Anybody Confirm This At DVExpo?

David Saraceno

David Saraceno

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An attendee at DVExpo claims he saw a mockup at the Panasonic booth and the Panny represenative indicated the following:

"It's similar in size to the P2 Store, but with 2 slots and a flip up screen.

Connectors:
P2 slots
SD slot
FW400 in/out (2)
FW800 in/out
RCA audio out (one channel 1, one channel 2)
HD/SD-SDI out
BNC out
Component out (D connector)

Features:
-Play back from cards /view thumbnail (like in MCR mode on the HVX)
-1394 Host mode- for offload to an external HDD (thru 6-pin FW, so bus power is possible!)
-1394 Device mode- for offload to computer, etc
-Can be used as an edit deck: Firewire passthrough to SDI, Component, and BNC
-Powered by a camcorder battery like the P2 Store.

According to the rep, it's supposed to released next summer for... wait for it....... $400-$500."

over at dvinfo.net
 
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David:

Did you see the pictures of the mock up further down in that thread? Looks pretty interesting.

Dan
 
If it actually supports bus power for external drives, then this could be interesting indeed. Can you strap an external hard disk onto it so it becomes an ultra-P2 Store?

Might be a way to replace a laptop on-set; I mean, it sounds like it'd do the job of P2 Viewer, and with an external hard disk attached it'd do the job of the P2 Store too, right? If it supplies bus-power so it becomes completely portable and free from AC for both the unit and the drive, that could be very interesting.
 
A p2 store for 500 bucks is a breakthrough in my mind that makes it completely worth it, going off of the only option we currently have, and Barry's research on what it would cost to make a p2 store.

I'm glad to see options (if indeed this comes to fruition) that illustrate Panasonics desire to get p2 out onto the market more quickly. I have had (minor) fears of expresscard trumping the pcmcia interface and what that may have entailed.

Jason
 
It wouldn't be a P2 Store by itself though. There's no storage in that unit (as I read it). All storage would be to your own external hard disks, unless I'm wrong here.
 
puredrifting said:
David:

Did you see the pictures of the mock up further down in that thread? Looks pretty interesting.

Dan
Click to expand...

I did. I wish Panasonic would confirm the existence of this, or if it is done merely to test the waters.

Currently, the issue of firewire transfers to a Mac using a 4x6 pin FW cable really trouble me and others.

p2 store is a pricey option still. It is kinda hard to believe that Panasonic would undercut that product by two thirds while retaining most of its functionality.
 
Ahh, you are right Barry. Even so, one could use it as a p2 store by having an external plugged into it, right? At least that frees up your camera. P2 stor-esque then. Still a nice idea, nonetheless. And you can fill up a drive with your 15 partitions, then just plug up another drive. Or maybe I don't know

Jason
 
That is my point. How do you free up your cam and offload footage easily without a $1500 p2 store, a cheap laptop, or something else?

If some reader were available to under the $1k price point, it would sell like hotcakes, whatever that means.
 
Panasonic has said they'd have a harddrive-based device for offloading the SD cards used in their new AVCHD-based consumer HD cameras. They certainly won't sell alot of those offloading devices to consumers if the price is more than that of their cameras.

Panasonic might be trying to kill two birds with one stone here and put both P2 and SD slots into the thing. Could be very cool.
 
Even so, one could use it as a p2 store by having an external plugged into it, right?
Click to expand...
That's what I'm hoping, yes. That would be, in my eyes, even *more* useful than the P2 Store, because I could hand that drive over to a client at the end of the shoot. Or use a larger drive, etc.
 
David S. said:
It is kinda hard to believe that Panasonic would undercut that product by two thirds while retaining most of its functionality.
Click to expand...
Not hard to believe at all, from where I view things. Look at the HVX; about 80% of the picture quality of the VariCam for 10% of the price. Or the HDX900, does 1080/24p and 1080/30p (but no variable frame rates) at about 1/3 the price of the VariCam.

If the P2 Store is obsolete, Panasonic won't hold other products back just to "protect" the P2 Store. Maybe this new thing is the reason they haven't introduced a larger P2 Store?

Heck, this looks like it'd probably work with USB-OTG too, so you could probably use it as the offload station to USB-OTG if you need to have a cheap drive to hand over to someone at the end of the shoot.
 
THoff said:
Panasonic has said they'd have a harddrive-based device for offloading the SD cards used in their new AVCHD-based consumer HD cameras. They certainly won't sell alot of those offloading devices to consumers if the price is more than that of their cameras.

Panasonic might be trying to kill two birds with one stone here and put both P2 and SD slots into the thing. Could be very cool.
Click to expand...

I don't think so, they showed pictures of the AVC-HD product and it was nothing like this, it was more like a mini P2 Store with an SD card slot. No monitor, no playback/shuttle controls, certainly no HD-SDI output.

But, IIRC, that AVC-HD reader/drive device was supposed to go for $400-$500. So, maybe the Panasonic rep who talked about this product got it wrong? Confused products maybe?
 
Whatever it is, the interest in it and this thread points to a pent up demand to provide an inexpensive offloading device that frees up the camera.

At least that's how I see it.
 
Even if the price is wrong and it's the same as the current P2 Store, it would give you far more bang for the buck. No matter how you look at it, it's a welcome development.
 
For $400 - $500 this would be one hell of a bargain.

I am more than a bit skeptical about the quoted price.
 
THoff said:
Even if the price is wrong and it's the same as the current P2 Store, it would give you far more bang for the buck. No matter how you look at it, it's a welcome development.
Click to expand...
Except that as-is, it has no storage. It's a playback unit but not a P2 Store. So that's why I'm asking if you can connect storage to it; if it can offload directly to a cheap hard disk then it becomes a serious contender.
 
If you CAN connect a cheap hard drive to it and with Panasonics free 8gig P2 card deal, I'll seriously be re-thinking getting a HVX. It suddenly becomes affordable and workable for me.

I really hope it's true. They need a low cost solution to battle the competition's new cameras. I'm probably too excited about this.
 
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