New P2 recording platform: an alternative to P2 cards at DVinfo.net

Chris Hurd · November 23rd, 2005, 07:56 PM

Announcing the CinePorter CP-2 from Specialized Communications Corporation.

Read the press release and some of my notes... located at:

http://www.p2info.net/articles/misc/cineportercp2.php

What do you think? Not much info yet but there will be more details next week.

John Benton · November 23rd, 2005, 08:54 PM

Very Interesting,
Size and Cost?
I suspected there will be ample devices to help along these lines.
Still I am surprized to see it so fast

J

Charles Papert · November 23rd, 2005, 09:05 PM

Nifty.

Some immediate thoughts ergonomically speaking: that exposed P2 card area and flimsy door in the down position is a bit of a nightmare--opportunities for dirt to get into the card drives, as well as the door and/or cable from the card insert being vulnerable to damage. I could see there being a sheath that fits over the card insert which would seal the slots, but I'm not sure about an open door solution.

Otherwise, the package seems quite tidy fitting under the camera,although my personal opinion is that any and all non-shoulder mount cameras are a questionable idea for handheld shooting--not being able to brace against the body or rest on the shoulder is always a compromise to the photography, and ultimately more tiring. I'd love to see a shoulder mount assembly that places the P2 recorder and a single battery (IDX, Anton Bauer etc) over the other side of the shoulder--obviously this sort of thing will appear shortly after the camera does. I'm sure that many will be more delighted with the all-in-one design of this system than me though--it's definitely a matter of personal taste.

It's exciting to see these longer-recording time options popping up, certainly this was a major sticking point for many after the original announcement of the camera (and the cost vs shooting capacity ratio is clearly more palatable than the P2 cards)

Chris Hurd · November 23rd, 2005, 09:08 PM

As mentioned in the article (see link in first post), hard disk size and unit cost has not yet been announced.

Chris Hurd · November 23rd, 2005, 09:30 PM

Product photo added to Image Gallery: http://www.dvinfo.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=416

Edit: photo *removed* from Gallery, see posts below.

Edwin Hernandez · November 23rd, 2005, 10:11 PM

Competition is good. That improves products and keep prices reasonable. It is good to have different options

Frederic Segard · November 23rd, 2005, 10:17 PM

You know what would make this great product into a killer product? Have a FW800 or SATA port for faster download speeds to your NLE! That or a removable hard drive bay with swappable disks!

Either-way, this is a nice alternative, or rather a nice complement to an exciting line.

Aaron Koolen · November 24th, 2005, 12:07 AM

Do any of these solution allow you to put your own HD in them?

Chris Hurd · November 24th, 2005, 11:03 AM

Frederic: It looks like there's a standard USB (USB2?) jack on the lower right side.

Aaron: Not yet that I'm aware of.

Edwin Hernandez · November 24th, 2005, 11:50 AM

It would be cool to have also a firewire port (if not for recording, at least for data transfer and ingests).

Chris Hurd · November 24th, 2005, 12:05 PM

I will not be surprised if this drive does not have FireWire. It doesn't need FireWire for recording, since it is a P2 device. With the P2 interface you get all of that great metadata info attached to each clip, which isn't supported by FireWire. Besides, if you prefer FireWire, there's the FireStore DS-100, so that option is available if you want it.

Ingest into NLE will be faster through USB2 rather than FireWire 400 anyway... right?

James Emory · November 25th, 2005, 12:03 AM

Is the image of the CinePorter CP-2 supposed to be included with that link? If so, it wasn't there. Where can I see an image of the CinePorter CP-2?

Chris Hurd · November 25th, 2005, 05:04 AM

Quote:

Where can I see an image of the CinePorter CP-2?

I've asked Spec Comm for one that I can use on the site and am supposed to get one today (hopefully). As soon as it's up, I'll let ya know right here.

Chris Hurd · November 25th, 2005, 11:13 AM

Okay, just got off the phone with Spec Comm regarding a new photo... for the time being there will not be one just yet. At best I'll have to wait until next week at Govt. Video Expo, even though I wasn't given an answer as to whether or not I could get a photo there.

If that seems mysterious, it's only because they have to treat all media fairly. I'm on the media list for Govt. Video Expo along with who knows how many other print and online sources, so just like everybody else I'll have to wait for the show in order to get my own images, so next Wednesday is the best I can do.

That press release went out only to the Govt. Video Expo press list and I don't know what other sites are on that mailing list that you guys go to, but whoever they are they're all being told the same thing, wait until the Expo. So between us and whoever else is going to be there next week, there should be some product images forthcoming at that time.

What I can tell you about what it looks like: it's a hard disk enclosure that appears to match the footprint of the HVX200, it's about as thick as a Panasonic camcorder battery, and apparantly is powered by a second camcorder battery mounted in such a way that this battery is situated directly below the one on the camera and positioned the same way, horizontally, as on the HVX itself. The prototype housing I saw had heat fins all the way around with a USB or USB2 jack on the rear right side. From the rear left side there's a short four-inch cable that goes to a P2 slot insert card. It plugs into the camera just like any P2 card would; from there the video is carried by the cable to the hard disk drive in the enclosure which is mounted to the base of the HVX. I understand it'll also attach to a standard V-mount behind the battery of a full-size P2 camera such as the AJ-SPX800.

Will have to wait until I visit their booth next week to find out weight, cost, drive capacity and other details.

