p2 viewer problems

[Jeff In Ocala]

i downloaded the p2 viewer installed the usb drivers from my cd that came with the camera installed the p2 viewer but when i launch the program it says loading clips in the lower right hand corner and that it. it never loads anything and when i click on the file menu on top it says program not responding. i have my camera connected with usb the compuer recognizes it i can navigate to the p2 cards and see the contents folders just can't seem to get p2 viewer to do anything. any thoughts or help is as always appreciated.

[Jeff In Ocala]

guess no one has any thoughts on this

[MrPolarBare]

I can't even get my P2 Viewer to work. I have been unable to see one single clip in this utility. Also, I can't find documentation anywhere on it. Plus, it wasn't included on the CD that came with the camera.

So, absolutely no help section up in the Program menus.
and
It is not included on the CD that comes with the camera.

Wow, this sounds like a really great solution. Way to be on top of it Panny. The only reason I haven't asked for help on it, is because I feel like a retard, not being able to figure out a simple Viewer program on my own. It is nice to know I am not the only one lost in this little program.

Oh, sorry I couldn't help.

Mike

[Jeff In Ocala]

lol thanks mike i thought it was just me must be something in the Florida water!! What are you editing on i am in the process of getting a new non linear system and can't decide on FCP or Canopus i am going to NAB and see if i can get some hands on with each.

[MrPolarBare]

Well, I messed with both. Edius seemed to support MXF better than FCP. I don't know FCP very well, so maybe I was doing something wrong, but it didn't seem that great (compared to all of the praise I hear in these forums). Edius, I could drop the MXF file onto the timeline and BAM...instant realtime playback. I didn't get that same effect in FCP. Like I said, maybe I was doing something wrong. Also, I was using FCP on an 1.3GHz iMac, so maybe that was the problem.

With all of that said, I am actually using Premiere Pro 2 with the Raylight codec. Currently the Adobe solution isn't as good as the two you have mentioned, but I think it is a very workable solution. Hopefully, the next PP update will give some good MXF support. The reason I stayed with Adobe is because of their new Dynamic Link between their programs. I use After Effects a lot (more than my actual NLE program), so integration with AE is key. Plus with the newest 1.04 update of Raylight, playback speed inside of your editing program is almost a non-issue now at full quality, and silky-smooth at medium quality.

My advice is unless you got a hole burning in your pocket, stick with what you already know. Every major NLE has working solution for these new MXF files. Some are better than others. But, I think in a year or so, it won't matter as much. I think you'll see fairly good integration in all NLE programs.

[Digital Angel]

Hey people, i dont have a problem installing the windows PCMA slot driver for the P2's, however no 1, i aint got a viewer i have a manager only. No 2, im plugging my camera in through the usb 2.0 plug into the back of my pc, but in installation it does not detect the camera, any ideas how to fix these issues?

[DC]

I haven't had any problems with this so I don't know what to tell you.

Installed the drivers with the HVX connected and then I installed the P2 Viewer program. It all seems to work fine.

[DC]

Hey people, i dont have a problem installing the windows PCMA slot driver for the P2's, however no 1, i aint got a viewer i have a manager only. No 2, im plugging my camera in through the usb 2.0 plug into the back of my pc, but in installation it does not detect the camera, any ideas how to fix these issues?

There's a button you have to hold down for a few seconds for the camera to go into PC mode. I forget which as I don't have the camera in front of me right now.

[MrPolarBare]

Hey people, i dont have a problem installing the windows PCMA slot driver for the P2's, however no 1, i aint got a viewer i have a manager only. No 2, im plugging my camera in through the usb 2.0 plug into the back of my pc, but in installation it does not detect the camera, any ideas how to fix these issues?
Yeah, I know your problem. It stumped me for a few minutes too. The button on the back of your camera that you use to switch between camera and MCR modes. Hold it down for 2-3 seconds to enter host mode. I believe by default the camera is setup for Firewire host mode instead of USB host mode. Go into your menu settings and make sure to change it to USB host mode. I beleive this is the trick you are looking for.

[MrPolarBare]

I haven't had any problems with this so I don't know what to tell you.

Installed the drivers with the HVX connected and then I installed the P2 Viewer program. It all seems to work fine.
How does the program work? How do I load a MXF file into the viewer? Can it read MXF's off of my hard drive or my P2 Store? I can't seem to find any menu that allows me to import MXF's. Also, like I said before, there are no instructions or documentation that I could find on the Viewer program.

[Erik Olson]

How did you connect the HVX? The USB cable didn't come with my camera. My dealer indicated that he could get one for me - is everyone having to source this odd USB 2 cable on their own?

Oh, here's that address for P2 firmware updates and a quick tutorial for how to check your firmware version:

http://www.panasonic.ca/english/broadcast/P2/links.asp

e

[MrPolarBare]

You can buy the cable anywhere. You can get it on eBay for under $5 shipped. You are looking for a USB mini 5 pin cable. Just look at the picture to confirm that it will fit in your USB port on your camera.

[P2metoo]

The Spec for P2 Viewer DirectX version 9C is very critical
When only the driver for the P2 equipment has been installed without the card bus driver, the card may not be displayed under a user account without administrative rights. Be sure to use it with a user account with administrative rights.

