P2Store Problems

[Peter Richardson]

Hey all--Finally got a P2Store and I am having two recurring problems (had the same problems on a unit I rented about a month ago). When I copy data to the Store, then press the HDD button to check how full the drive is, all 4 lights illuminate, indicating the drive is completely empty. This happens even when several cards are loaded onto the Store and it is definitely not empty (data copies to the P2 Store just fine).

The other problem I'm having is in formatting or erasing the drive when I'm done offloading footage from it. When I press the HDD format button, all four lights on the front of the drive illuminate for a few seconds, then extinguish, seemingly indicating that the drive has been formatted. But no data has in fact been erased from the drive.

Any input on these two problems would be GREATLY appreciated. Other than that everything works great. Thanks guys!

Peter

[Chris Hurd]

For what it's worth, there appears to be an "Engineering Bulletin - Apple/PC Compatibility" link on the P@ Store product page on the Panasonic site... I wonder if that'll help. The link is:

http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp...G&displayTab=R

click on "Engineering Bulletin" link at the bottom of that page.

[Rod Mullen]

I'll be interested in the reply---as I just joined the forum to ask exactly the same question you did, Peter. The fact there is no manual does not help.

Rod Mullen

[Peter Richardson]

Thanks Chris. This engineering update is in reference to changing the mode of the P2Store from Mac to PC, but thanks for the tip. Our editor is going to try the workflow Phil suggested and we'll see how it goes. I'll report back here with findings.

Peter

[Peter Richardson]

Glad to know I'm not the only one Rod. Which problem are you having? THe erasing problem or the storage indicator problem?

Peter

[Jan Crittenden Livingston]

Originally Posted by Peter Richardson

Glad to know I'm not the only one Rod. Which problem are you having? THe erasing problem or the storage indicator problem?

Peter

How did you solve it a month ago in the rental unit?

Best,

Jan

[Chien Huey]

When I used a rented P2Store a couple weeks ago, I noticed that P2Store functions such as P2 card download and P2 card formatting did not work when you were hooked up to a computer via USB. I guess the reasoning is that you could use P2Store manager/P2Viewer to perform those functions when you're attached. When I disconnected from USB, those functions worked.

Are you connected to a computer via USB when you're trying the P2Store functions? I didn't notice this behavior with the functions you specified (b/c I didn't try them), but maybe these functions are disabled from the P2Store control panels when you're connected via USB.

Hope this helps.

[Peter Richardson]

Thanks Chien. Unfortunately, I have these problems even when not connected to a computer. Yesterday on the shoot I filled the P2Store to capacity, and when it got very close to full capacity, only one HDD Capacity light illuminated, so this function works, sort of. It seems to be either all four lights, or one light, but nothing in between.

Regarding the formatting issue, I am now just formatting using the P2 Manager utility. it would be nice if the HDD format button worked, though.

Unfortuantely, I wasn't able to fix either of these problems on the unit I rented last month, Jan. Any thoughts?

Peter

[Shane F. Kelly]

Re: formatting
when you press the HD format button on the front with a paper clip you then have about 3 seconds to hit start on the top of the unit. This should reformat your drive.
Shane.

[Peter Richardson]

Thanks Shane! I will give that a shot.

Peter

[Will Hanlon]

Did that work, Peter? Is it easy to copy footage from the P2 cards to the P2Store? How long does it take to transfer footage from the P2Store to the computer (like if you filled it to capacity)?

[Peter Richardson]

That did work. It is very easy to transfer ftg from the cards to the camera. You just insert the card and hit the Start button...doesn't get any easier than that. You have to be pretty careful about not bumping the drive as it is executing the transfer, but that is pretty much a no-brainer. The P2Store mounts to a variety of notebooks no problem, and each individual card shows up as a separate volume, which is nice.

I am actually doing a transfer right now of ftg from the P2Store to an external FW800 drive, and it is taking about 20mins for 7gigs--not too bad. In the field, a full card takes about as long to transfer to the P2Store, with verify mode On, which I would highly recommend.

I really think shooting to cards and then transferring the contents to the P2Store is the "safest" way to shoot with this camera. Unless you are in a very controlled studio or production environment, I would find recording to a hard disk-based system like the FS100 very worrisome. Your field hard drive should be about as bullet proof as possible, and involved in the production a minimal amount, which is why I like shooting to the cards (which seem about indestructable) and then transferring to the P2Store.

You do have to be careful with this cam about transferring footage and always making sure you have a backup somewhere. Already we had three cards worth of data get corrupted when transferred from the P2 card to an external hard drive (not the P2 Store) via the PCMCIA slot on my Powerbook. Fortunately, I had a backup on the P2Store. Basically, you just need a system of checks and balances to keep from having some terrifying moments.

Peter

[Chien Huey]

Originally Posted by Peter Richardson

Already we had three cards worth of data get corrupted when transferred from the P2 card to an external hard drive (not the P2 Store) via the PCMCIA slot on my Powerbook.

I noticed on my last HVX job that the Powerbook stopped recognizing P2 cards about every 5-6 cards and needed to be rebooted before it would recognize P2 cards again. This freaked me out a little because as the AC I was responsible for the footage. But then the director (who owned the PB and the HVX) said he heard about this somewhere. BTW, I used P2 Genie which is a pretty nice program that helps you download and number the P2 cards.

This problem didn't come up on the prior shoot with a Windows laptop.

Peter, I agree that the P2Store is the "safest" way to shoot. Though, once it's filled up - it's a time-consuming download. Ideally, if you could schedule the P2Store download during a meal break. Unfortunately, on one shoot we ran late and had to just copy cards onto an external HD via a Windows laptop (after we filled the P2Store) -- which caused some concern. I wish Panasonic would build in a "verify" function into their P2Viewer.

[Peter Richardson]

Hey Chien--I also had the PG fail to recognize the cards on regular intervals. A simple restart of the system corrected the problem, as you mention. the P2 Genie looks great. Where can I download it?

It would be nice if Panny built a verify into the viewer function, or if the P2 Genie had this function (though looks like it will eventually). I think the P2 Store is great, just needs to be larger. I was actually waiting to buy one thinking a larger model would be announced at NAB (perhaps I'll be proven wrong tomorrow) but this job came up and I had to get one. I understand they are VERY difficult to find, however, and I lucked out getting one. They are renting for up to 250/day in LA, which is just nuts. Supply and demand....

Peter

[Kathy Nielsen]

Can anyone tell me what maintenance procedures are recommended for the P2 Store? The sticker on the front indicates that there are some checks that can be performed. I can't find a document describing these on the internet and everything that came with the device is in Japanese.