Betsy Moore · November 25th, 2005, 07:11 PM

Does this seem like something that's going to come out sooner or later? Next month or next June?

November 23rd, 2005, 07:56 PM	#1
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	New P2 recording platform: an alternative to P2 cards Announcing the CinePorter CP-2 from Specialized Communications Corporation. Read the press release and some of my notes... located at: http://www.p2info.net/articles/misc/cineportercp2.php What do you think? Not much info yet but there will be more details next week. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

November 23rd, 2005, 09:05 PM	#3
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	Nifty. Some immediate thoughts ergonomically speaking: that exposed P2 card area and flimsy door in the down position is a bit of a nightmare--opportunities for dirt to get into the card drives, as well as the door and/or cable from the card insert being vulnerable to damage. I could see there being a sheath that fits over the card insert which would seal the slots, but I'm not sure about an open door solution. Otherwise, the package seems quite tidy fitting under the camera,although my personal opinion is that any and all non-shoulder mount cameras are a questionable idea for handheld shooting--not being able to brace against the body or rest on the shoulder is always a compromise to the photography, and ultimately more tiring. I'd love to see a shoulder mount assembly that places the P2 recorder and a single battery (IDX, Anton Bauer etc) over the other side of the shoulder--obviously this sort of thing will appear shortly after the camera does. I'm sure that many will be more delighted with the all-in-one design of this system than me though--it's definitely a matter of personal taste. It's exciting to see these longer-recording time options popping up, certainly this was a major sticking point for many after the original announcement of the camera (and the cost vs shooting capacity ratio is clearly more palatable than the P2 cards) __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

November 23rd, 2005, 09:08 PM	#4
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	As mentioned in the article (see link in first post), hard disk size and unit cost has not yet been announced. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

November 23rd, 2005, 09:30 PM	#5
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Product photo added to Image Gallery: http://www.dvinfo.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=416 Edit: photo removed* from Gallery, see posts below.* __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

November 24th, 2005, 12:07 AM	#8
Aaron Koolen Trustee Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 1,727	Do any of these solution allow you to put your own HD in them? __________________ My Website Meat Free Media

November 23rd, 2005, 08:54 PM	#2
John Benton Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 658	Very Interesting, Size and Cost? I suspected there will be ample devices to help along these lines. Still I am surprized to see it so fast J

November 23rd, 2005, 10:11 PM	#6
Edwin Hernandez Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Panama City, Panama Posts: 162	Competition is good. That improves products and keep prices reasonable. It is good to have different options

November 23rd, 2005, 10:17 PM	#7
Frederic Segard Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 209	You know what would make this great product into a killer product? Have a FW800 or SATA port for faster download speeds to your NLE! That or a removable hard drive bay with swappable disks! Either-way, this is a nice alternative, or rather a nice complement to an exciting line.

November 24th, 2005, 11:03 AM	#9
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Frederic: It looks like there's a standard USB (USB2?) jack on the lower right side. Aaron: Not yet that I'm aware of. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

November 24th, 2005, 11:50 AM	#10
Edwin Hernandez Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Panama City, Panama Posts: 162	It would be cool to have also a firewire port (if not for recording, at least for data transfer and ingests).

November 24th, 2005, 12:05 PM	#11
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	I will not be surprised if this drive does not have FireWire. It doesn't need FireWire for recording, since it is a P2 device. With the P2 interface you get all of that great metadata info attached to each clip, which isn't supported by FireWire. Besides, if you prefer FireWire, there's the FireStore DS-100, so that option is available if you want it. Ingest into NLE will be faster through USB2 rather than FireWire 400 anyway... right? __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

November 25th, 2005, 12:03 AM	#12
James Emory Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 1,892	Is the image of the CinePorter CP-2 supposed to be included with that link? If so, it wasn't there. Where can I see an image of the CinePorter CP-2?

November 25th, 2005, 11:13 AM	#14
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Okay, just got off the phone with Spec Comm regarding a new photo... for the time being there will not be one just yet. At best I'll have to wait until next week at Govt. Video Expo, even though I wasn't given an answer as to whether or not I could get a photo there. If that seems mysterious, it's only because they have to treat all media fairly. I'm on the media list for Govt. Video Expo along with who knows how many other print and online sources, so just like everybody else I'll have to wait for the show in order to get my own images, so next Wednesday is the best I can do. That press release went out only to the Govt. Video Expo press list and I don't know what other sites are on that mailing list that you guys go to, but whoever they are they're all being told the same thing, wait until the Expo. So between us and whoever else is going to be there next week, there should be some product images forthcoming at that time. What I can tell you about what it looks like: it's a hard disk enclosure that appears to match the footprint of the HVX200, it's about as thick as a Panasonic camcorder battery, and apparantly is powered by a second camcorder battery mounted in such a way that this battery is situated directly below the one on the camera and positioned the same way, horizontally, as on the HVX itself. The prototype housing I saw had heat fins all the way around with a USB or USB2 jack on the rear right side. From the rear left side there's a short four-inch cable that goes to a P2 slot insert card. It plugs into the camera just like any P2 card would; from there the video is carried by the cable to the hard disk drive in the enclosure which is mounted to the base of the HVX. I understand it'll also attach to a standard V-mount behind the battery of a full-size P2 camera such as the AJ-SPX800. Will have to wait until I visit their booth next week to find out weight, cost, drive capacity and other details. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

November 25th, 2005, 07:11 PM	#15
Betsy Moore Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 444	Does this seem like something that's going to come out sooner or later? Next month or next June?