All the times I used the HVX200 years back it was standard def with a tape. I will need to shoot for a client next week and they want me to download the cards onto their portable HD.

Now, I've done this many times with the Sony EX3 using a card reader and the Sony utility program .

The HVX200 package I'm renting does not come with any reader. The camera will have to suffice.

Questions:

What do I need software or driver wise in my PC to download these files?

Does the camera have a standard USB connector or is there some special cable I need to get hold of?

How reliable is the file transfer? I know the Sony program checks as it writes (if you select this) so you know you have the files correctly transferred. Is there a viewer utility to make sure the files work?

Also, can anyone tell me if this camera will output video into standard def monitors if you select HD for shooting? That is, does it down convert to a standard def monitor and is it BNC out or ??

Thanks for the help on this : )

the hvx does have USB and FW400. Download the p2 drivers from panasonic and install on your computer. You will need to select USB or FW in the camera. Hook up the USB or FW cable, turn on the cam, select PC mode (button on back of camera - press it twice) and the P2's will mount on the desktop.

The cam will play out to an SD monitor fine, you shouldn't need to fuss with anything.

No BNC out, it has a proprietary component video cable that you will need to get a hold of. Or you could use the RCA's

Thank you Bob, for the detailed reply. I will get those drivers.

My point about the reliability of the data transfer ... any comments?

see reply below

There are three files that I have now put to a CD but I'm not sure if I need them all or what.

I have the Win32 P2 Drivers, a file for the P2 Viewer and a third for the P2 Content Manager.

All I need is to be able to move the data safely and completely from the P2 cards sitting in the camera
to my HD. It would also be nice to be able to check some of the clips to make the producer feel
confident they are there.

Any advice will be appreciated.

I have offloaded files this way numerous times with absolutely no issues whatsoever. However, if you have a laptop with a PCMCIA slot, this would be better and faster. Just plop the P2 card in and transfer away.

You should have all that you need. The P2 drivers will allow the P2 to mount and the P2 viewer will let you play the clips (I would read up on Panasonic's website though and make sure, I use a Mac so things are a little different).

You will need a mini USB to regular USB cable and the same with FW. Although if you are using a PC I think USB is your only option.

Just to clarify, you are using a laptop and not trying to go directly to the HD right? (because you can do that).

Anyway to run a test before you get started?

I'm more confused now. I thought the only way you can work with these P2 cards is using either
the Panasonic card reader OR the camera, itself?

My PC laptop is a Dell D410, a small relatively fast laptop. I only use it for downloads with the Sony EX3 camera since it's processor will work with their utility. Here is a review of the unit.

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2405

There is a single PC card slot on the side. Takes a card 2 1/8" wide x 3.5" long. I can stick my WiFi card in there. Is this the slot you mean? I can stick the P2 cards in there directly?

I thought I needed an Express card adaptor (with a computer that has the Express card slot... and mine does not : (.

Sent you a PM

Bob:

I cannot seem to find how to access the PM. I've looked everywhere and I see nothing.

Can you post it here?

My experience using the HVX200 this weekend was painful to say the least. I was shooting 720/60P and getting only 17 minutes on a 16gb card. I only had one card in the camera at a time since I did not trust it to continue a scene on to the second card.

My PC laptop was equipped with a slot that accepted the P2 cards directly so that became my method for downloading the three 16gb cards I had to work with. I installed the P2 card drivers and the P2 viewer utility. The rental house told me I could just drag and drop the Contents folder from the card onto my hard drive in Windows Explorer but I chose to use the P2 Ingestor from within the Viewer under Tools. I'm used to the Sony EX3 system whereby it checks as it writes each card so I was not as confident of either method, here.

However, after it ingested the card nothing showed up in the lower half of the Viewer... again as I'm used to seeing with the Sony system. In fact, I had to force the program to find the card contents on my C drive and install it as a "virtual P2 card" before the Viewer would see it. Very clunky method. For some reason I could not seem to drag to the end of a scene on the timeline to check the last few seconds of the take. It kept bouncing back to where the play head was.

