View Full Version : --Help w/ wild P2 PCMCIA Hack--
dmpsk8
07-03-2008, 12:29 PM
As we pondered the constraints of our ever tightening equip budget we found this guy in our spare parts storage room:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/dmpsk8/hvxhack3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/dmpsk8/hvxhack2.jpg
Now it seems to me that this is possible. If we can get the HVX to play nice with the card (or something similar) you could record direct to your external HD. Unfortunately you would be limited firewire connections(400 or 800), but its a tempting idea. At the moment the HVX sees the card but calls it an "Incompatible Card". The adapter actually has a power input near the FW connections to bus power devices. This may play a factor as well but I'm not sure. Anybody hacked anything like this into a usable work flow? I'm thinking there might need to be some firmware work involved to get it to read.
Ideas & Input welcome.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/dmpsk8/hvxhack4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/dmpsk8/hvxhack1.jpg
David Saraceno
07-03-2008, 01:12 PM
good luck on this.
greeches
07-03-2008, 01:21 PM
Does it even talk to the hard drive? What have you seen so far?
dmpsk8
07-03-2008, 01:29 PM
I've gotta look more in depth as to how the cam recognizes P2 so we can attempt to fake it. As of yet the "incompatible card " messeage wont allow the HD to talk
dmpsk8
07-03-2008, 01:31 PM
good luck on this.
we're gonna need it, lol
ullanta
07-03-2008, 01:48 PM
Maybe you shouls apply for a job at Spec-Comm!
THoff
07-04-2008, 09:37 AM
Put the card back in the storage room, you are wasting your time. If you want to know why, search the forums, you're not the first to try this.
dmpsk8
07-04-2008, 06:30 PM
thanks for the input. there a a million ways to say what you just said- luckily you managed to come off sounding like a total prick. We searched for a while yesterday and couldnt find what we were lookin for
dont be so sensitive (or aggressive) dmpsk8. THoff makes a good point. a LOT of people have tried this before in several different ways and it comes down to there is a LOT more to the P2 card experience than just the physicality of the PCMCIA slot.
mpalmer12345
07-04-2008, 07:34 PM
Not having searched the forums with regard to this topic, I am perhaps stupidly wondering how much of this "incompatibility" with alternate P2 cards is simply a software shut-out. Has Panasonic made its software code for the HVX publicly available and hackable, so that we may study it, modify it and write our own specialized versions? (Knowing the risks, of course.)
gkantziper
07-04-2008, 08:23 PM
I use on of those for transferring files from my Firestore to an external drive via my Powerbook G4. By using the adapter in the PCMCIA slot, the transfer times are faster than Firestore "into" firewire 400 and "out" firewire 800 to external drive. I was told by someone who knows more than me that the PCMCIA slot is a different "bus" than firewire making for faster in/out speeds. Whatever the reason, it works for me!
ullanta
07-05-2008, 02:26 AM
Has Panasonic made its software code for the HVX publicly available and hackable, so that we may study it, modify it and write our own specialized versions? (Knowing the risks, of course.)
No.
Keep in mind, there is a big difference between a "software shut-out" and a lack of support for something you want to stick in your P2 slot. But: the P2 cameras only work with P2 cards in their slots. Nothing else is supported.
David Saraceno
07-05-2008, 09:48 AM
Cam has been out for two a half years.
Companies have tried to do something similar for two a half years.
Nobody has succeeded
buhce
07-05-2008, 11:26 AM
Anyone every tried modifying a p2 card?
dmpsk8
07-05-2008, 12:05 PM
we talked about it. kinda a big $ risk to start pullin p2's apart
buhce
07-05-2008, 07:19 PM
no reward without risk.heh
David Saraceno
07-05-2008, 07:34 PM
The best wisdom here is not to waste your money.
Andrew Brinkhaus
07-05-2008, 09:35 PM
I say go for it.
