is designed in compliance with the international safety standard IEC 62368-1, making it ideal for a range of demanding tasks with minimal heat transfer.
The portable drive comes with Samsung Magician software that offers performance benchmarking, security functions, a health status check in real time and firmware updates. As hardware and firmware is developed exclusively for the Samsung Portable SSD T9, the power usage is optimised. That means it’s much less of a drain on laptop power, even when idling, a big advantage on location when using battery power.
Despite all the advanced technical spec that delivers such speedy performance, it was the look and feel McLeod raved about.
“It’s incredibly light and compact – and just feels like a top-quality product,” he beams. The curved diagonal lines and reverse carbon patterns on the surface give the rubber a fabric-like feel – almost like a luxurious wallet. “And that rubber coating means I was filled with confidence that if I dropped it, it would survive with all my precious data intact.”
The Samsung Portable SSD T9 is not only a marvel of speedily saving and storing data, but is resistant to drops of up to three metres and guaranteed with a five-year limited warranty.
The portable drive’s thoughtful design has been built to keep data safe with the speed and reliability users need, empowering them to pursue even the most demanding and ambitious projects. And that’s really sound advice.
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This feature was first published in the July/August 2024 issue of Pro Moviemaker.
