P2 (storage media)
Encyclopedia
P2 is a professional digital recording
solid-state memory storage media format introduced by Panasonic
in 2004, and especially tailored to electronic news-gathering (ENG) applications. It features tapeless (non-linear) recording of DV
, DVCPRO, DVCPRO25, DVCPRO50, DVCPRO-HD, or AVC-Intra
streams on a solid-state
flash memory
. The P2 card is essentially a RAID
of Secure Digital
(SD) memory cards with an LSI
controller tightly packaged in a die-cast
PC Card
(formerly PCMCIA) enclosure, so data transfer rate increases as memory capacity increases. The system includes cameras, decks as drop-in replacements for Videocassette recorder
s (VCR), and a special 5.25-inch computer drive for random-access integration with non-linear editing system
s (NLE). The cards can also be used directly where a PC card
(PCMCIA) slot is available, as in most older notebook computers, as a normal hard disk drive, although a custom software driver must first be loaded.
As of early 2010, P2 cards are available in capacities of 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 GB. At introduction, P2 cards offered low recording capacity compared to competing, video tape-based formats (a miniDV tape holds roughly 13 GB of data, and an S-size HDCAM
tape holds 50 GB). To solve this, camcorders and decks using P2 media employ multiple card slots, with the ability to span the recording over all slots. Cards are recorded in sequence, and when a card is full, it can be swapped out while another card is recording. This limits recording time only by power supply and the available number of cards. If a card is partially full, the deck will record only until it is full. Unlike video tape, old video cannot be recorded over accidentally; old footage must be manually deleted.
P2 cards are of a ruggedized PCMCIA type with the fastest transfer speeds currently available through this format. The card also contains a processor that organizes and safeguards the files and the case is developed and crafted to "military" (according to Panasonic) specifications, making P2 cards tough and reliable.
The first pieces of equipment released by Panasonic which use the P2 format included the AJ-SPX800 (a 2/3" broadcast camcorder for ENG and EFP
applications), the studio recorder AJ-SPD850, the AJ-PCD10 offload device (basically, a five-slot PC card reader with USB interface designed to fit a 5-1/4" IT systems bay), and the memory cards themselves – AJ-P2C004 (4 GB) and AJ-P2C002 (2 GB). Panasonic is currently shipping a wide range of camcorders that support the P2 format, including the professional video camera
AG-HVX200 HD handheld camcorder, and the high-end, or broadcast professional shoulder-mount AG-HPX500, AJ-HPX2000, and AJ-HPX3000 camcorders. Panasonic has also announced the P2-based AG-HPX170 handheld HD tapeless camcorder
. The HPX170 is very similar to the HVX200 and the HVX200A, the main difference being the lack of a video tape drive on the 170. The latest products to feature P2 technology are the well-received recently launched AJ-HPX2700 and AH-HPX3700 "Varicam" high end cameras.
P2 prices have come down thanks to advances in storage technology. Since tapes can only be rewritten a few times, and P2 can be rewritten over 1825 times, P2 is much cheaper per shoot over the life of the media. P2 footage can also be archived to disk, hard drive or any other digital storage media. The low cost of blu-ray and DVD media makes archival of P2 footage relatively cheap.
2 GB P2 cards are not supported in DVCProHD applications. Panasonic recently published a slightly more complicated version of this table for 16 and 32 GB cards.
AG-HPX171 (European version)
AG-HVX201
AG-HPX301E NEW
AG-HPX370/371
AG-HPX500
AJ-HPX2100
AJ-HPX2700
AJ-HPX3000
AJ-HPX3700
Digital recording
In digital recording, digital audio and digital video is directly recorded to a storage device as a stream of discrete numbers, representing the changes in air pressure for audio and chroma and luminance values for video through time, thus making an abstract template for the original sound or...
solid-state memory storage media format introduced by Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
in 2004, and especially tailored to electronic news-gathering (ENG) applications. It features tapeless (non-linear) recording of DV
DV
DV is a format for the digital recording and playing back of digital video. The DV codec was launched in 1995 with joint efforts of leading producers of video camcorders....
, DVCPRO, DVCPRO25, DVCPRO50, DVCPRO-HD, or AVC-Intra
AVC-Intra
AVC-Intra is a type of video coding developed by Panasonic that is fully compliant with the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC standard and additionally follows the SMPTE RP 2027-2007 recommended practice specification....
streams on a solid-state
Solid-state drive
A solid-state drive , sometimes called a solid-state disk or electronic disk, is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data with the intention of providing access in the same manner of a traditional block i/o hard disk drive...
flash memory
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
. The P2 card is essentially a RAID
RAID
RAID is a storage technology that combines multiple disk drive components into a logical unit...
of Secure Digital
Secure Digital
Secure Digital is a non-volatile memory card format developed by the SD Card Association for use in portable devices. The SD technology is used by more than 400 brands across dozens of product categories and more than 8,000 models, and is considered the de-facto industry standard.Secure Digital...
