SxS

For the Microsoft Windows SxS, see Side-by-side assembly. For the telephone switching system, see Strowger switch. For the Side by Side all terrain vehicle, see Side by Side (UTV).

SxS (S-by-S) is a flash memory standard compliant to the Sony and SanDisk-created ExpressCard standard. According to Sandisk and Sony, the cards have transfer rates of 800 Mbit/s and burst transfer rate of up to 2.5 Gbit/s^[1][2] over the ExpressCard's PCI Express interface. Sony uses these cards as the storage medium for their XDCAM EX line of professional video cameras.

Sony 8GB SxS memory card SBP-8, for use with XDCAM EX

Compatibility

The card can be inserted directly into an ExpressCard slot, available on many notebooks. However, it will only work in Windows and Mac OS X, and only with a Sony device driver installed on the machine. Experimental Linux drivers are also available.^[3]

The only universal connectivity for these cards is the Sony SBAC-US10 and Sony SBAC-US20. These external USB adapters will make the cards visible to any system as an external USB hard drive. The Sony SBAC-US20 uses the USB 3.0 interface and has a suggested retail price of US$350.^[4]

SxS PRO+

SxS PRO+ is a faster version of SxS designed for the recording of 4K resolution video.^[5][6] SxS Pro+ has a guaranteed minimum recording speed of 1.3 Gbit/s and an interface with a theoretical maximum speed of 8 Gbit/s.^[5][6]

SxS PRO+ media cards are used on three CineAlta cameras which are the Sony PMW-F55 Sony PMW-F5, and the Sony Venice.^[7][8] The XAVC recording format can record 4K resolution at 60 fps with 4:2:2 chroma subsampling at 600 Mbit/s.^[5][6] A 128 Gigabyte SxS PRO+ media card can record up to 20 minutes of 4K resolution XAVC video at 60 fps, up to 40 minutes of 4K resolution XAVC video at 30 fps, and up to 120 minutes of 2K resolution XAVC video at 30 fps.^{[5][6][9][10]}

See also

• XAVC - A recording format that can be used with SxS PRO+ media cards

References

1. "SANDISK AND SONY ANNOUNCE SxS™ MEMORY CARD SPECIFICATION FOR PROFFESIONAL CAMCORDERS". Sony Group Portal - Sony Global Headquarters.
2. Sandisk and Sony make yet another flash memory spec 2007-04-21 at the Wayback Machine
3. "kierank/sxs-linux: Attempt to write a Linux driver for Sony SxS cards. Please test and report back". 2019-10-30.
4. "SBACUS20". Sony. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
5. "Ultra-fast "SxS PRO+" memory cards transform 4K video capture". Sony. Retrieved 2012-11-05.
6. "Ultra-fast "SxS PRO+" memory cards transform 4K video capture" (PDF). Sony. Retrieved 2012-11-05.
7. "Sony supports "Beyond HD" strategy with new full sensor cameras". broadcastengineering.com. 2012-10-30. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
8. Steve Dent (2012-10-30). "Sony goes Red-hunting with PMW-F55 and PMW-F5 pro CineAlta 4K Super 35mm sensor camcorders". Engadget. Retrieved 2012-11-05.
9. "F55 CineAlta 4K the future, ahead of schedule" (PDF). Sony. 2012-10-30. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
10. "F5 CineAlta 4K truly gorgeous HD" (PDF). Sony. 2012-10-30. Retrieved 2012-11-01.