P2 Genie for Windows is out!

Now, Tony. I definitely think you should talk with Panasonic about licensing this to them or selling it to them so they incorporate it into the P2 viewer, because this program should integrated right from the get go. No one should be without it!!!!!
Click to expand...

Do us a favor though and tell us before you sell it to them since there is always a chance they might ask a higher price.
 
for_mlove said:
I've been using my HVX to shot weddings and other projects where I'm using multiple cards worth of footage for one product. For me, it is worth way more than $33 to be able to compile the cards into one folder.
Click to expand...

Does it actually mix all the contents into one folder, or does it keep P2 dumps separate in each in it's own folder under 1 master directory?
 
You have a choice. You can dump into separate folders based on a (optionally autoincrementing) reel number or based on the date & time, or you can dump everything into one folder.
 
and it works without opening the laptop? Okay then - it's pretty sweet.

As far as dumping everything into one folder goes - isn't that pretty much a no no directly from Panasonic itself. It seems like it has only created headaches in these forums and everywhere else.
 
I wouldn't say it's a "no no" per se, but you're right that it's not too appropriate workflow. In version 1.2 we're putting the "single folder" feature into the application as a seperate tool so that your cards are still backed up in one place and you can "collate" selected cards/folders into a single folder for easy import.
 
It can operate in automatic mode where it kicks off the copy operation as soon as a card is inserted, or you can leave it in manual mode. Verification and erasing are also optional, as is copying the contents to a second location.

Copying the contents should not be a problem, the file names are unique. I think there is a rollover at some point so that ultimately you could wind up with duplicate names, but you'd have to shoot alot and always put everything into one folder. I haven't run into problems yet.
 
You're right. Version 1.2 will put files into a "conflicting files" folder instead of overwriting them. Next version will also allow for copying from first destination to second destination instead of copying from the P2 source two times. This will dramatically reduce transfer times if you're copying to drives on different busses. If you're copying to two different drives on the same bus then you would propably want to copy from the P2 source every time.
 
tlorenzo said:
Next version will also allow for copying from first destination to second destination instead of copying from the P2 source two times.
Click to expand...
Why bother reading it twice? You should read from the P2 card once, and simultaneously write it to the two destinations using overlapped I/O and I/O completion ports. That would cut the I/O volume down by 1/4 (one read and two writes instead of two reads and two writes).
 
Nathan Beaman said:
As far as dumping everything into one folder goes - isn't that pretty much a no no directly from Panasonic itself. It seems like it has only created headaches in these forums and everywhere else.
Click to expand...
No, that's not what it's doing. Stuffing all the file types into one folder would indeed cause problems, but we should use better terminology: the P2 Genie can copy the cards into one "virtual P2 Card" (not just a "folder"). So all the proper subdirectories are maintained.
 
THoff said:
Why bother reading it twice? You should read from the P2 card once, and simultaneously write it to the two destinations using overlapped I/O and I/O completion ports. That would cut the I/O volume down by 1/4 (one read and two writes instead of two reads and two writes).
Click to expand...

Exept that's not really the way file copies generally work in Windows because it would require that I read everything into a memory buffer before writing it to disk- and that would take forever and require a LOT of memory on the client. I might be able to do it in C++ using low-level procedures, but that could mean a lot of trouble so I'm much more inclined to use the .NET Framework for things like that - in which case I don't have to worry about memory management :)
 
Barry_Green said:
No, that's not what it's doing. Stuffing all the file types into one folder would indeed cause problems, but we should use better terminology: the P2 Genie can copy the cards into one "virtual P2 Card" (not just a "folder"). So all the proper subdirectories are maintained.
Click to expand...

Exactly - but in version 1.2 we will make this feature AND a "Collate to Avid" feature which allow the user to take any number of P2 "folders" and dump the MXF files into a single folder either by copying the files or moving them (which I realise is a crude way to handle your source footage) - but hey - more power to the user, right? ;-)
 
Does the licence permit installing on two machines?. Eg laptop and desktop(NLE).

I feel that I will need it on both for a good workflow routine.

I have had to do this with (Serious MAgic) DVCPro Encoder and of course with P2 Viewer.

Serious Magic are (officially) fine about the 2 installs despite their licence permitting one.

Look forward to buying it next week.
 
Yes - the license for the Windows version does allow you to install the application on up to two machines as long as you don't run it on both simultaneously.
 
soarprod said:
Is version 1.1 out? I never got a e-mail upgrade notice.
Click to expand...

PM me your e-mail address or send me an e-mail and I'll send you the link for the update. Some users have not received the e-mail because of junk/spam mail settings either on their machine or on their servers.
 
Tony,

P2 Genie is fantastic. Its simple, effective and saves me time.

Just wanted to say thanks!!! [morganfilms@hotmail.com]

Shame that the P2 viewer that Panasonic produced has never worked on my PC [it just hangs as it loads the program for some reason].

For such a small price, P2 Genie is well worth it.

I love the way it reads the data from each clip and presents it with the preview as they are transfering [a good way to get re-acquainted with what you've shot !!!!]

I look forward to version 1.2 !

Thanks again,

Richard M.
 
majormorgan said:
Shame that the P2 viewer that Panasonic produced has never worked on my PC [it just hangs as it loads the program for some reason].
Click to expand...
That is likely caused by some removable drive that has no media in it -- something like a SD/CF/xD/MS card reader.

What you may want to do is create a separate hardware profile (Control Panel -> System -> Hardware) that doesn't include whatever device is causing P2 Viewer grief.
 
Thanks THoff,

I'll give that a try. There are a number of ports [a multi reader] that are open. I'll look into what you said about profiles, I'm just wondering if that will affect me using the ports afterwards.

Many thanks!!

Majomorgan
 
Hey Tony,

Very cool! Please send me the latest version of P2 Genie. I believe you have my email address. If not, PM me.

I haven't forgotten about the Avid feature, I just haven't had much time to work it out fully.
 
If it is an external card reader (a USB or Firewire device), just unplug it. If it is internal, then the easiest thing is having separate hardware profiles. You would have to decide at boot time which profile (and hardware) you wish to use.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top