Without bravery nothing would advance. :beer:
...Just know what your getting yourself into prior.
smelni
07-05-2008, 09:42 PM
what is it that you are trying to accomplish? If you think you will come up with a cheaper/better solution than p2 or firestore then someone would have already done it - and probably someone with a lot more resources - i could list a dozen reasons why this is so complicated and therefore too expensive to warrant the effort.
Barry_Green
07-05-2008, 09:43 PM
It isn't going to work. We've been at this for over two years now, just about everything people have talked about has been tried. Spec-Comm says they pulled cards apart and found you cannot upgrade the chips in them. We've tried all manner of compactflash and SD adapters and firewire adapters, and the camera won't recognize any of them.
Listen to Barry and the others. This has been tried, over and over. Spec-Comm actually got a device to work, I saw it in action (ironically I am wearing a Cineporter shirt right now!)
What they discovered when they finally completed it was that the expense to produce it was so high that their potential market shrunk to almost nothing, especially given the Firestore and larger P2s. The device was VERY complicated, it required not only the P2 adapter but specialized hard drives with custom firmware.
Many suggested for them to try an adapter only but last I talked to someone they said it was "logistically impossible."
Bottom line, we just dont need this, not with the new FS firmwares and bigger cards. Not to mention the software solutions, why not just use the firewire out of the HVX and use software to dump the extra frames? End result is the same as 24PN.
ash =o)
Even if you could get this to work,
1) why would you want to tether your camera to a drive?
2) why would you rather use a spinning drive instead of a reliable solid state card?
The P2 system is beautiful because it is compact, quiet, and contains no moving parts nor cables to break.
Jason Miller
07-11-2008, 03:12 PM
something like this has been done, but i believe they used p2 cards, and hooked them to 2 hard drive(raided) that mounted under then camera. they were going to sell them, but then the 16gbs came out, with a prediction of the 32 gbs coming soon after so the project went away, with the 32gbs out and the 64s comeing sometime down the road just look for used 16 8 and 4 gb cards, these suckers last forever, so even the olf 4gb cards still work like a charm.
Jimmy Moss
07-11-2008, 03:23 PM
I thought about trying to rig something up and then realized the time it would take to do it I could just get a second job and earn the $ needed to buy another P2 card in less time.
But thats no fun. :cry:
something like this has been done, but i believe they used p2 cards, and hooked them to 2 hard drive(raided) that mounted under then camera. they were going to sell them, but then the 16gbs came out, with a prediction of the 32 gbs coming soon after so the project went away, with the 32gbs out and the 64s comeing sometime down the road just look for used 16 8 and 4 gb cards, these suckers last forever, so even the olf 4gb cards still work like a charm.
Yes, as referenced above, it was called the Cineporter.
ash =o)
THoff
07-12-2008, 12:44 AM
The Cineporter did not modify or use P2 cards. It happened to use a connector that looked like two P2 cards to the HVX, but it wasn't some hack that anyone with a few old 4GB P2 cards and a soldering iron can duplicate.
Spec-Comm
07-12-2008, 06:10 AM
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=40521&highlight=cineporter
Spec-Comm
07-12-2008, 09:14 AM
We still have a few CinePorter t-shirts left. If you are interested in one let PM me and we can get one out to you. We may just need a couple of dollars to ship but you have the shirt for free.
Andrew Hoffman
The Cineporter did not modify or use P2 cards. It happened to use a connector that looked like two P2 cards to the HVX, but it wasn't some hack that anyone with a few old 4GB P2 cards and a soldering iron can duplicate.
Well aware, I messed with one in person. Bottom line, this idea, even if possible, is not practical.
ash =o)
Bob Gruen
07-14-2008, 10:09 AM
Put the card back in the storage room, you are wasting your time. If you want to know why, search the forums, you're not the first to try this.
thanks for the input. there a a million ways to say what you just said- luckily you managed to come off sounding like a total prick. We searched for a while yesterday and couldnt find what we were lookin for
Careful, THoff is one of the most knowledgable and helpful people on this board. His post does not really cast a negative light on him, but yours...