P2 and the networks at DVinfo.net

Glen Vandermolen · August 6th, 2009, 04:12 PM

What news networks -cable or broadcast - use P2 as their main acquisition format? I tried a search, but didn't get anything.

Gary Nattrass · August 6th, 2009, 06:18 PM

BBC use it in the UK as does SKY and the old cop show I did The Bill for ITV is now shot on P2.

AVC Intra 100 is the chosen codec for BBC and EBU 1920x1080i production at 50i or 25np.

I heard a rumour that the HPX-300/301 was designed for NBC and ABC in the USA.

I have an HPX-301 and it is a good system for shooting as the AVC intra 100 422 codec is superb and very robust once it goes thru post prod and is compressed for TX or DVD.

Dan Brockett · August 6th, 2009, 08:16 PM

Barry Green can give you the complete list but a HUGE portion of what you see on television all over the world is produced with P2, I just don't recall all of the particulars.

Dan

Barry Green · August 7th, 2009, 10:49 AM

In the USA, NBC and Fox are all P2 at all their owned and operated stations, and that includes their subsidiary networks (like Fox News, Fox Business, Telemundo, etc). According to Panasonic's list of stations, in America, approximately 75% of the TV stations that have converted to tapeless, have gone with P2. In Europe it's about 85%. In Asia, it's 95%.

Tom Klein · August 7th, 2009, 05:50 PM

Here In Australia our national Broadcaster ABC-TV is on P2 for most of news etc, they love the format I believe, but i've also heard that card prices and weight of the cams compared to the Lighter Sony's is also noted.
All other networks use Sony I believe. Cheap XDCam disc's may have "turned them"?.

cheers
Tom K

Noah Kadner · August 7th, 2009, 06:39 PM

Much of the recent Beijing Olympics was produced in P2.

Noah

Gary Nattrass · August 8th, 2009, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Noah Kadner

Much of the recent Beijing Olympics was produced in P2.

Noah

A good friend of mine was one of the tech co-ords and he said a lot of it was 1/3" chip cameras too.

Noah Kadner · August 8th, 2009, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Nattrass

A good friend of mine was one of the tech co-ords and he said a lot of it was 1/3" chip cameras too.

Well it really depends on which country's coverage you're talking about. All of the BOB official pool footage- which is a *lot* of the actual events was shot using P2 (as well as some DVCPROHD tape) in 1080i/50. You can read about that here:

Panasonic's DVCPRO P2 HD Series Adopted for Beijing 2008 - Panasonic Australia

Noah

Christian Magnussen · August 8th, 2009, 07:57 AM

In Beijing from what I understand, all BOB produced that's not live OB where P2 originated footage. On top of that comes what all the networks choose to do them selves, NBC did Xdcam422 from what I've read on the web. Here in Norway the Norwegian brodcasting corp.(NRK) still uses a lot of Xdcam SD and Sony Z1(dvcam) as it's still SD broadcast up here in the cold north....

I suspect P2 will grow even more from the price drop on P2 cards. P2 equipment are very versatile on top of it all, you could do a very video look with the HPX3000 or a more smooth "filmish" feeling for scenic shoots in productions as the Olympics are, and have a Hpx171 on hand as a b-roll camera...using the same media.

I also have a feeling that a lot of networks use Xdcam because they lack a complete filebased workflow with proper backup and archiving, Xdcam is tape mentality, and can be used as filebased format or in an SDI workflow.

David Heath · August 9th, 2009, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Nattrass

AVC Intra 100 is the chosen codec for BBC and EBU 1920x1080i production at 50i or 25np.

I think you may be referring to some tests that I linked to a while ago - http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/general-h...dec-tests.html .

The EBU (and presumably the BBC) don't have any "chosen codec", but rather state that four codecs it tested "have shown quasitransparent quality up to at least 4 to 5 multi-generations,.........", and recommends them unreservedly for future general HD acquisition. The codecs are DNxHD, JPEG2000, XDCAM-HD422, and, indeed, AVC-Intra 100.

