P2 Panasonic guidebook

P2 Drivers

Panasonic P2 drivers are unified packages. Multiple devices are supported through the same P2 driver download. Choose the driver that best suits your operating system. You will choose which P2 devices to install from the installation menu. The following devices are supported by all Panasonic P2 driver packages:
AG-HPX500 | AG-HVX200 | AG-HVX200A | AG-HVX202EN | AG-HPG10 | AJ-SPX800 | AJ-SPD850 | AJ-SPX900 | AJ-SPC700 | AJ-HPM100 | AJ-HPM110 | AJ-HPX2000 | AJ-HPX2100 | AJ-HPX3000 | AJ-PCD10 | AJ-PCD20 | CardBusDriver (PCMCIA Driver) | AJ-PCS060 (P2 Store)
For P2 driver installation information and instructions on Mac and PC, see the P2 driver manual.

Windows P2 Drivers

32-bit driver for all Windows OSes
released in March, 2009.

64-bit driver for Windows Vista
released in March, 2009.

Please note, Windows 2000 support may not be fully functional.

Latest Mac driver
released March, 2009. Includes a format utility.

Mac downloads include firewire (IEEE 1394) support.

P2 Utilities

• Panasonic P2 Viewer and P2 Content Management System (P2CMS) are now password-protected downloads. Windows PC and Mac versions are available at the Panasonic Support page. Sorry, you have to jump through hoops to get your download. You'll need an email address, then Panasonic will send you a password.
• SD Card Formatter no version number
  Format SD Cards with your PC. Scroll to the bottom of the Panasonic page and click 'download'.
• P2 Card Format Station for Windows v 1.03
  P2 Card Format Station allows you to check and format P2 cards, including 16GB cards, with your PC. Replaces Panasonic's "Simple Checker" app. The latest Macintosh drivers offer a P2 card format utility for Mac users.

P2 Firmware

If your P2 hardware does not support 16GB or larger cards, you are not using the latest firmware. Unless otherwise indicated, the firmware downloads will work with all versions of Panasonic hardware with the same model number, including PAL and NTSC models, where applicable. Installation instructions are in PDF format. This is the most recent firmware available as of April 30, 2009.

Codecs and Transcoders

Unfortunately, Panasonic thought their website wasn't confusing enough. Now they want your email address before you can download some of their new files. If you're prompted for a username and password, use the ones provided. If that doesn't work, you'll have to request a password from Panasonic.

If you're looking for the DVCPro and DVCProHD codecs, you want to install P2 Viewer or P2CMS for Mac or PC, the codec will be installed automatically with the application.

• Panasonic AVC-Intra
  • AVC-Intra100 to DPX converter for Mac
    This application is only available for Intel Macs, and requires the latest version of the AVC-Intra decoder (v1.2) and P2CMS. This is not lightweight, Panasonic recommends a quad-core Mac. It is not stable on OS X 10.5.1, and there are some audio preview issues in FCP.
• Red Cinema RedCode Raw
  • RedCode Raw v1.2.1
    Nice to have installed when you're mixing and matching Red and P2.

P2 Manuals and Guides

• AG-HVX200 Manual
• AG-HVX200A Manual
• AG-HPX170 Manual
• AJ-PCS060 Manual (P2 Store Manual)
• AG-HPX500 Manual
• AJ-SPX800 Manual
• AJ-HPX2000 Manual
• AJ-HPX3000 Manual
• Panasonic CAC information

Other P2 stuff

• Record at previously impossible framerates with Barry's incredible AG-HVX200 framerate hack.
• Working fast? Don't have your HVX handy? Here's a sample AG-HVX200 scene file.
• How much record time can you get out of a Panasonic P2 card? Use the P2 time table.
• If you're using Final Cut Pro, you'll QuickTime. Older versions are provided for those users who experience problems or who just roll old school.

  OS         version	7.4.5	7.3.1	6.5.3
  Leopard	Download	Download	Download
  Tiger	Download	Download
  Panther	Download	Download
  Vista/XP	Download	Other Versions

• If you need a PCMCIA/PC Card slot in your PC or Mac laptop or notebook and you only have an express card slot, you want the Duel Adapter (it needs separate drivers).
  • Duel Adapter Windows Vista and XP driver v1.0.1
  • Duel Adapter Mac OS X (10.4.8 to 10.4.11) driver v1.0.6
  • DuelAdapter Installation Guide
  • XP Troubleshooting Guide
  • OS X Troubleshooting Guide
• To run Panasonic P2 Viewer, you'll need the latest version of Microsoft's DirectX.
• Panasonic manuals and some other files require Adobe Reader to display properly.
• Panasonic compresses firmware and some other files in ZIP archives, you may need to install an unzip utility to view and use your downloads.

Outside Resources

• Call Box offers a HVX200 workflow DVD for Final Cut Pro users.
• DVXUser.com, a community of filmmakers using Panasonic equipment.
• Some users call it the "other manual" for the HVX200, it's the The HVX Book.
• Quickly learn the ins and outs of your AG-HVX200 with the HVX Bootcamp DVD.
• Slow Motion with the AG-HVX200 tutorial by Barry Green.
• Before you buy an HVX, please read the HVX200 Buying Guide.
• Stop breaking the AG-HVX200 firewire port with the FWS-01.