(SD) memory cards with an LSI
LSI Corporation
LSI Corporation is an electronics company based in Milpitas, California that designs semiconductors and software that accelerate storage and networking in datacenters and mobile networks.-History:...
controller tightly packaged in a die-cast
Die casting
Die casting is a metal casting process that is characterized by forcing molten metal under high pressure into a mold cavity. The mold cavity is created using two hardened tool steel dies which have been machined into shape and work similarly to an injection mold during the process...
PC Card
PC Card
In computing, PC Card is the form factor of a peripheral interface designed for laptop computers. The PC Card standard was defined and developed by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association which itself was created by a number of computer industry companies in the United States...
(formerly PCMCIA) enclosure, so data transfer rate increases as memory capacity increases. The system includes cameras, decks as drop-in replacements for Videocassette recorder
Videocassette recorder
The videocassette recorder , is a type of electro-mechanical device that uses removable videocassettes that contain magnetic tape for recording analog audio and analog video from broadcast television so that the images and sound can be played back at a more convenient time...
s (VCR), and a special 5.25-inch computer drive for random-access integration with non-linear editing system
Non-linear editing system
In video, a non-linear editing system is a video editing or audio editing digital audio workstation system which can perform random access non-destructive editing on the source material...
s (NLE). The cards can also be used directly where a PC card
PC card
In computing, PC Card is the form factor of a peripheral interface designed for laptop computers. The PC Card standard was defined and developed by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association which itself was created by a number of computer industry companies in the United States...
(PCMCIA) slot is available, as in most older notebook computers, as a normal hard disk drive, although a custom software driver must first be loaded.
As of early 2010, P2 cards are available in capacities of 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 GB. At introduction, P2 cards offered low recording capacity compared to competing, video tape-based formats (a miniDV tape holds roughly 13 GB of data, and an S-size HDCAM
HDCAM
HDCAM, introduced in 1997, is an High-definition video digital recording videocassette version of Digital Betacam, using an 8-bit DCT compressed 3:1:1 recording, in 1080i-compatible downsampled resolution of 1440×1080, and adding 24p and 23.976 PsF modes to later models...
tape holds 50 GB). To solve this, camcorders and decks using P2 media employ multiple card slots, with the ability to span the recording over all slots. Cards are recorded in sequence, and when a card is full, it can be swapped out while another card is recording. This limits recording time only by power supply and the available number of cards. If a card is partially full, the deck will record only until it is full. Unlike video tape, old video cannot be recorded over accidentally; old footage must be manually deleted.
P2 cards are of a ruggedized PCMCIA type with the fastest transfer speeds currently available through this format. The card also contains a processor that organizes and safeguards the files and the case is developed and crafted to "military" (according to Panasonic) specifications, making P2 cards tough and reliable.
The first pieces of equipment released by Panasonic which use the P2 format included the AJ-SPX800 (a 2/3" broadcast camcorder for ENG and EFP
Electronic field production
Electronic field production is a television industry term referring to a video production which takes place in the field, outside of a formal television studio, in a practical location or special venue...
applications), the studio recorder AJ-SPD850, the AJ-PCD10 offload device (basically, a five-slot PC card reader with USB interface designed to fit a 5-1/4" IT systems bay), and the memory cards themselves – AJ-P2C004 (4 GB) and AJ-P2C002 (2 GB). Panasonic is currently shipping a wide range of camcorders that support the P2 format, including the professional video camera
Professional video camera
A professional video camera is a high-end device for creating electronic moving images...
AG-HVX200 HD handheld camcorder, and the high-end, or broadcast professional shoulder-mount AG-HPX500, AJ-HPX2000, and AJ-HPX3000 camcorders. Panasonic has also announced the P2-based AG-HPX170 handheld HD tapeless camcorder
Tapeless Camcorder
A tapeless camcorder is a camcorder that does not use video tape for the digital recording of video productions as 20th century ones did. Tapeless camcorders record video as digital computer files onto random access data storage devices such as optical discs, hard disk drives and solid-state flash...
. The HPX170 is very similar to the HVX200 and the HVX200A, the main difference being the lack of a video tape drive on the 170. The latest products to feature P2 technology are the well-received recently launched AJ-HPX2700 and AH-HPX3700 "Varicam" high end cameras.
Specifications
- File format: MXFMXFMaterial eXchange Format is a container format for professional digital video and audio media defined by a set of SMPTE standards.- A brief summary of MXF :...
- Maximum datarate: 1.2 Gbit/s
- Available sizes: 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
- Form factor: PC card (PCMCIA) type II
P2 Workflow
P2 is a solid state technology, and as such departs from the older method of recording video onto video tape. Since the video output is saved onto a solid state P2 memory card as a file, many possibilities are opened up to change the approach to workflow; indeed, it is claimed that the workflow can be sped up and made more reliable, which in turn, reduces production costs. Since its inception, the development of this workflow, together with partners such as Avid and Apple, has matured, and has been adopted by many major production teams. However for many in the post production field the P2 format is quite troublesome. Because no hard copy is produced from the camera, editors must rely on massive amounts of stable drive space for security. The raw files on the card are usually treated as the 'tape', and then the converted Quicktime files are treated as capture.P2 prices have come down thanks to advances in storage technology. Since tapes can only be rewritten a few times, and P2 can be rewritten over 1825 times, P2 is much cheaper per shoot over the life of the media. P2 footage can also be archived to disk, hard drive or any other digital storage media. The low cost of blu-ray and DVD media makes archival of P2 footage relatively cheap.
