CRU drive - can i format to full size

[robert.wild]

hi all,

got a CRU drive i need to format and copy couple DCP's to it, then it will be sent to a cinema where they will play it, i know i need to format the CRU msdos ext2 but can i partition it the full size of the CRU drive ie 900G or partition only what the DCP's takes ie 150G

thanks,
rob

[mdudzik]

As long as the full size is below 2TB you can use it's full size, bigger would most likely not work with cinema server.

[Carsten]

You can also safely use NTFS, MBR/2TB max drive size. At least if you are based in windows.

[robert.wild]

yes the drive will be 900G as thats how big the CRU drive is, lets say i partition the drive 900G but only save a 150G DCP on it, will it take longer for them to ingest in on there server/projector?

[IoannisSyrogiannis]

No, because the ingest process is not transferring anything else but the DCP files.

[robert.wild]

mmm...because someone said to me they only partition the drives for the required DCP package and not the full size of the CRU drive, as they said it takes longer for the server/projector to ingest, so basically thats not true then what you guys are saying?

[IoannisSyrogiannis]

I am not sure what others would say, since you use plural, but that is not my experience, as far as the cine-servers I worked with are concerned.
What is true, is that if the number of DCPs in a drive is large, some cine-servers may take their time to read and list the DCPs in.
In that sense, if you carry a huge number of ads and trailers, or test patterns in a drive, it would be more practical to keep it to the necessary.

May be that the experience of that someone you mention was with a large partition that had numerous DCPs in and came to the conclusion that the size of the partition (instead of the number of the DCPs) has to do with the delay.

[robert.wild]

thanks for that clear up, much appreciated

[robert.wild]

when you say this

it would be more practical to keep it to the necessary

do you mean ONLY partition the drive to just the size of the DCP and add 10% just for headroom

or dont i have to bother and just partition the drive the full size

[IoannisSyrogiannis]

I am referring to the number of DCPs inside the partition.
I wanted to make a point in saying that the person who told you what they told you could have had a reason behind acting like that. But in which case their troubleshooting led to a solution that wouldn't need apply to everything. They kept the number of DCPs inside the drive small, because the partition that they made wouldn't hold many.

As far as the partition size goes, and given it doesn't brake any prerequisites (MBR, 2TB max, EXT2/3/NTFS), formatting the whole thing is just fine, and probably a lot less time consuming.

Bottom line:
If it was a multiple choice, I would go with "I don't have to bother and partition the entirety of the drive".
Ingest will be the same.