That's not to say it's an exclusive list - other codecs such as HDCAM SR are even better, and even more acceptable for such as high end drama, where a lot of grading and/or FX may be needed. Equally, codecs such as used by the EX cameras may be considered OK for occasions when a small camera is justified. They are also not saying that such as HDCAM or DVCProHD cannot be used if you've already got the gear - just trying to give guidelines on what manufacturers and customers should aspire to.

As far as ABC Australia goes, it's worth noting that they bought P2 SD 2/3" cameras, and the rumours were that they got a very good price for them, as the HD versions were just round the corner. And for standard definition, remember an 8GB card gives the same run time as would need a 32GB card for HD, which affects the economics quite a lot.

August 6th, 2009, 04:12 PM	#1
Glen Vandermolen Space Hipster Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,596	P2 and the networks What news networks -cable or broadcast - use P2 as their main acquisition format? I tried a search, but didn't get anything.

August 6th, 2009, 06:18 PM	#2
Gary Nattrass Trustee Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Cornsay Durham UK Posts: 1,992	BBC use it in the UK as does SKY and the old cop show I did The Bill for ITV is now shot on P2. AVC Intra 100 is the chosen codec for BBC and EBU 1920x1080i production at 50i or 25np. I heard a rumour that the HPX-300/301 was designed for NBC and ABC in the USA. I have an HPX-301 and it is a good system for shooting as the AVC intra 100 422 codec is superb and very robust once it goes thru post prod and is compressed for TX or DVD. __________________ Over 15 minutes in Broadcast Film and TV production: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1044352/

August 7th, 2009, 05:50 PM	#5
Tom Klein Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Australia Vic Posts: 160	Here In Australia our national Broadcaster ABC-TV is on P2 for most of news etc, they love the format I believe, but i've also heard that card prices and weight of the cams compared to the Lighter Sony's is also noted. All other networks use Sony I believe. Cheap XDCam disc's may have "turned them"?. cheers Tom K __________________ Tom K www.olinevideo.com.au

August 6th, 2009, 08:16 PM	#3
Dan Brockett Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 2,109	Barry Green can give you the complete list but a HUGE portion of what you see on television all over the world is produced with P2, I just don't recall all of the particulars. Dan

August 7th, 2009, 10:49 AM	#4
Barry Green Barry Wan Kenobi Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,863	In the USA, NBC and Fox are all P2 at all their owned and operated stations, and that includes their subsidiary networks (like Fox News, Fox Business, Telemundo, etc). According to Panasonic's list of stations, in America, approximately 75% of the TV stations that have converted to tapeless, have gone with P2. In Europe it's about 85%. In Asia, it's 95%.

August 7th, 2009, 06:39 PM	#6
Noah Kadner Better than Halle Berry Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 435	Much of the recent Beijing Olympics was produced in P2. Noah

August 8th, 2009, 07:57 AM	#9
Christian Magnussen Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Oslo, Norway Posts: 191	In Beijing from what I understand, all BOB produced that's not live OB where P2 originated footage. On top of that comes what all the networks choose to do them selves, NBC did Xdcam422 from what I've read on the web. Here in Norway the Norwegian brodcasting corp.(NRK) still uses a lot of Xdcam SD and Sony Z1(dvcam) as it's still SD broadcast up here in the cold north.... I suspect P2 will grow even more from the price drop on P2 cards. P2 equipment are very versatile on top of it all, you could do a very video look with the HPX3000 or a more smooth "filmish" feeling for scenic shoots in productions as the Olympics are, and have a Hpx171 on hand as a b-roll camera...using the same media. I also have a feeling that a lot of networks use Xdcam because they lack a complete filebased workflow with proper backup and archiving, Xdcam is tape mentality, and can be used as filebased format or in an SDI workflow.