Panasonic Releases the 16GB P2 Cards

Panasonic is now shipping 16GB P2 cards. The AJ-P2C016RG storage cards, which retail for $900 or RM3100, double the highest capacity of current offerings. That is considerably expensive for just a storage card and for that amount, you can get a pretty decent camcorder. With two 16GB cards in the AG-HVX200 camcorder, users would be able record 32 minutes of uninterrupted DVCPRO HD footage. The 16GB P2 card is, in essence, four SD cards fused into a single package, working at a higher transfer speed. Panasonic has been pushing P2 cards for several years now as the tapeless media of choice for broadcast, competing with Sony’s XDCAM. P2 cards, which are applicable in a growing number of pro-level camcorders, were slow to catch on due to high initial cost. Panasonic has worked to counter that argument by citing its speed, reusability, and weather-resistance.
Apart from the large storage fitted in a small card, here's why you pay a hefty amount for the P2 card or shall I say, the benefits of the P2 card:

Instant on for faster acquisition and playback
Unlike tape or disc-based camcorders, the P2 camcorders has no mechanisms, so you can upload cards and start recording instantly enabling you to capture critical moments other systems miss.

Edit directly from the P2 card
The P2 card mounts directly into the PC card slot of a PC providing instant access for nonlinear editing.


Runs on virtually any laptop PC
The P2 card slips into the card slot on almost any laptop PC with the installed P2 card driver.

Ingest up to 10X real-time
High speed data transfer can be done through USB 2.0 interface. You also get blazing fast results when uploading files to a server or copying to a hard drive.


No Moving parts makes it reliable in any environment
The rugged P2 card can withstand severe shock, temperature and humidity changes allowing for less maintenance higher productivity.


Hold on a second there, Panasonic also stated in the press release that the long-awaited 32GB P2 cards will be available by the end of this year at a cost of $1800 or RM6200!

Source: www.huliq.com