Possible for DVXUSER to Host HVX200 ETC Downloads>

David Saraceno

David Saraceno

Moderator
Staff member
Given the arcane navigation at the Panasonic web site for drivers and firmware updates for Mac and PC, p2 Store, and other software I have a suggestion.

Would it be possible for DVXUSER to host a page with a simple listing of the downloads?

Mac Software
Drivers
Firmware
P2 Management

PC Software
Drivers
Firmware
P2 Management

Make it a sticky.

Just a thought
 
Good idea. It takes forever to find anything on Panasonic's site...

Unfortunatley, it will be somewhat hard to link to some of the download pages, as they require you to give them your serial number before you can get to the actual download page...
 
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Twisted, I believe that they no longer require the serial number, though I may be wrong. I have installed P2 Viewer, P2 Drivers, and upgraded P2Stores without having to enter a serial number.

When I first got my HVX I did have to enter the Serial , but ever since they moved to the new website I haven't seen them ask for a SN.

I agree with the OP. I simply made some CDs of all the drivers I'd need for clients and made some copies and keep them in the office. Panasonic really needs to work on their website.
 
TwistedLincoln said:
Good idea. It takes forever to find anything on Panasonic's site...

Unfortunatley, it will be somewhat hard to link to some of the download pages, as they require you to give them your serial number before you can get to the actual download page...
Click to expand...

That's an understatement.
 
Good call. Having the lastest revisions of P2 drivers and software available here would be great. If you need it in a pinch you'll know right where to go. I try to carry p2 drivers on a thumbdrive. ( Nerdallion :D )
 
Hi Guys,

I guess I am missing how it is so difficult to find, and it might be that I am looking at our webpage with a greater knowledge about where to start than others, so here is where I start, www.panasonic.com/broadcast. Note that on the right hand side of the page we have a link for the 16 GB card upgrade. Click on that and you basically have it spread out before you on a clickable grid.

Is this the page you guys are finding that is so confusing?

Please advise,

Jan
 
The whole website in general is not the most user friendly site i've used. The layout itself is odd and looks very primitive. It just looks as if everything was put up very quickly and without much planning. (mainly the downloads sections) The two times I've done the updates, I seem to spend at least a few minutes searching for what i need. Compare the site/navigation to that of Apple and it's a world of difference.
If there was a HVX section that had just all the downloads for that camera/cards and was easy to find and laid out well, that could make a huge difference.
 
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Hi,

Frankly I find the Apple site to be among the most difficult to find anything, so it may jst be a difference in the way we look at the world. Did you check the website I posted below and this is what you are saying jumble and primitive?

Thanks,

jan
 
On that link of yours, that part of the site is ok-good. But then when you click on support and resoursces, that's when it becomes a bit "primitive". In there there is too many links to look through and they don't seem to be in any particular order. If in that section it was split up maybe into a "firmware" link that takes you to all of them or such, that could make it easier. I've had been on that site more than a few times, so it's easier for me to get around, but when I first got the HVX200 and was looking for all the firmware, it felt like it was looking for a needle in a haystack. And many others had this problem. I've seen plenty of comments/threads on here about where and how to get the firmware. Just check the first 3 posts on this thread, all 3 say how state in some way how the site is not easy to navigate. Of course after the first time i did the firmware it was a tad bit easier to find but I still had to "manually" go look for all the drivers. I'm not saying the layout/site is bad, it's just not really too user friendly for first timers.
 
The issue to me is organization.

Why not simply have Macintosh download resources and PC Download Resources?

With very simple links for each firmware, driver, and software version number and revision date?

The main page would be HVX200 for US or Europe, etc.

From the posts I've seen here, it appears that the overwhelming concensus is that Panasonic's web site is confusing and difficult to manuever.
 
David S. said:
The issue to me is organization.

Why not simply have Macintosh download resources and PC Download Resources?

With very simple links for each firmware, driver, and software version number and revision date?

The main page would be HVX200 for US or Europe, etc.

From the posts I've seen here, it appears that the overwhelming concensus is that Panasonic's web site is confusing and difficult to manuever.
Click to expand...

I agree completely.
 
Jan, it's not the Panasonic US site that people are getting lost in, it's the Japanese/pavc site, trying to find firmware updates and software downloads.
 
Jan,
In my experience one of the problems is that when one is tracking down drivers and firmware updates, it is rarely when you have time. Usually it happens while trouble shooting in a time constrained environment.

Trying to update the p2store manager I go to the downloads website.

Immediately I see p2store manager on the right column and it redirects me to that part of the the website. this is what it reads on the right column:

"2007.6.　
Supported with WindowsVista
Suppoted with 16GB P2 Card"

(not to nick pick, but this is Panasonic's website, a professional multi-national corporation and its littered with bad translations and misspellings...can you guys please hire one of those hundreds of American college grads that go to Japan for a year to teach English to proof the website?)

So back on topic: One would assume that this p2store Manager contains the firmware to update the p2store. So you download it, install it, and come to find out you're missing a file! The actual firmware file is not there. The update firmware tab in the p2store manager window is greyed out.

Ok so back to the panasonic website. A search for p2store firmware, AJ-PCS060G, AJ-PCS060G firmware, and any other permutation yields no usable result. I find out the name of the file i need to download from the website: VSI4516.VDT yet I cannot find it, searching for it in the panasonic website yields no related results.

Back to the main download website to look around again. I see "driver for p2 products" link. Perhaps this is it? when I click on it, i redirects me further down the page to the p2 driver. Now this ACTUALLY is the right page i need to download this .vdt file, but lets take a good look at the descriptions:

"To utilize the new P2 Card , you may need to upgrade your P2 model."
under topics:
" Topics:
2007.8
AJ-HPX2000/HPX2100,
AJ-HPM100 to be compatible with 16GB P2Card.
2007.5.
AG-HVX200/HVX202 to be compatible with 16GB P2Card."

No mention of the P2Store anywhere. I kept looking for something else on the page. Even if I had clicked through this driver page, I would have been confronted with this link
Note that it lists the p2store as the very last link and by its model number, not by the product name: AG-PCS060G.

Also of note had this link been labeled firmware page (since its actually a link to all the firmware upgrades) I may have tried looking harder in the page to find the p2store file. But I kept assuming it was simply PC drivers for the cameras and moving on.

Perhaps had I been calmly upgrading my p2store I would have found the link in due time, but I was searching while I had a client on hold from London about to go on a live shoot with only 16gb cards who found out his p2store was not upgraded, so maybe I wasn't reading every single word on every page. To add insult to injury, after a very frantic hour trying to help him out, I find out that you can't upgrade a p2store with a mac and (of course) he only had macs available to him at the moment.

I want to end by saying that I have nothing but the outmost respect for Jan and Panasonic. I think she has done wonders for the community, and all the guys I've dealt with at Panasonic have always been great, but the website leaves alot to be desired.
 
Both times I upgraded the firmware I've had plenty of time and patience. But both times I had to search around manually trying to find the right links. I have no qualms with Panasonic or Jan, but like previously stated, the site does leave a lot to be desired.
 
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