Secure Memory Card. Digital Photography Overview

The SD card is a proprietary, non-risky, flash memory card format developed by the SD Affiliation (SDA). They are available in three bodily varieties: the full-measurement SD, the smaller miniSD (now obsolete), and the smallest, microSD. Owing to their compact form factor, SD playing cards have been extensively adopted in a variety of portable shopper electronics, together with digital cameras, camcorders, video sport consoles, mobile phones, action cameras, and digicam drones. The format was introduced in August 1999 as Safe Digital by SanDisk, Panasonic (then generally known as Matsushita), and Kioxia (then part of Toshiba). It was designed as a successor to the MultiMediaCard (MMC) format, introducing a number of enhancements including a digital rights management (DRM) function, a extra durable physical casing, and a mechanical write-protect swap. These enhancements, combined with sturdy business help, contributed to its widespread adoption. To handle licensing and mental property rights, the founding corporations established SD-3C, LLC. In January 2000, they also formed the SD Affiliation, a non-profit group liable for developing the SD specifications and promoting the format.



As of 2023, the SDA includes approximately 1,000 member corporations. The association uses trademarked logos owned by SD-3C to implement compliance with official requirements and to indicate product compatibility. In 1994, SanDisk introduced the CompactFlash (CF) format, one in all the primary successful flash memory card varieties. CF outpaced several competing early codecs, together with the Miniature Card and SmartMedia. Nonetheless, the late nineteen nineties noticed a proliferation of proprietary codecs corresponding to Sony's Memory Stick and the xD-Image Card from Olympus and Fujifilm, Memory Wave leading to a fragmented memory card market. To deal with these challenges, SanDisk partnered with Siemens and Nokia in 1996 to develop a new postage stamp-sized memory card known as the MultiMediaCard (MMC). Whereas technically innovative, MMC adoption was sluggish, and even Nokia was gradual to integrate help for it into its mobile units. In 1999, SanDisk was approached by Panasonic (then often known as Matsushita) and Kioxia (then a part of Toshiba) to develop a brand new format as a second-era successor to MMC.



The purpose was to create a portable, high-performance memory card with built-in security options and broader interoperability. Involved about shedding market share to Sony's proprietary Memory Stick, Toshiba and Panasonic saw the collaboration as a possibility to ascertain an open, business-backed customary. Panasonic and Toshiba, who had beforehand collaborated on the Tremendous Density Disc (a DVD precursor), reused its stylized "SD" brand for the Secure Digital (SD) card format. Anticipating the growth of MP3 gamers, they also advocated for digital rights administration (DRM) help seeking to reassure content publishers cautious of piracy. The DRM system adopted-Content material Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM)-had been developed earlier in partnership with IBM focus and concentration booster Intel, and Intel and complied with the Secure Digital Music Initiative standard. Although usually cited as an element within the format's broad trade help, Memory Wave CPRM was rarely carried out in observe. SD playing cards also featured a mechanical write-protect switch, and early SD slots maintained backward compatibility with MMC playing cards. In response to SanDisk, consumer adoption was accelerated by Toshiba and Panasonic's dedication to launching compatible units in parallel with the playing cards.



To assist standardization and interoperability, SanDisk, Toshiba, and Panasonic introduced the creation of the SD Association (SDA) on the January 2000 Consumer Electronics Present (CES). Headquartered in San Ramon, California, the SDA initially included 30 member companies and has since grown to encompass around 800 organizations worldwide. On the March 2003 CeBIT trade present, SanDisk introduced and demonstrated the miniSD card format. The SD Affiliation (SDA) adopted miniSD later that year as a small-kind-factor extension to the SD card customary, meant primarily for use in cell phones. Nonetheless, the format was largely phased out by 2008 following the introduction of the even smaller microSD card. TransFlash title stays in common use as a generic time period for microSD cards. A passive adapter permits microSD playing cards to be utilized in customary SD card slots, maintaining backward compatibility throughout gadgets. The storage capability of SD playing cards elevated steadily throughout the 2010s, pushed by advances in NAND flash manufacturing and interface speeds. In January 2009, the SDA launched the Secure Digital prolonged Capacity (SDXC) format, supporting as much as 2 TB of storage and switch speeds up to 300 MB/s.



SDXC playing cards are formatted with the exFAT file system by default. The first SDXC playing cards appeared in 2010, with early fashions providing capacities of 32 to 64 GB and browse/write speeds of several hundred megabits per second. Consumer adoption accelerated as digital cameras, smartphones, and card readers gained SDXC compatibility. By 2011, manufacturers offered SDXC playing cards in 64 and 128 GB capacities, with some models supporting UHS Speed Class 10 and faster. The Secure Digital Extremely Capability (SDUC) specification, introduced in 2018, expanded most capability to 128 TB and increased theoretical switch speeds to 985 MB/s. There are 4 defined SD capacity requirements: Customary Capability (SDSC), High Capability (SDHC), Prolonged Capability (SDXC), and Extremely Capability (SDUC). In addition to specifying maximum storage limits, these standards additionally define most well-liked file methods for formatting playing cards. The original Secure Digital (SD) card was launched in 1999 as a successor to the MMC format. The title SD Customary Capability (SDSC) was applied later to differentiate it from newer variants.