Sony Memory Stick vs. SD Speed Classes
Comparing 2 standards across 13 specifications. 13 key differences identified.
Memory Stick is a proprietary removable solid-state flash memory card format introduced by Sony in 1998. Evolving across standard, PRO (expanded capacity), Duo (compact form factor), PRO-HG Duo (60 MB/s high-speed), and Micro M2 variants, it featured Sony's MagicGate hardware DRM copy protection across Cyber-shot cameras, Handycam camcorders, VAIO laptops, and the PlayStation Portable (PSP).
SD Speed Classes are standardized performance metrics defined by the SD Association to guarantee minimum sustained write speeds for uninterrupted video recording and random IOPS execution for applications. They encompass legacy Speed Class (C2–C10), UHS Speed Class (U1/U3), Video Speed Class (V6–V90), and Application Performance Class (A1/A2).
Specification Comparison Table
13 Parameters| Parameter / Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Proprietary Standard
|
Sony Corporation (with SanDisk for PRO formats) | — |
|
Standard Memory Stick Size
|
50.0 mm × 21.5 mm × 2.8 mm (10-pin interface) | — |
|
Memory Stick Duo Size
|
31.0 mm × 20.0 mm × 1.6 mm (10-pin interface) | — |
|
Memory Stick Micro (M2) Size
|
15.0 mm × 12.5 mm × 1.2 mm (11-pin interface) | — |
|
Key Format Generations
|
Original (up to 128MB), PRO (up to 32GB), PRO-HG Duo (8-bit parallel, up to 60 MB/s), Micro M2 | — |
|
Hardware DRM Security
|
MagicGate (Cryptographic copy protection for ATRAC3 audio / secure media) | — |
|
Operating Voltages
|
2.7V–3.6V (Standard) / 1.8V (Dual-voltage M2) | — |
|
Speed Class (Legacy C-Class)
|
— | Class 2 (2 MB/s), Class 4 (4 MB/s), Class 6 (6 MB/s), Class 10 (10 MB/s) |
|
UHS Speed Class (U-Class)
|
— | U1 (10 MB/s min sustained write), U3 (30 MB/s min sustained write) |
|
Video Speed Class (V-Class)
|
— | V6 (6 MB/s), V10 (10 MB/s), V30 (30 MB/s), V60 (60 MB/s), V90 (90 MB/s) |
|
App Performance Class A1
|
— | 10 MB/s sequential, Min 1,500 Read IOPS, Min 500 Write IOPS |
|
App Performance Class A2
|
— | 10 MB/s sequential, Min 4,000 Read IOPS, Min 2,000 Write IOPS (requires Command Queue & Host Cache) |
|
Guaranteed Metric
|
— | Minimum sustained sequential write speed on fragmented NAND (never peak burst speed) |