Mac Users Left In Left Field?

David Saraceno

David Saraceno

Moderator
Staff member
In reading these forums, I've noticed three significant omissions for Mac users:

1. No p2 reader bundled;

2. Issues with p2 store defaulting to PC mode, and transfer to Macs; and

3. No way to update the firmware on p2 cards on a Mac.

Anybody got the skinny on whether this will soon be remedied by Panasonic or any workarounds?

Thanks for any info
 
The Mac/Final Cut combo has been working pretty seamlessly with the HVX from day one, while many major pC editors have not. Some people on these forums have even bought Macs, just for their HVX/P2 workflow. I hardly feel as a Mac user that the Mac is being neglected. I have a P2 Store, and simply had to set it once to work with my Mac, and it's been smooth sailing since. A bundled P2 Reader? Personally, I don't think I've missed it...
 
p2 and mac work amazingly together... Realistically speaking, I can't imagine it being easier with any other OS. import > panasonic P2
 
k2director said:
I hardly feel as a Mac user that the Mac is being neglected. I have a P2 Store, and simply had to set it once to work with my Mac, and it's been smooth sailing since.
Click to expand...

You are missing my point.

I didn't say neglected. I simply said Panasonic is provided bundled features for the PC with no Macintosh counterpart.

It also has provided firmware upgrades to some p2 cards that require a PC to implement.

I asked if there were workarounds.
 
David S. said:
You are missing my point.

I didn't say neglected. I simply said Panasonic is provided bundled features for the PC with no Macintosh counterpart.

It also has provided firmware upgrades to some p2 cards that require a PC to implement.

I asked if there were workarounds.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree. Even tought there's a software similar to the P2 viewer on the mac, on its most basic version (the one that does the same as the P2 viewer), it costs $300. This is something that makes me, a Mac User, feel neglected compared to PC users. The best workflow for the HVX PAL , nowadays, is without doubt Edius Broadcast for PC.
 
David S. said:
[...] significant omissions for Mac users [...] any workarounds?
Click to expand...
At NAB the Panasonic reps I spoke with had no immediate solution to these Macintosh shortcomings, however, I think, except for not being able to update P2 firmware, we can do pretty much everything we need to do on a Mac, except we might have to spend some money tha t PC users don't have to, and that's to be expected with technology that is so new, rarely is there parity accross the two platforms (Mac vs. PC) when something new comes out.

What we Mac users do have available for the Mac platform is HD Log from Imagine Products, an excellent logging tool and P2 viewer that runs circles around the the P2 viewer that Panasonic bundles, but yes, it costs money. I spoke to Imagine Products and Panasonic reps at NAB encouraging them to bundle a "lite" version of HD Log with P2 products, who knows where that will go. Right now there is no P2 viewer as nice as HD Log for the PC platform, so it cuts both ways. But not for long, we've only see the tip of the iceberg of many P2 utilities to come.

I've used HD Log and I like how I can use it to view clips and log notes about them without having to spend the time waiting for ingest like you have to do with Final Cut Pro if you use that as a viewer, saving time on the set if you want to bring media into a Mac and look at footage right away.
 
More importantly, since there are no tapes to stick on a shelf, how are you going to find that clip of the girl with the red umbrella next month, next year, five years from now?

HD Log at $699 is a bargain 'asset management' system. It was enabled for P2 at Panasonic's request. I applaud them for encouraging third party applications to support their new media format.

I agree with David, you're just seeing the beginning of products that help the P2 workflow. (I know we have more in the pipeline... ;-)
 
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