At NAB this year Panasonic announced the next projected step in P2 card technology with release of the 8GB P2 card. We are proud to be able to announce at IBC this year this card is available in Europe and will be shipping in December with an announcement of price in DecemberP2’s simplified workflows allow productions immediacy on location or in the studio never seen before. When taking all the cost elements of taped production into account, P2 equates to substantial savings in time and budget over the old format.
Quality control and rugged construction are key to this product and Panasonic have every confidence that this new addition to the range will stand up to the amazing projection of at least 100,000 re-writes, certainly out performing any re-recordable format currently available.
High capacity data storage devices are becoming more and more cost effective with production companies and broadcasters alike looking at this solution as a serious alternative to rooms full of old tapes gathering dust.
P2 gives the production industry a seamless and truly IT workflow with the adaptability to be mastered or archived any way the producer wants.
Producers worldwide are now looking at P2’s enhanced workflow possibilities and seeing the amazing cost savings they can make adopting this format. With the inclusion of all the new products in the range like the AJ-SPC700 Camcorder making acquisition on P2 more affordable and the AJ-PCS060 60GB ruggedised P2 store making on the move storage more accessible P2 is set to become a major player as Production companies and Broadcasters see the long term savings that can be made.
Since the launch of P2 as a format the industry has eagerly awaited larger capacity cards to increase the usability of the Camcorders available. Now with 5 x 8GB card a total of 40 GB of storage can be used in the camera at one time. This equates to 40 minutes at DVCPRO HD, 80 minutes at DVCPRO 50 and an amazing 160 minutes at DVCPRO. With the amazing download times, footage on the P2 cards can be transferred to a storage device in up to 20 times real time freeing them up for new shots. With the inclusion of the new 60 GB P2 store a production can shoot and store nearly 7 hours of footage at DVCPRO without the need for any extra storage.
The challenge to broadcasters now is to find an application that P2 will not be able to handle. ENG, fast turn around drama (soaps), commercials, promos and corporate videos can all benefit from the key operational advantages of the P2 system. Lower running costs, enhanced workflows, cheaper and safer data storage and more robust camera equipment make Panasonic’s P2 system a winner on all levels.
With the migration toward larger capacity P2 cards shooting HD onto P2 is now a reality. The inclusion of the AG-HVX200 and later of shoulder mounted camcorders shooting HD to P2 gives Panasonic confidence that the seamless workflows and massive savings possible with P2 will win fans from every production genre.