Upgrading PC with PCMCIA for P2

[markyramone62]

Greetings from Downunder! I'm a new HVX200 owner on a steep learning curve (transitioning from my old Sony PDX10). Loving the camera but there's a lot to get my head around concerning P2 management and Avid workflow.

I'd like to upgrade my PC with a PCMCIA slot (not a USB adapter) and would appreciate any tips and advice. I live in a country town and will probably have to order the part. A quick search found this:

http://www.elandigitalsystems.com/adapter/p111.php

Am I on the right track?

Thanks and great forum everyone!

[David Jimerson]

It's got the right specs, but I'd find a front-bay one like this:

http://www.amtron.com/reader/pcdtp110cs.htm

[Tom 4]

That's good advice david, the front mounted reader in a PC is great to use, rear entry (I've tried them) they work but it's a huge pain to insert/eject the cards. yes the raer cards are a third of the price of the Amtron, but in my opinion they are not worth the hassel.
Mark, make sure before you order that your PC has PCI slots not PCIe, the Amtron card only works in a PCI slot machine, Windows or mac.
and make sure you load the pana P2 driver and the reader driver (if XP/vista dosen't load it)

Goodluck
Tom k
in sunny vic.

[Mark Williams]

I have had the Amtron front card reader for about 8 weeks now and it works fine. It is a 32-bit card so it must work with a 32-bit operating system. That kind of 'blows' if you had planned to use Vista 64 and huge amounts of ram. One small thing, at least on mine, when inserting the P2 card the card must be perfectly level or it will not "seat" in the reader. Now that I know this it is not a problem but it did cause me some initial concern. Took about 15 minutes to install.

Hope this helps.

[Tom 4]

Hi Mark,

That insertion should not happen, if you bought the reader new, I'm sure Amtron would replace it, they are good to deal with in my experience...

Cheers
Tom K

[markyramone62]

Thanks Tom (and everyone else). Good advice.
Nice to hear from Victoria, I'm from Melbourne but have been "embedded" in Crow territory for about 25 years. To make matters worse I'm a Collingwood supporter so it's unbearable here this week. I hope we kick the living s*** out of them!
Mark.

[Tom 4]

Hi Mark,
You'd be a Tuna lover as well no doubt ? crows don't taste so good.
check out the latest item from sonnet (the Qio reader) you may be interested down the track--
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/qio.html
maybe the holy grail of readers for some time to come, if the stats are correct.

Cheers
From Mildura vic, (Hawks country, my wife is collingwood fan)
Tom K
olinevideo.com.au (http://www.olinevideo.com.au/)

[kentbear]

I have had the Amtron front card reader for about 8 weeks now and it works fine. It is a 32-bit card so it must work with a 32-bit operating system. That kind of 'blows' if you had planned to use Vista 64 and huge amounts of ram. One small thing, at least on mine, when inserting the P2 card the card must be perfectly level or it will not "seat" in the reader. Now that I know this it is not a problem but it did cause me some initial concern. Took about 15 minutes to install.

Hope this helps.

Hi Mark, can check with you. Does the Amtron card reader works with all series of P2 cards? R Series, A Series and the newest E Series? Interested to get the Amtron PCD-TP-110CS. Are you also using the same model?

[David Jimerson]

It has worked with every P2 card I've put in it, though I haven't tried any E-series. That would simply be a Panasonic driver issue, though; the slot is the slot.

[Mark Williams]

No problem with the R-series. Have not tried the E-series. It would be nice if someone knows for sure.