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P2 Hits Its Stride in 2009

Dec 21, 2009 12:00 PM, By Helmut Kobler

AVC-Intra goes mainstream

P2 cameras have always shot using Panasonic's DVCPRO HD codec, but newer, higher-end models such as the P2 Varicams and AG-HPX300 also shoot Panasonic's next-generation codec, called AVC-Intra (or AVC-I, for short).

AVC-Intra is impressive. It's an intraframe codec, so it records every frame completely instead of recording just a few full frames per second and interpolating the rest, which is what long-GOP codecs such as HDV and XDCAM do. AVC-Intra also records at full raster resolution, so it doesn't cheat sharpness by using rectangular pixels—DVCPRO HD is guilty of that one. Plus, it runs at a data rate up to 100Mbps with 10-bit color and 4:2:2 chroma subsampling. That is the technical mumbo-jumbo. In the real world, it means you get a D-5-quality codec on your shoulder with a noticeably sharper and cleaner picture than DVCPRO HD and better flexibility for color correction.

But while you've been able to shoot AVC-Intra since 2008, you couldn't always import it into major editing software. Even when you could, it was by way of some half-baked solution. For instance, Apple Final Cut Pro 6 painstakingly transcoded AVC-I into Apple's ProRes codec, which could take forever and double the size of your media. By the end of 2009, AVC-I's compatibility is in far better shape. Avid Media Composer and NewsCutter systems import and export the footage natively, without an ounce of transcoding or other conversion voodoo. Same thing goes for Adobe's Premiere Pro CS4 and Grass Valley's Edius. Apple's new Final Cut Pro 7 also imports AVC-I, but it wraps the native footage files in the QuickTime format. It adds a couple minutes to your import time but otherwise works well. (A handy third-party utility called MXF Import QT lets you bring AVC-Intra files directly into Final Cut without the QuickTime wrapper).

So now you can shoot and edit with a world-class codec. You may still run into a few obstacles using AVC-Intra in postproduction, though. Adobe's After Effects CS4 doesn't work with it yet and neither does Apple's Color 1.5 (you need to export your timeline to ProRes before going to Color). Hopefully those problems will be addressed in 2010.

Cheap, efficient archiving

Shooting on P2 cards, like almost any tapeless format, means addressing one issue that never existed with tape: How do you archive your footage that's recorded on media that's designed to be constantly reused?

For years, this question scared some producers and shooters away from P2. Why bother answering the question when you can shoot on tape or optical disk and store that physical media on a shelf?

But here's another question: Is the 30-year habit of collecting, organizing, and storing dozens, hundreds, or maybe thousands of conventional tapes (or disks) really the best way to archive your footage in the 21st century? That's a better question to ponder, especially when 2009 saw a modern archival format like LTO-4 tape, a natural fit for preserving P2 footage, become mainstream.

Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.
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