Panasonic's portable P2 solid-state recorder/player is more versatile than ever for on-location HD production

Panasonic has upgraded its portable P2 solid-state recorder/player with a number of new features that make it more versatile for on-location HD production. The new AJ-HPM110 unit adds cost-effective native 1080/24p recording, a 1080/24PsF input/output and longer record times to the capabilities of its predecessor, the AJ-HPM100.
It can now record 24 frames natively. In this mode, only the active frames (23.98 psf and 24 psf) are recorded, not the pull-down. This provides more than two times the capacity you’d normally get on a P2 card. Steve Cooperman, P2 Systems product manager, said it means that if you’re recording in 720/24p HD mode, six 32 GB P2 cards will give you eight hours of record time on a $12,000 device. The company also offers an optional AVC Intra 100 card (AJ-YBX200G codec board for $3,000), which allows a user to record four hours of 10-bit 1920×1080 recording, on six 32GB cards. And this can be used with any camera outputting a 1080p/24 signal.

The new P2 Mobile unit also offers PSF input and outputs, allowing those using an HD camera with a 23.98 PSF output to record into the unit. There’s also a pull-down removal function, so you can play back content that was recorded in native 1080 23.98 p as 1080 23.98/24 psf on playout.

The AJ-HPM110 also offers instant playback of variable frame rates for viewing in the field. The unit records independent-frame DVCPRO HD/50/25 and DV formats as well as offering up/down/cross and aspect conversion.

The HPM110’s six P2 card slots allow users to record continuous, extended clips in sequence onto P2 cards or to output an extended play-list from five mounted cards to the sixth card slot.

For more information, visit www.panasonic.com/broadcast.