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One caveat with the Raylight process is to be sure you never move the MXF files from the folder used for the conversion. The Raylight converted files need to reference the MXF files. If they are deleted or renamed, the Raylight links will be lost. If you need to move, rename, or change drive letters for the files converted, you'll need to re-convert the files after they've been moved.
In the options for Raylight, you can select one of three different conversion qualities. Red, or the lowest quality, isn't useable for anything in terms of quality but will give fast playback. Yellow or blue are what you'll want to use for actual HD output, and you'll want a reasonably fast computer. A dual core AMD 4800 played back the yellow grade files with no problem, and the blue grade files playback at nearly full frame rate. The webpage for Raylight indicates that they'll be working with CineForm fairly soon, so this should allow for high quality images with high quality playback frame rate. My own tests and those of CineForm have shown the CineForm codec to be of higher quality, especially better for compositing and multi-generations, so this is exciting news.
The nice thing about the Raylight conversion, is that you can switch on the fly from one playback quality to another. If for instance, you find playing back in Blue is boggy and slow, you can switch to Yellow, or Red for basic editing, and then back to blue to check colors or other critical detail such as mask edges, aliasing, etc. The little GUI you see above is the speed control. This works somewhat similar to working with HDV on slower computers and using the VASST GearShift application.
You'll also note the Raylight files are much smaller than the original .MXF files. This is because Raylight is only making a low resolution reference frame to the .MXF file, and in fact, uses the .MXF file frames for Yellow and Blue editing modes.
Once done, you're good to go, the HVX footage will appear on the Vegas timeline, and it's ready to edit. The overall workflow isn't much different than working with HDV, other than with HDV, you can choose to edit natively (not recommended) or to use the CineForm codec to edit with. CineForm is by far the most efficient means of working with either HDV or DVCPro HD, so we can only hope CineForm will shortly be available in the Raylight package.
To export, you'll want to use the BEST setting in Vegas for good results. This does slow renders a bit, but is well worth the difference in quality. One experiment we tried is converting the 720p files to 1080p30 in Sony Vegas, and at BEST setting, it still went fairly fast on an AMD 4800 dual core system, and the quality was very good when viewed on an SXRD 60" monitor and a Sony 234B monitor.
Overall, the HVX-200/P2 transfer experience started out a bit rocky, but once it was all set, it was all smooth. As third-party products come onto the market, it's likely that the workflow will streamline itself a bit, and become more efficient if the P2 format catches on in the advanced hobbyist or low end professional markets. As tapeless formats begin to take hold, the process of converting, transferring, transcoding, etc for a while. Given the speed of change on the part of the camcorder manufacturers, shifts in standards and hardware, it's not reasonable to expect NLE manufacturers to be completely up to speed all the time. Additionally, some of the codecs and SDK's come with high costs that software manufacturers may not be willing to immediately invest in, which is another reason I expect transcoding and conversions to be common in the short term. In the case of the Panasonic, Sony, and other camcorders that offer .MXF (Material eXchange Format) file formats, even though these formats share an extension, they aren't exactly interchangeable. Metadata from the various formats isn't entirely cross-compatible, further making it a challenge for NLE manufacturers to be on top of all the formats. So, while converting the files might seem like an additional step, it will likely be with us for a while.
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| Raylight converted files on the Vegas 6 timeline. Playback in Red Mode is real-time, as is playback in Yellow Mode. Blue Mode plays back at approximately 15fps. |
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~The rest of the story....
The next morning, we called Panasonic tech support, and in the first call, we were told that "the P2 cards cannot be used in a laptop PCMCIA slot." Our response to Panasonic tech support was "Please put me through to someone who actually knows about this camera." And the next sound we heard was the dial tone as the service tech, apparently being unhappy with my question, hanged up on us. After seven calls to Panasonic tech support, we had made zero progress. We had been told by a different tech support person that "P2 cards are Mac-compatible only." I guess the tech support people need to read page 77 of the HVX owners manual where it is very specific about P2, PC, and Macs. The comment from one of their tech support people about P2 cards not being laptop compatible was akin to calling Ford Motor and being told that our car shouldn't have four tires. We decided it was time to go it alone, and did the next best thing, we searched the web, and after a lot of digging, found (somewhat hidden) pages on Panasonic's international websupport pages, additional software in versions different than what we had on our disc. (just try finding these pages on your own, they're buried deep) We downloaded that software, and installed it. Still, no go.
OK, now it's time to call Panasonic again. This time, I asked my assistant to call the product manager. The product manager wasn't available, so we ended up talking to a man named Alex. I mention Alex, because this guy was the epitome of great customer service. He didn't have all the answers, and isn't a support person, but knew more about the camcorder and P2 than both of the tech support people we'd talked with. Alex told us "If I don't have the answer, I'll find someone who will." Lo and behold, he did. Our sincere thanks to Alex.
What was even more impressive is the fact that not only did Alex get us going entirely by accident, but he made sure that several follow up phone calls were made to us throughout the day. We hope the Panasonic product management team can be sure that their tech support is as well-informed as the person answering the phone when you call Panasonic Professional Broadcast sales. Nods of sincere appreciation to Alex, Jim, Doug, and Jan at Panasonic for being sure we were well-covered, following up on us throughout the day.
*** You can also find current information on P2 at P2Info.net .
Happy Editing
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