Mac 10.2.1 and P2 - Any options?

GTP

GTP

Well-known member
It seems that the software to move P2 contents to the Mac does not exist for my old version number 10.2.1. The plan was to move the footage from the P2 card to an external Hard Drive with a second HD for back-up. Then, when production is complete, I was to upgrade with a New Mac and begin the edit. Not ideal, but have to sell off production equipment to reinvest in modern post-production equipment. Are there any options with that old Mac? What about using my PC to move the p2 contents then do the edit with a new Mac later? Would that work or would there be some incompatibility issues?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
You can offload your P2 contents to a PC via USB or you can offload to an external firewire hard drive directly from the camera. Either option would provide a copy of your card contents that you could later access using your new Mac via log and transfer. You can also use Panasonic's P2CMS software on your PC to export the identical contents of your P2 card to a storage location. Just get the footage stored somewhere until you have your new editing system and then access it.

I don't know if OSX 10.2.1 has any issues mounting P2 cards, but it probably also depends on what model Mac you're talking about.

For more details, search this forum for offloading P2. Good luck !
 
If I remember correctly, you can upgrade to panther (10.3) without needing to reinstall everything on your computer. I would suggest doing that, as it is a much better OS and seems to run faster, even on slower machines, than 10.2.
 
Thanks for the info. It is looking like offloading to an external hard drive via my PC and the P2 Contents Management program is the way to go. I checked into offloading directly from the camera but it looks like it creates a new partition in the hard drive every time you do it. That might create more headaches down the road as there will be quite a bit of footage over several months. I have heard of people recommending Seagate hard drives... I have used G-tech with SD and I really liked it. The feel of a solid aluminum enclosure goes a long way with piece of mind. Anyone have issues with G-tech and P2 contents? Thanks!
 
The P2 data is just that...data. It will not be any more difficult to save, archive, etc. than any other data file. The questionable part of that is the quality of drive you use. I don't use G-tech personally, but I have heard from others they are pretty good drives. Just don't buy an off the shelf cheap drive. OWC and Seagate are popular with many users. Some users have LaCie and Western Digital, but I've never been a fan of those.
 
I have read a little bit about FAT32 and NTFS. Not sure if I really understand one vs. the other... is this anything I need to think about? I anticipate a few long shots... ie 4-5 minutes. Will be shooting DVCPROHD 1080/24PA on HPX170. If I need to do NTFS to transfer to my PC for editing on the MAC looks like there might be more software I'd need to pick up. Does anyone have any suggestions or insight? Thanks!
 
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