Memory card reader
A memory card reader , memory card reader , shortly card reader , Eng. A (media) card reader is a device that reads and writes to memory cards such as CF or SD cards on which a. Images from digital cameras or audio files from MP3 players can be saved. This usually requires a PC and, if necessary, the software required for the device .
Memory card readers are available in both external and internal forms. The external form is a small box that is connected to the PC with a USB or, rarely, a FireWire cable, or can be plugged directly into a USB socket in the form of a pen. The internal form is located as a permanently installed slot in the PC case, usually in 3.5 "format, and is connected to the motherboard via a cable . This connection can be made via USB, SATA or IDE . There are also readers for notebooks in In the form of a PCMCIA / CardBus card , a passive adapter is sufficient for CompactFlash cards, since CompactFlash is compatible with the PCMCIA slot.
Today's memory card readers can be categorized according to the number and type of slots as follows: Single Card Reader (e.g. 1x SD), Multi Card Reader (e.g. 9-in-1) and Series Card Reader (e.g. 4x SD only).
One of the distinguishing features of memory card readers with several slots is the simultaneous (simultaneous) data traffic. Devices with this functionality make it possible to read or write simultaneously from at least two memory cards inserted in any slot, up to and including data transfer from card to card. The number of simultaneous data streams is fixed depending on the model and is less than or equal to the number of slots. It corresponds to the number of drives that appear in the computer. A device for simultaneous data traffic with two cards registers two drives. For devices for a maximum of four simultaneous data streams there are four drives, in which for as many cards as the maximum can be inserted, there is one drive for each slot. Card readers without the ability to transfer data at the same time report themselves as only a single drive and direct the data stream to the slot with a memory card in it. As soon as a card is inserted in more than one slot, read and write access is canceled.
Some devices known as card reader combo drives also contain a drive for 3.5 ″ floppy disks .
External USB xD memory card reader
External USB memory card reader with four slots for accommodating common media; a CF card is inserted and recognized
IDE card reader for CompactFlash cards
Internal multi-memory card reader for a 3.5 "slot of a desktop computer