Operating Environment


Microsoft(R) Windows 2000 SP4, Microsoft(R) Windows XP Professional SP2, or newer OS.
Microsoft(R) DirectX 9.0b or newer version must be installed. (This can be downloaded from the Microsoft website (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/).)
Full-color (32-bit) display, and an audio function.
The P2 driver included with the P2 product must be installed.
DVCPROHD format clips cannot be played back on personal computers that do not have a CPU that supports SSE2 instructions such as Pentium M, Pentium 4, Pentium D or Celeron D.
Recommended environment to play back DVCPRO HD format clips
CPU: Pentium D (3.2GHz or greater)
RAM: 1GB or greater
About P2 viewer playback
Playback performance of P2 viewer depends on CPU or graphics of PC.
Depending on the personal computer, dropped image frames, disconnected sound, misaligned display of the current bar or time code may occur when playing back images. Additionally, depending on the materials, a single frame step can't be executed. Please note and acknowledge the above.
When recording formats are mixed in the bin area, they may not sort in the order of the start TC and duration.
Even when connecting/disconnecting P2 equipment or the P2 card to/from the equipment connected via USB, clips in the bin area may not be updated. When this happens, click [Refresh] in the [Display] menu.
When using a card with 8 GB or more on P2 equipment and the time for one continuous recording exceeds the time shown in the table below, the recording automatically continues as another clip.
The P2 Viewer will display, remove, and copy the separate clips by treating them as one clip.
In addition, the maximum number of clips with text memos and voice memos is 100 per separated clip. Recording formatRecording timeDVCPRO HD*Approx. 5 minDVCPRO50Approx. 10 minDVCPRO/DVApprox. 20 min* DVCPRO HD doesn't include 720P/30PN and 720P/24PN.
If you haven't registered [User Name] in [Setting] from the [Tool] menu of the P2 Viewer, the name set in the [Name] field (according to settings, it may be displayed as [User name]) of the user account is used as a last update person when changing metadata. For Windows 2000, the user account name is used.
[Change Name] from [User Account] in Control Panel for Windows XP changes the [Full Name] field of the user account, not to change the [Name] field. To change the [Name] field for a user account, follow the procedure described below:
Right-click [My Computer] and click [Management].
Click and expand [Local User and Group].
Click [User].
Right-click the account to change and click [Change Name].
Please refer to the table below and use P2 viewer with accepting those limitation.

USB 2.0PC systemP2 driveP2 devices
except P2 driveDVCPRO HD playbackNormal playbackYes*NoCPU : Pentium D, 3.2 GHz
RAM : 1 GBFull screen playbackYes*NoDVCPRO 50
playbackNormal playbackYesYesCPU : Pentium 4, 1.5 GHz
RAM : 512 MBFull screen playbackYes*Yes*DVCPRO/DV playbackNormal playbackYesYesFull screen playbackYesYes

Yes : Playback is possible without any problem.
Yes* : Playback is possible, however frame-drop or freeze-frame would occur occasionally.
No : Playback is not possible because data transfer speed is not enough.
Playback performance depends on performance of PC used or running conditions. When playing back from a hard disk drive, it also depends on performance and conditions of the hard disk drive.
Note :
P2 clips of DVCPRO HD format can be played back on PCs with CPU supporting SSE2 instruction code such as Pentium M, Pentium 4, Pentium D and Celeron D, and it can not be played back on PCs with Pentium III, Athlon or Athlon XP.
Block noises may occur occasionally when P2 clips which are rendered by using non-linear editing software are played back.

[Digital Angel]

But where is the $%^&ing sony h%^&ing P2 viewer. I have a manager, and that seems to be all that installed. il check the disk again but mabe its screwed up somewhere. I can manage my P2 cards, give them cute little names. But seeing whats on the damn things, beats me, beats me with a big damn stick.

any ideas , il update if i manage to find this viewer.

[bherr]

The P2 viewer works, but you have to keep the file organization on your HD the same as it is on a p2 card:"Contents" folder containing video, Audio, etc. folders. Then you have add the folder (in the P2 Viewer program) as a virtual p2 card and select it to view the contents. The icons should show when you get it right. It's awkward but faster than loading Avid to get a quick look at a clip.

[bherr]

Here's Panasonic's viewer download page:

https://sec.panasonic.biz/sav/sec-cgi-bin/p2viewer/dlp2v.cgi?mylang=EN

[Digital Angel]

thank you, phew, thought something was missing in the box there

[Green Hornet]

How did you connect the HVX? The USB cable didn't come with my camera. My dealer indicated that he could get one for me - is everyone having to source this odd USB 2 cable on their own?

Oh, here's that address for P2 firmware updates and a quick tutorial for how to check your firmware version:

http://www.panasonic.ca/english/broadcast/P2/links.asp

e



Look for a place that sells ipods, or accesories.
It is a standard cable that that type of device uses, in fact walmart has them.

[Erik Olson]

Got it at Radio Shack today. Thanks.

e

[MrPolarBare]

OK, I figured out how to do it. Here is what I've got step by step...



Make a new folder.

Copy your P2 Card content into the folder (CONTENTS folder and LAST CLIP txt file).

In your P2 Viewer go to the top Menu and Select Tool>Setting Virtual P2 Cards.

Click the first little icon (the one that looks greyed out for some stupid reason)

Now navigate to the folder that you put the P2 Content in.

Now back in the P2 Viewer where it says "All P2 Cards" with the blue box behind it...right-click that and change the setting to "All Virtual P2 Cards"

Now your clips should pop up and you can begin viewing.

[Milezee]

That had me beat too! Its the little greyed out Icon that is confusing.

Well done and thanks Polar bear.