P2 Panasonic guidebook
A quick and dirty download guide to Panasonic P2 drivers, firmware, utilities, and more
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-HVX202EN |
AG-HPG10 |
AJ-SPX800 |
AJ-SPD850 |
AJ-SPX900 |
AJ-SPC700 |
AJ-HPM100 |
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.
32-bit driver for all Windows OSes
released in December, 2007.
64-bit driver for Windows Vista
released in December, 2007.
Old 32-bit driver for all Windows OSes
provided in case you have problems. This was released in 2007 and originally called v2.02.0001 but it appears that Panasonic is no longer publishing version numbers for drivers.
Please note, the Card Bus Driver does not support 16GB P2 cards in Windows 2000.
Latest Mac driver
released 2008-1-29. Now supports OS x Leopard and P2 card formatting (finally!).
Old Mac driver
provided in case you have problems. This was released in 2007 and has no known version number.
Mac downloads include firewire (IEEE 1394) support.
P2 Utilities
- Panasonic P2 Viewer is provided here in multiple versions, since some users report issues with each of the versions. If you're having problems with irregular speed playback or sound syncronization on multi-core processors in Windows, try setting a processor affinity.
Panasonic P2 Viewer v3.5.12 - Latest version, supports AVC-I (don't forget to install the AVC-Intra codec afterward).
Panasonic P2 Viewer v3.5.8 - Previous stable version from Late 2007, this was the first P2 Viewer to support AVC-I.
Panasonic P2 Viewer v3.1.2 - early 2007 version. If you're using the AJ-YAX800G proxy board, you might want to use this. AVC-I is not supported.
Panasonic's P2 Viewer application allows you to play back P2 card data on your PC or laptop in Windows. If you want to install P2CMS, you'll need to unistall P2 Viewer first. - 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 no version number
2007-09-18: 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 Content Management System (P2CMS) for Windows v1.0.8.894
2007-08-07: Manage and play back your P2 data on your PC. If you install P2CMS you must uninstall P2 viewer. For support see the P2 Content Manager for Windows Manual. - P2 Content Management System (P2CMS) for Mac v1.1.9
2007-08-07: Manage and play back your P2 data on your Mac. For support see the P2 Content Manager for Mac Manual.
P2 Firmware
All the current versions of firmware support 16GB P2 cards. Unless otherwise indicated, the firmware 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 May 5, 2008.
Codecs
Panasonic Codecs
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.
- AVC-Intra for PC
If you have a newer camera, you'll love the AVC-I codec. Too bad it's not supported on the AG-HVX200! - AVC-Intra for Mac
It's been a long time coming. Your user ID is p2qtime and password is nacg5. - AVCHD to DVCProHD transcoder for PC
Useful if your NLE does not yet support AVCHD and you're shooting on the AG-HSC1U or similar. It won't convert the other direction, however. It was commissioned from MainConcept. Your username is p2avchd and your password is khxr6.
Other Useful Codecs
P2 Manuals and Guides
- AG-HVX200 Manual
- New!AG-HVX200A Brochure
- AG-HVX200 Brochure
- ENG and ING with P2 Technology
- AG-HVX200 Invaluable Guide (NTSC)
- AG-HVX200 Invaluable Guide (PAL)
- P2 Store 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 need QuickTime. Some users running Leopard report problems with newer versions, so I reccommend QT 7.3.1:
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).
- 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.
- Enjoy this site and the rest of the web the way it was meant to be seen with .