Moving P2 footage with PCMCIA on Laptop

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PhoenixF2B

Member
I am putting the P2 card into my laptop PCMCIA slot and it recognizes new hardware but can't seem to find a suitable driver. I tried the disk that came with the HVX200 but it doesn't work, and I downloaded the Panasonic P2 Viewer software from their site.

The only way I can open the P2 Cards on my laptop is if the camera is connected via USB, but that won't help when we're in the field and I'm trying to dump down this card while we're shooting on another one.
Does anyone know how to get the P2 Card to work with a PCMCIA slot?

Thanks.
 
You didn't mention what size your P2's are...I'll guess they're 8gig. It's a safe bet that the drivers and software on the Panasonic website are more current than what came on the CD. I'd suggest you download a complete new set and re-install. Let me know.
 
They're on Panasonic's website. If you can't find them I have them backed up some where. Let me know if you have trouble.

It's totally do-able. I've used the old work Powerbook G4 for over a year that way.

- G
 
You need to install the driver for the computer. Right now it sounds like you have the HVX/USB driver installed, you need to add the PCMCIA device driver.
 
Yes, I apologize. After posting this we found the driver listed on the install list. I did not see it the first time, it got lost in the list of camera models.

We have a 16 gig card. The P2 Viewer downloaded from Panasonic's website works well, though we are having trouble figuring out how to copy to a hard drive like it says it can do. Does anyone have experience with the Viewer and transfering the data over to another hard drive?
 
PhoenixF2B said:
Yes, I apologize. After posting this we found the driver listed on the install list. I did not see it the first time, it got lost in the list of camera models.
Click to expand...

That web site is abysmal.

I know that the powers that be at Panasonic think otherwise, but the layout, descriptions, font choice etc. make navigating to the right drivers a turkey shoot in the dark.
 
Copy p2 card files with windows and not using the p2 viewer. the p2 viewer can mount directories that maintain the original p2 structure but dont use it for copying p2 cards. once a p2 card is copied to your drive just mount it and play it.
 
I mostly copy with the P2 viewer, which has the added benefit of allowing you to spot-check the copied clips and reduces the chances of upheaving the file structure.
 
I haven't ever had a problem of breaking the file structure in 11 months of shooting. I make a series of numbered folders and drag the contents folder and lastclip.txt file into each one as i download cards. since you only have to drag a folder and a file you actually can't break the structure. It actually takes some effort to go in and copy only the video files and break the file structure.
 
David S. said:
That web site is abysmal.

I know that the powers that be at Panasonic think otherwise, but the layout, descriptions, font choice etc. make navigating to the right drivers a turkey shoot in the dark.
Click to expand...

It's awful. You click around in circles looking for stuff. Weren't we gonna have a place on here to keep current drivers and stuff? Or is there some legal issue saying we can't or something?
 
"Software License Agreement It is prohibited to redistribute this, regardless of whether or not compensation is received.
It is also prohibited to sell software and hardware manufactured using this software, without our permission..."
I'm gonna work on a different option tonight
 
ProfessorU said:
"Software License Agreement It is prohibited to redistribute this, regardless of whether or not compensation is received.
It is also prohibited to sell software and hardware manufactured using this software, without our permission..."
I'm gonna work on a different option tonight
Click to expand...

That's crap. We should be allowed here. Have Jan hook us up. :happy:
 
Jan has no authority to modify the licensing terms. I think the best we can do here is provide a link to the download page, and that is exactly what is in the "Useful links" sticky in the Technical section.
 
Oh God yes, the panasonic site is a bear to wander through.

Ok, so I finally got the P2 Viewer working, but I tried Arson's idea and it worked beautifully. We have been trying to figure out the best option for the field, and carrying around an external hard drive locks us to wall power needs.

However, we had a small 120 gig portable USB drive that gets it's power from USB so it can run with the laptop on just the laptop power. I was amazed, it's only 5400 RPM and it only took 7 minutes to transfer 8 gigs from the P2 card. With a second P2 card, this seems to be a very viable option for us to get the media off the cards in the field and then bring that little drive back to the office and transfer it to the editor or archive it.

What are you guys doing to archive raw footage? Right now DVD is our only option but I can easily see need MANY DVDs to do it. Blu Ray is on our consideration list for the future.

What are you guys using?
 
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