The system creates a long file # after you download and places the Contents folder it it. I found it would use the exact same file numbers more than once. I had to move three of the files from my C drive from earlier in the day to an external drive that I had already placed the last three cards on and two of the card downloads had the exact same number. That meant I had to add an A after the last four digits (the date code) so I could add the three additional files.

This make no sense at all and could easily have been a disaster!

I'm new to this P2 card system so if there is a safer and easier way to do this please, please let me know.

I have been using Panasonic HVX202 and now HPX172 for a long time. Never experienced such problems like what you described.

I used both a notebook (Lenovo T60 equipped with a PC card slot) and a Workstation - uploading P2 card information via either the PC card slot (on notebook) or using the AJ-PCD2 USB card reader (or previously - via AJ-PCS060G's card reader). You need just to install the device driver to Windows. No need for P2 Viewer and P2 contents manager. However, if you require the ability to view the the clips, then the P2 Viewer is also needed.

I create a directory on my Harddisk (say V drive) -

V:\P2Video

If you have 3 P2 cards, then - the directory structure will look like this -

V:\P2Video\P1
V:\P2Video\P2
V:\P2Video\P3

Then you pop in the P2 card into the reader, and you will see a drive letter assigned to the P2 card reader (say K:).

Copy everything from K: into V:\P2Video\P1 for the 1st card, 2nd card will go into V:\P2Video\P2, etc, etc. You understand now?

With all due respect... this sounds crazy.

If I'm shooting 17 minutes on a 16 gig card and swopping cards in and out to keep up with the shoot the last thing I want is to have 13 different directories all over my hard drive.

There is no reason to have to use more than one file folder for a given shoot and have them each appear immediately on some type of simple viewer so I or the director/producer can see them if need be. And all with their own file #... no duplication of any kind.

Sony has somehow found a way to do this with the EX system.

It's simple... you take the time the card was downloaded (13.23 for 1:23pm) and add to that the date (09.16.10 for Sept. 16, 2010) and you have a unique card file # (13.23.09.16.10) that will not repeated.
This way they will have consecutive numbers that actually mean something... like when we shot them.

How hard is that?

What I am saying - it works for me. You don't have to use Panny's software - you can just use your own folders. I am not the author of the Panny's software - so I can't comment on why it is done that way.

With all due respect... this sounds crazy.

If I'm shooting 17 minutes on a 16 gig card and swopping cards in and out to keep up with the shoot the last thing I want is to have 13 different directories all over my hard drive.

There is no reason to have to use more than one file folder for a given shoot and have them each appear immediately on some type of simple viewer so I or the director/producer can see them if need be. And all with their own file #... no duplication of any kind.

Sony has somehow found a way to do this with the EX system.

It's simple... you take the time the card was downloaded (13.23 for 1:23pm) and add to that the date (09.16.10 for Sept. 16, 2010) and you have a unique card file # (13.23.09.16.10) that will not repeated.
This way they will have consecutive numbers that actually mean something... like when we shot them.

How hard is that?

George,
I usually create a Master Folder for the day and then Card One Card Two Card three etc folders. It helps to use bigger cards than 16GB. (I have two 64G and a 32G before I use my 16's). It also helps to have a camera with more slots like my 500. The P2CMS
software can read individual folders or the combined master folder. I agree the number system is lame but each card does have an order for the files. I have used the Sony XDCAM EX cameras as well and their system has its own issues as well.

Dan:

I rent and the 16g cards are as high as they go.

The duplication of card file numbers was the scary part of the whole process. I could have easily wiped out an entire card had I not become aware of the problem during the shoot.

As I use this camera more and more (lately it is the "flavor of the week" so it seems) I have come to understand these quirks and I just deal with them.

A bit more development on the part of the manufacturer would help make things a tad easier is my point.

Thanks for all the replies to my venting : ).