MXF Transfer Error - P2 (null) file error

glassblowerscat

glassblowerscat

Well-known member
I just received footage shot on the HVX200 using a Firestore drive. The Director pointed me to a particular clip that his on-set P2 guy had not been able to transfer to Quicktime.

I looked up the file in the P2 Transfer utility, and when I tried to do a transfer I did indeed see an exclamation point next to the filename. The file will not transfer, but it will play in the Log and Transfer window, sound and everything.

Thinking it was worth a try, I downloaded Panasonic's P2 Content Manager and tried to "ingest" the file. This gave me a more specific error: "There is no (null) file."

The director then all of a sudden remembered that this was the clip during which the battery on the Firestore had died in the middle of the take.

Clearly some sort of metadata issue is occurring ... the Firestore captured the video but didn't have time to finish writing the xml file ... or something like that.

Does anyone have any experience with this or know of a workaround for capturing P2 video from an MXF? I'd just use another take, but apparently this is "THE" take - the director wants this particular shot.

P.S. I'm using FCP 5.1.4.
 
P2 error fix (red exclamation point)

P2 error fix (red exclamation point)

it seems as though this error is caused by an unexpected end of file...as would occur when power is cut to the camera while it's recording (power failure, battery dies, etc).

If your content was captured to a P2 card, and you still have that card with the footage still on it, you can simply reinsert the card into the camera...push the button near the battery to take the camera from camera mode into the mode where you can preview your clips....you should see the damaged clip come up in this this thumbnail menu with a red X in the corner and no preview still (should be solid gray)...SELECT THIS CLIP ONLY...go to MENU/OPERATION/REPAIR CLIP

once the clip has been repaired, the red X should disappear and a still image should appear in the thumbnail window for that clip.

Exit this mode, remove the P2 card and transfer the card contents onto your external drive or insert the card into whatever method you are using to read the card...you can then proceed as normal to log and transfer and the once damaged clip will transfer into your system as normal.

I just had this problem and fixed it this way.

Best of luck!

Charles Little
http://www.tatucreative.com
 
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