P2 Card is not recognised on my G4 Powerbook.

Kalki

Kalki

New member
I am now a proud owner of a new HVX. Just got it today! :)

However after taking couple of test shots on a 4GB P2, I inserted the P2 into my PCMCIA slot to download it. However my PowerBook G4 (Tiger 10.x) does not recognise it.

Loaded FCP and tried to import using Import from P2 option, and the subsequent dialog box does not show the P2 Volume.

Then I went and downloaded the P2Genie (Demo version)...Promise to buy it if this works...and that too does not recognise the P2 volume.

So, before I start blaming the slot to be defective, I just want to make sure whether I am not missing something obvious!!!

Some facts:
1. I can see the shoot inside the HVX.
2. I did not format the P2. Started using it right off the box.
3. I have never used this slot before.

Any help will be much appreciated.
 
So, is it necessary to install the P2 Drivers for the P2 to work on the computer? The reason i am asking is, if i connect the camera via firewire and then go to the IEEE (menu 9---PC Mode) option then, i am able to download the shoot using P2 Genie. However, I would like to remove the dependence on the camera for download. Just take the P2 out of the camera and stuff in the PCMCIA slot and thats it. All the necessary components should know it. But apparantly that is not what is happening.
 
Correct, without P2 drivers, the computer won't know what to do with the card. It will know that there is a card in the slot, but it won't know how to talk to it.

When you run the installation program, make sure that you select both the HVX200 camera drivers and the P2 card drivers.
 
Thanks THOff. Yes, by installing the drivers, P2 was recognised directly on my computer.
However, when I tried to import the footage (import all), in FCP 5.0, NOT 5.1, the import from P2 option, throws an error:

One or more P2 clips failed to import, probable incomplete or corrupt clips.

Is this an issue with 5.0? Also, using the P2 Genie, it created all these folders with the Video folder having an .MXF files. Does FCP supprt MXF files natively?
 
I don't use FCP (or a Mac for that matter), but my understanding is that FCP 5.0 has serious issues with MXF files and that Apple itself recommend that you upgrade.

FCP supports the DVCPro/DVCPro50/DVCProHD codecs, but not the MXF wrapper. It will take the MXF files and put them in a QuickTime wrapper -- this takes a little bit of time, but doesn't require any transcoding and doesn't degrade the quality of the video.
 
Thanks guys for taking time to answer my questions. FCP 5.0 does not support MXF files and requires a 5.0.4 upgrade. I went one step further and went and bought the Final Cut Studio. After installing it, everything worked great. Now to try some slo-mo.

Thanks again.
 
For the record... only the powerbook requires P2 drivers, not your desktop computer, if you are using the pcmcia card slot to mount P2. I would highly recomment using FCP 5.1 if you are using P2. Also, there are some issues with mounting P2 on a mac regardless of powerbook or desktop. On some occasions one or two P2 volumes don't mount. I usually turn off the camera and try again.
 
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