P2 Genie or P2 Log or both-Mac

M

mkcine

New member
Shooting a long form doc in Africa soon and need dependable data transfer software solution for the P2 workflow. I have a PB G4 1.5GH/1.5GRam, 100GB FW OWC portable drive, P2 Store and (5) 8GB cards. No guarantee of electricity while on loctaion so I must get all data to internal PB drive and FW drive as backup before I can transfer all at night.

Is P2 Genie good enough? Is P2 Log better? Should I get both?. Simplicity, ease of workflow, guarantee of data transfer is most important (although I know many here have problems with Mac workflow).

Also, have been warned that I must import all MXF files into FCP while on location or at night (potentially a major time and data management problem), that the MXF files are very unstable. Is this true? I'd rather shoot/transfer/backup (test some files) but wait until return to import all files into FCP.

I have tested the HVX200/P2 workflow on a short project and spot and never had a problem, but I'm intending on shooting as much as possible per day on this project (approx. 80-100GB/day).

Thanks.Mike
 
The MXF files are not unstable at all. It's the Mac that has potential instability. That's why it's recommended to keep the MXF files.

P2 Genie and P2 Log do very different things. P2 Genie is an automated card-offloading system. P2 Log Pro is a file converter, clip repairer, and archive/file logger.

With five 8GB cards and a P2 Store, you're looking at over four hours of 720/24pN footage without having to go anywhere near the computer. That's 100GB of storage without having to offload.

If you want absolutely dependable file transfers, leave the G4 at home and take a PC laptop. Not being facetious, not being "Mac vs. PC" or anything like that -- it's simply a documented fact that when errors occur with transferring P2 cards to a computer, they occur on the Mac. The WinXP solution is robust and bulletproof, and cheap -- you can occasionally find $299 laptops on special at CompUSA, Circuit City, Best Buy, etc. As long as it has WinXP and the PCMCIA/CardBus PC Card slot, it'll work.

If for some reason taking a Windows laptop is not an option, nag Anders about the next version of P2 Genie; he's supposed to be adding a data verification step which should greatly increase the "trust" factor of transferring cards to a Mac. But I don't know when that's due to come out.
 
Thanks Barry. Great Book! I think from all the info I've received here I can load/backup the MXF files, make sure all the partitions are seen. Unfortunately I'm a total Mac dude. Have never used Windows or a PC. Maybe someday I will...

best.mike
 
mkcine said:
Is P2 Genie good enough? Is P2 Log better? Should I get both?. Simplicity, ease of workflow, guarantee of data transfer is most important (although I know many here have problems with Mac workflow).


Get them both. P2 Genie kicks it for file transfers and P2 log will give you way to view your files on the lap top.

Barry could be right about getiing the cheap PC , though for me that would be a real setback having to learn windows .

I've been shooting lots of P 2 media for the last year and using a mac (macbook) exclusively for data management. No corrupt files , though you do have to keep track of how many p2 volumes are in your p2 store and how many the OS mounts. Your real structural decison is whether you should be traveling in africa with this camera package. Having traveled in sub saharan west africa on a doc , I can pretty much say that shooting to tape is pretty easy and less power hungry. If you choose the HVX you should also choose to get a dc inverter for vehicle use just in case. Ac Power can get to be pretty thin in lots of places you go in Africa.
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Barry_Green said:
P2 Genie and P2 Log do very different things. P2 Genie is an automated card-offloading system. P2 Log Pro is a file converter, clip repairer, and archive/file logger.
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Click to expand...

so essentially need both until next version of p2 genie?
 
No - P2 Genie will most likely never be a fileconverter or clip-repairer (or anything else that performs any kind of changes to and/or conversion of your footage). I can only talk on the behalf of the Windows version, but I am planning to introduce more archiving and logging features down the road.

A little "inside" information: The company behind P2 Log partnered up with Panasonic to make the conversion features of the footage. I'm not sure how much they made themselves, but I'm sure Panasonic gave them more than a helping hand in that process. The two of us doing the P2 Genie have had no contact with Panasonic about the development of our product (so far).
 
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