take a look at this http://www.coolmaxusa.com/product/pd_list/product_usb_list_02.html
i have this usb2/1394 combo case for 3 months, it works very well. supports ata 66,100 and 133, it has the same oxford 911 chip as the ADS does. i paid $95cdn for it, not a bad deal. i use this drive to capture dv as well, 1 hr no drop frame. for playback it works excellent too.

If a HD is not recognized in the ADS enclosure, that's because the drive isn't prepared. I finally hooked my new drive to an old ME machine to format it, then, loaded into the ADS enclosure where it was immediately recognized and now it works just fine.

I don't know what causes that problem. The ADS site seems to indicate that you should be able to format a drive when installed in the enclosure, but I could not for the life of me.

BTW, I'm running WinXPPro.

I have had no problems whatsoever with Vegas and this enclosure. It captures fine (no dropped frames) and PTT fine, also.

Caruso

I just bought/installed (about 2 months ago) this ADS firewire enclosure, and put a WD 120GB HDD in it - works like a charm with V4 for capturing, editing, and PTT. Using win98SE on a Dell P3-600.

I first bought a no-name enclosure (with lousy instructions, and no driver disk), and could not get my PC to recognize the WD drive after several frustrating evenings. Returned it. The ADS came with great instructions (written by someone with english as a primary language) and a driver disk. Up and running within 30 minutes. The ADS enclosure is supremely quiet (the no-name was noisy as hell). I would recommend it.

Frenchy

Same experience here.

I could not format the drive while in the case.
Placed it on the drive ribbon cable and formatted.

Placed into the case and no problems.

----------
Had a friend try to store his video from a DVCAM/AVID editor,
his system would not see the drive.

Believe this might be a registry entry identifying the drive by hardware
serial number. WinXP pro as well. Haven't had time to investigate if Disk Admin uses
this info or not.
---------
Connecting to my laptop running XP Home - no problem

Frenchy
(the no-name was noisy as hell)

not really, the enclosure i have is made of aluminum, no fan at all, do you think it is noisy? hell no. it is damn quiet and remains good cooling as well. i dont have to install any driver to make it worked, xp regonizes it, both 1394 and usb2.
some no name external cases are crap i agree but the coolmax case works like a dream. it has the same oxford 911 chip as the ADS, so what is the point paying another $50 for the name? and limited to 1394. remember a case is a case, just like wiring the ide externally, as long as it has the right chip, it will work fine.
i bought it becoz my friend has 5 of them linked up together, works very well., never failed.

i think it is just like Mackie vs Behringer
:)

I have and AD IEEE 1394 HDD enclosure too. Had to format the HD so that the computer can recognize the HD. Once done, no problems.

No problems with dropped frames, etc. No problems with capturing or printing to tape either.

Wish I knew about this set up a year or so ago!

Ted

Thanks all!

So to sum it up: if I go with ADS, I'll first have to format my drives; no big deal. I keep that in mind...

I'm currently checking with a reseller if he can get a CoolMax CD-509FW and at what price... could be cool cause he's friend of mine and I could send back the unit if it doesn't work (for whatever reason...).
Yes, a case is a case but some are a little less (hee hee!). Way2slo: of course, Mackie vs Behringer is a good comparison (even if Mackie VLZs have hell of good preamps but I'd go with Behringer too; for what I do, there's not gonna be a big difference to me... I'm not going Broadcast anyway and still don't use top-end microphones that could really take advantage of those preamps) But there's lots of RadioSnack/Ozden stuff out there too so... I always check my back ! ;)
I'm probably gonna put a drawer inside so I can swap a few drives in the future, that's the good thing about FiWire!

Thanks to all for your comments!

OT P.S.: way2slo: sorry for the Canucks... we're losing our sport, for chrissake!

Well, mine was formatted before I put it in the external kit and it still wouldn't work.

THAT is the reason I'm going through a friend to try the thing with possibility of returning it if there's a bug... ;)

I know they can't take larger than 120Go too but that's enough for my needs. I'll go with ADS on my last resort: your complaint, the price...

Thanks for advice

MY complaint was the support. ADS does very little support. Go to their forum and see what I mean. They have some unofficial spokesman that haunts the forum. To him, everything is a video driver problem.
Program won't run...video driver problem
Program crashes...video driver problem
Hardware overheats...video driver problem
My wife spends too much money...video driver problem

Do your own test, and make your own decision; I've made mine about ADS products. Good luck.

LOL!!! Maybe you must update your wife's driver too, or UNDERclock her !

Like I said, I'll go with it ***last resort*** : PRICE, a few complaints here and there, etc... And I think they should work a little bit more to stay up-to-date since I've been checking a few sites and a lot of enclosures now support ATA133 and up to 250Go drives...

Right now, I'm checking this out with a reseller-friend: I just want this *Oxford chip* in a *box* with *front opening* and a *fan* and that's it...

:D

Putting in a removable-drive caddy is a great idea, but may not work, depending on which caddy product you buy. In my case, I was only able to install an "InClose" caddy into my ADS Pyro firewire box with a bit of creative tweaking at the rear of the case. Specifically, I had to:

(1) remove one of the small cooling fan mounting screws,

(2) break off a corner of the cooling fan metal grille,

(3) gently bend a power connector over to a 45 degree angle on the Pyro circuit board, and

(4) fold the IDE ribbon connector cable accordion-style to make it fit in the small space available for it.

Don't get alarmed. It would be easier to show you than to put it in words, and you're not risking anything by bending the connector over a bit. There's plenty of "give" and you won't break anything off unless you flex it back and forth many times, like a coat hangar wire.

Bottom line: works great, but check to make sure your caddy tray will fit before you toss the caddy box and receipt.

I finally bought a "no name" enclosure, with the right chip into it and it works fine! I can capture directly to this unit and swap my drives now. Grrrreat!

So right now, I'm working with a mix from Riredale and Way2slo suggestions; thanks guys for advice, suggestions and all of you for "real life stories"!

futz

do *NOT* use a removable tray system with this!!!!!

I currently have 2 WD 7200rpm drives I'm prepping to get RMAs on from using HDD trays. And these are very decent, if no-name, trays.

It looks to have been some sort of power fluctuation, or at least that's what I am guessing, but the 2 drives I had in trays are now hosed, while the 2 other drives that had their own dedicated ADS enclosures are fine. The 2 failing drives no longer stay spun up, even when used directly on mainboard IDE cable. Nothing quite as much...depressing...as having 2 dead 120GB drives, and nothing to back all the data up to :(

Again, skip the trays...at the price the cages are going for, buy more cages.

My $.02