Mac G4 Laptop – P2 Location Work Flow

[Shane Ross]

First, watch this. It is a BIT outdated, but the general principals are there:

https://forums.creativecow.net/cgi-bin/page_wrapper.cgi?forumid=8&page=https://www.creativecow.net/articles/ross_shane/p2_workflow/index.html

Then this:

https://lfhd.blogspot.com/2006/09/panasonic-p2-workflow-part-2.html

Even though it was using a PC laptop, the workflow is the same for Powerbook G4’s. Insert the card into the PCMCIA slot, offload, empty the card, return to camera. With the G4 you’ll have to restart the computer after every two card insertions. Odd, but true.

Shane

Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net

[Barry Green]

Also, ALWAYS write-protect your P2 cards before ever putting them in a Mac or letting a Mac have access to them.

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Get the most from your DVX camera. The DVX Book and DVX DVD are now available on ebay and at Amazon (https://www.fiftv.com/db)

[D. scott Dobbie]

“With the G4 you’ll have to restart the computer after every two card insertions. Odd, but true.”

Shane, I looked at the article links you had but didn’t see anywhere else you mentioned this. Under what conditions are you saying this needs to be done? I have a 1.5GHz PowerBook G4 and have never had to do any restart at all. Never even heard of that being an issue. Is there something more I’m missing?

Thanks,

-Scott

[Shane Ross]

[dgadirector] “Shane, I looked at the article links you had but didn’t see anywhere else you mentioned this. Under what conditions are you saying this needs to be done?”

Personal experience. I’m sorry that I neglected to mention this, but that came out much after my article. I didn’t have issues initially…for 4-6 cards. Then the system would freeze. Then about every 3-4 cards I’d get a system freeze. I thought I had a bad OS or something. But then other people reported the same issues. So the general consensus became to restart the computer after two card dumps.

Guess I should mention that somewhere.

Shane

Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net

[D. scott Dobbie]

Thanks for the heads up, Shane. I guess I’m one of the ones not affected, for whatever reason. [knock on wood]

-Scott

[Bill Paris]

Thanks for all the great feedback! I’ll do some tests before doing the shoot. One more question…..if you were putting together the “dream” workstation for P2 field work, what would that system look like? It seems like there’s a market for a “rock solid” P2 off loading system that did the following: 1. Off loads to two drives for backup. 2. Modular so that you could add storage in the field as needed. 3. Easy to use. 4. Has some way of checking your transfers on the spot to make sure you have a good capture before deleting cards. 4. More compact and rugged than a laptop running Final Cut with Firewire Drives hanging off it.
5. And last but not least…..fast! The faster the better!
In the meantime any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Frank Nolan]

A couple of things I have found using a G4 1.5ghz laptop. The issue Shane mentioned about computer locking up, I found out that it actually wasn’t locking up although it appeared to be. What was happenning was that after each card, it would take longer and longer to mount the next one. Sometimes up to 3 minutes but it would eventually mount if let alone. When you’re in a high pressure environment to get the card off loaded it can be quicker just to reboot every 5 or 6 cards.
If you have FCP 5.1 or later installed you can check the footage in the P2 import window as long as you are offloading to FW drives. You bring the cards up in the import window and play them but do not actually import them. Once verified you can reformat the cards.
When doing a 2 camera shoot, it may be advisable to have 2 offloading stations, if the shoot is continuous. I did a 2 camera shoot once with only 1 laptop and it was held up while waiting for downloads. Use FW800 drives for the fastest downloads.

[D. scott Dobbie]

Frank, are you talking about reformatting the cards while in the PowerBook? If so, I didn’t know that could be done. That would be great. How would I do it? As it now stands, I reformat them in the camera. My big concern is that one day I (or someone) will reformat the one currently in use. Yaahhhh…

I’d LOVE to find a safer way without having to buy a P2 store.

I just upgraded to FCS2. Maybe there’s a more obvious way now.

-Scott

[Tom Chartrand]

I found that it would “seem” to freeze but for some reason it regularly temporarily freezes (sometimes 2 minutes) but it always comes back. I’ve got a 1.25 PBG4

[Barry Green]

[Bill Paris] “if you were putting together the “dream” workstation for P2 field work, what would that system look like?”

A Windows laptop. And before anyone rolls their eyes, I am not being facetious or being any sort of mac-hater, I’m telling you the facts as I’ve come to embrace them after working with P2 over the last 18 months. Nothing compares to a Windows laptop in the field.

The P2 Gear will also do most of what you’re asking (except for offloading to two drives at once); it’s $4,000 and a Windows laptop can be bought for under $500.

[Bill Paris] “It seems like there’s a market for a “rock solid” P2 off loading system that did the following:”

Windows laptops are rock-solid for P2 transfers every time, and they don’t require any sort of adapters. You can buy a laptop for $499 that includes a built-in PCMCIA slot.

[Bill Paris] “1. Off loads to two drives for backup”

Trivial on a Windows laptop. In Windows Explorer, drag the card contents onto your internal drive, and also drag them to an external drive. It’ll copy to both drives simultaneously, without even slowing down.

[Bill Paris] “2. Modular so that you could add storage in the field as needed.”

Plug in or unplug USB, Firewire, FW800 or eSATA drives all day long on a Windows laptop.

[Bill Paris] “3. Easy to use”

Drag ‘n’ drop, done. Or use P2 Genie, which automates the whole process for you and creates reel names, and also includes data verification so it’ll verify the card transfer when it’s done so you’re 110% assured it transferred properly.

[Bill Paris] “4. Has some way of checking your transfers on the spot to make sure you have a good capture before deleting cards”

P2 Viewer is a free application that lets you view any clip on any card, in a small window or full-screen, copy clips between cards and “virtual cards” on your drive, annotate and edit metadata, all sorts of things. And, as aforementioned, the PC version of P2 Genie includes data verification on a bit-by-bit level.

[Bill Paris] “4. More compact and rugged than a laptop running Final Cut with Firewire Drives hanging off it.”

Er… can’t help you on that one, they’re equally bulky… 🙂

[Bill Paris] “5. And last but not least…..fast! The faster the better!”

My laptop copies a 4GB card to its internal hard disk in about 2:40, or a full 8GB card in about 5:15. If copying to an external raid it might be even faster.

Using a Windows laptop is a reliable, rock-solid, extraordinarily inexpensive way to handle P2 offloading in the field. Even if you use FCP to edit, use the Windows laptop (with built-in PCMCIA card slot) for your transfer station. It’s bulletproof, fast, and cheap, and if you get one with a decent processor you can use the P2 Viewer as sort of an ultimate script-supervisor tool. And seeing as you can buy new ones at 1/4 the cost of a P2 Store, it makes for a compelling case.

—————–
Get the most from your DVX camera. The DVX Book and DVX DVD are now available on ebay and at Amazon (https://www.fiftv.com/db)