To answer the original question: no, no P2 card is needed. The firewire port will stream HD data right out of the box, so if you plug it into a laptop or desktop running FCP-HD, Avid Express HD, Canopus Edius, or (forthcoming) DV Rack-HD, you will be able to capture full HD footage right from the outset, no P2 card needed. Or, for those who want tape, you could firewire it over to a DVCPRO-HD tape deck.
Having a P2 card will make your system a lot more portable, of course, but it's not an absolute requirement. You could capture the HD stream from the firewire port instead, either to a computer hooked up to the firewire port, or to a DVCPRO-HD-aware hard disk capture unit like the forthcoming FireStore, or to tape on an AJ-HD1200A DVCPRO-HD tape deck.
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