Attention modders: mod this. (Cheap P2 anyone?)

P

parallax

Member
As the Firestore option has received some flack (rightfully), here's something that should be easily modded to fit onto the HVX:

http://uk.theinquirer.net/?article=33381

All that is needed is the bridging of the SATA/IDE interface. As a matter of fact, it should fit on the Firestore instead of the drive, as it is recognized as one. Maybe some firmware emulation should be enough.
You want a cheap P2 alternative? This is the closest you can get as far as my somewhat limited engineering knowledge has led me to believe.
 
I have no problems at all with my FS-100, especailly with the two firmware updates that have been released.
 
Awsome ...If I had a brain I would build one without hesetation certainly beats the 1300.00 for the 8gig panasonic p2...have you actually built one and tried it out on your 200 ? I would be interested to know if you are speaking first had or just brain storming......Thanks VL
 
Nope, i just had a quick brainstorm. Technically is shouldn't be to difficult though. I don't understand why nobody hasn't thought of this yet.
There's fast CF memory available that easily reaches the minimum datarate, at a tenth the price of P2. The Firestore only proves the interfacing capabilities are already there.
You are still running a motored spinning disk on the Firestore, why not replace that with flash memory.
 
This won't work directly through the firewire or Cardbus slots on the HVX. Either option requires computing ability on the connected device to create the proper file structure on the drive. That's why P2 is so expensive. It is much more than a few SD cards with a SD to Cardbus adapter. There is an actual mini-computer in there, along with a RAID 0 array for speed.

However, it is not 100% impossible that an adapter could be used in place of the notebook hard drive inside of the Firestore. In this instance, the Firestore's computer would be able to handle the file structure, etc.

It would certainly be an interesting idea, if it works. But one would have to mod the Firestore's case to make the cards easily removable, however. And you'd almost certainly have to power down the Firestore to switch cards.
 
TwistedLincoln said:
This won't work directly through the firewire or Cardbus slots on the HVX. Either option requires computing ability on the connected device to create the proper file structure on the drive. That's why P2 is so expensive. It is much more than a few SD cards with a SD to Cardbus adapter. There is an actual mini-computer in there, along with a RAID 0 array for speed.

However, it is not 100% impossible that an adapter could be used in place of the notebook hard drive inside of the Firestore. In this instance, the Firestore's computer would be able to handle the file structure, etc.

It would certainly be an interesting idea, if it works. But one would have to mod the Firestore's case to make the cards easily removable, however. And you'd almost certainly have to power down the Firestore to switch cards.
Click to expand...

Is there any proof to this mini computer stuff people are talking about? the ipod has a hardrive and a operating system do you consider that a mini computer? Logically, businesses come out with new products that are overpriced this helps pay for R&D and whatever else. Eventually prices drop when they make their money back and they streamline the manufacturing process. No mystery to P2. Is there a high markup absolutely, but after you consider the investment they made and employees and stuff, not so much. They don't pay retail for SD cards we pay retail. They are just another business trying to make money.
funny thing is I hate the idea of P2 because of the storage limitations, but you are actually recording high def in dvcprohd for under 10k no tape. That shizit is amazing. Skip P2 buy Firestore for now. Peace
 
Nik Manning said:
Is there any proof to this mini computer stuff people are talking about? the ipod has a hardrive and a operating system do you consider that a mini computer? Logically, businesses come out with new products that are overpriced this helps pay for R&D and whatever else. Eventually prices drop when they make their money back and they streamline the manufacturing process. No mystery to P2. Is there a high markup absolutely, but after you consider the investment they made and employees and stuff, not so much. They don't pay retail for SD cards we pay retail. They are just another business trying to make money.
funny thing is I hate the idea of P2 because of the storage limitations, but you are actually recording high def in dvcprohd for under 10k no tape. That shizit is amazing. Skip P2 buy Firestore for now. Peace
Click to expand...

Yes, there is proof. I'm not an engineer, but I can explain it in this way:

A digital video camera such as the HVX transfers data in a digital form to whatever storage medium it supports. In the case of P2, this storage medium is a RAID 0 array of high-speed SD cards. However, when the HVX sends the P2 cards the info, it doesn't send them the digital information that represents MXF files. It sends them the digital info that represents the video that it is capturing. The P2 cards must then be intelligent enough to look at this information, and transform it into the file structure that is stored on the P2.

The same goes for streaming via DV. Try hooking any DV camcorder up to your PC via firewire. When you start recording, does the computer automatically create individual AVI files? No. You need a capture application to do this for you. This is because the camera isn't sending files over firewire, it is simply sending data. The computer needs to take this info and create files from it. That's what the capture software does. This is why you can't just hook any old firewire hard drive to any DV camcorder (HVX is no exception) and capture in real-time to AVI files on the drive.

The conversion process invovled in creating files from video data requries both knowledge of the respective file formats, as well as the processing ability to convert the video data to the proper files in real-time. This is not an easy feat for a device the size of a P2 card. That's what makes it expensive. It's not the SD cards.
 
And yes, there is proof -- Specialized Communications described all the effort they had to go through to make a P2-compatible device, and they said something (can't remember exactly what) like that the P2 card has to be able to receive, interpret, and respond to something like 40 different commands that the system sends it.

There's a reason the P2 cards can have their own firmware update! It's a lot more than just a memory card.
 
Yes, during my review of the HVX, Jan told me all about how special the P2 card is, it's not your typyical "run of the mill" flash card, for sure.
 
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