P2 Card Run Times Timetable
| Model # | Capacity | DVCPro | DVCProHD 720pN24 | DVCPro50, DVCProHD 720p30, or AVC-Intra 50 |
DVCProHD at 1080i60 or 720p60, or AVC-Intra 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AJ-P2C004H | 4GB | 16 min. | 10 min. | 8 min. | 4 min. |
| AJ-P2C008H | 8GB | 32 min. | 20 min. | 16 min | 8 min. |
| AJ-P2C016H | 16GB | 1 hr. 4 min. | 40 min. | 32 min. | 16 min |
| AJ-P2C032H | 32GB | 2 hrs. 8 min. | 1 hr. 20 min. | 1 hr. 4 min. | 32 min. |
| AJ-P2C064H | 64GB | 4 hrs. 16 min. | 2 hr. 40 min. | 2 hr. 8 min. | 64 min. |
2 GB P2 cards are not supported in DVCProHD applications. Panasonic recently published a slightly more complicated version of this table for 16 and 32 GB cards.
Handheld models
AG-HPX170 (NTSC version)- Compact, Lightweight HD/SD Camera-Recorder
- 13x zoom lens with 28mm wide-angle
AG-HPX171 (European version)
- Compact, Lightweight HD/SD Camera-Recorder
- 13x zoom lens with 28mm wide-angle
- Improved ergonomics, features and image quality compared to its predecessor
AG-HVX201
- Progressive native 16:9 HD 3CCD3CCDA three-CCD camera is a camera whose imaging system uses three separate charge-coupled devices , each one taking a separate measurement of the primary colors, red, green, or blue light. Light coming into the lens is split by a trichroic prism assembly, which directs the appropriate wavelength...
imaging system - HD quality Leica Dicomar wide-angle zoom lens
- Progressive modes supported
Shoulder Mount Models
AG-HPX300- 3 pieces of 1/3-inch MOS image sensor (1920x1080 pixels each)
- Removable 1/3-inch lens
- AVC-Intra 50/100 and DVCPRO HD/50/25 codecs compatible
- Variable Frame Rate
- LCoS viewfinder
- Two P2 slots
AG-HPX301E NEW
- As above but with many improvements
AG-HPX370/371
- New 2,2MPx MAICO CMOS sensor with improved sensitivity F11
- Other features as above HPX301
AG-HPX500
- 3 pieces of 2/3-inch CCD image sensor (960x540 pixels each)
- DVCPRO HD/50/25 codecs compatible
- Variable Frame rate function
- Four P2 slots
AJ-HPX2100
- 3 pieces of 2/3-inch CCD image sensor (1 million pixels each)
- DVCPRO HD codecs compatible
- AVC-Intra 50 codec as an option
- Five P2 slots
AJ-HPX2700
- One of the new P2 VaricamVaricamVariCam is a brand name associated with the specialized Panasonic video cameras that are mostly used to imitate the look and feel of motion picture cameras. They have been used for many feature films. VariCams' main feature is that the framerate can be varied from 1 frame/s to 60 frame/s, offering...
range - Variable Frame Rate of 1 frame/s to 60 frame/s
- 10 bit/4:2:2 Recording with Full Sampling
- AVC-Intra codec recording system
AJ-HPX3000
- DVCPRO HD/AVC-Intra codecs compatible
- Native 1080p 4:2:2 10-bit
- Newly developed high-resolution 2.2-megapixel CCD
AJ-HPX3700
- Super High-End HD Camera-Recorder for Cinema Production , part of the P2 VaricamVaricamVariCam is a brand name associated with the specialized Panasonic video cameras that are mostly used to imitate the look and feel of motion picture cameras. They have been used for many feature films. VariCams' main feature is that the framerate can be varied from 1 frame/s to 60 frame/s, offering...
range - RGB 4:4:4 and 24PsF Output
- AVC-Intra codec recording system
External links
- MXF Aware drives for P2 post-production from Craystone of Bolton
- P2 AG-HVX-202 review
- Panasonic's DVCPRO P2 product overview
- P2 Overview at dvxuser.com
- Panasonic Announces Upgrades To P2 Solid-State Memory Drive. February 26, 2006.
- Specifications of P2 cards at the Panasonic Broadcast Europe Site. December 2, 2008
- P2 Camera in the field
- Overview of the new P2 Varicam
- P2 AG-HMC151 Review
- P2 AG-HPX500 review
- P2 product under test
- The P2 HPX3000 reviewed
- P2 media and Avid Workflow
- P2 media and Avid Workflow
- More P2 media and Avid workflow information
- A P2 tutorial from Creative Cow
- A Video tutorial showing an end to end workflow
- Wikipedia's Varicam pageVaricamVariCam is a brand name associated with the specialized Panasonic video cameras that are mostly used to imitate the look and feel of motion picture cameras. They have been used for many feature films. VariCams' main feature is that the framerate can be varied from 1 frame/s to 60 frame/s, offering...