okay, I stand corrected regarding editing MTS natively. I only know Avid and FCP for editing MTS files. Too, playing back MTS files in QT (through the Panasonic plugin) or in VLC there's always a lag when you start to play the streams. I wasn't aware Premiere and Vegas handle MTS natively without background transcoding or so. Thanks for the clarification.

Anyway... I didn't start to compare Sanity and Flowmotion beacause I wanted to see which hack works "better" in the first place. I've tested Flowmotion and found there's clearly a noticable drop in resolution when you compare 24H and HBR (HBR is not really better than FSH). I then went back to Sanity with FW 1.1 & PTools 3.64 and found 24H and HBR are almost indiscernible. First in FSH mode you really see a drop in IQ. This is why I started to look closer into a direct comparison of Sanity and Flowmotion...

@jamesgh2 re SH I don't know. Actually I don't use this mode. I only use 24h, HBR and FSH.

@towi I can't understand how you say "Because you can't really edit MTS files in real time" Even a lowly editor like Corel Visual Studio X4 handles native mts file well and without any issues. I have a feeling you need to modify your view about workflow.

@towi - "I don't care about the "original".

That's fine, but it means that your qualitative comparisons are not of Flow Motion or Sanity, but are instead esthetic evaluations of the products of your entire workflow. While that's a perfectly reasonable way to produce high quality results, it's not an unadulterated test of encoder image quality.

@towi: "I can't imagine anyone editing MTS files natively." "You can't really edit MTS files in real time."

Many people who use Adobe Premiere Pro or Sony Vegas edit natively with MTS files. It works great for me.

@towi - "...at least I can't imagine anyone editing MTS files natively."

That is exactly what I do with every test clip that I analyze. A video that's been transcoded can no longer be used to evaluate the encoder that originally recorded it. At this point, the only practical way to compare footage is to download exact copies of the original files.

"So I don't think 5DtoRGB really alters anything."

Isn't that the whole point of using 5DtoRGB in the first place? Because it filters the images in a manner that you prefer to the original?

@towi Pehaps I've gotten the wrong impression about 5DtoRGB. My understanding is that it filters the chroma channels to create a higher quality 10-bit rendition of the original file:

http://nofilmschool.com/2011/08/top-quality-dslr-plugin-5dtorgb-version/

I don't have a philosophical issue with this approach, but it would alter the original pixel data in a way that would make comparisons between patches questionable. I'm not sure what you mean in referring to Flow Motion as "softer" than Sanity, but smooth and flicker-free motion picture quality is what I'm aiming for. From that perspective, comparison of the static image quality of individual frames is insufficient. For me, it's the motion quality that counts and that's where the difference between Flow Motion's 3-frame GOP structure and Sanity's 12-frame GOP may be most apparent.

@LPowell I admit it's subtle, but when you play the movie, look in the orangish area at top left, and when he lifts the levels, look at the black area in the center.

@towi - "Attached a screenshot from a comparision Sanity and Flowmotion both at 24H and HBR... Workflow: MTS files converted through 5DtoRGB."

So this is a comparison of 5DtoRGB versus 5DtoRGB? I think I'll need some help with this evaluation. I'm peeping, but I'm not seeing the pixel you're referring to "that clearly looks better"?

Here's an updated version of "Sanity" (by Ralph_B) for PTools 3.64 / FW 1.1. Especially interessting for those who want to use HBR mode.

I've tested Driftwood's Quantum X and LPowell's FlowMotion … Although the bitrate is much lower Sanity clearly looks better in HBR mode. In Quantum X and FlowMotion HBR looks more like in their respective FSH mode. But in this Sanity version 24H and HBR look almost identical. First in FSH mode you'll see some degradation (naturally).

Basics:

24H = 66Mbits | HBR/FSH = 36Mbits | GOP12 | AQ4

All other settings are from the original Sanity hack.

Attached a screenshot from a comparision Sanity and Flowmotion both at 24H and HBR. Camera settings: Smooth, -2/-2/-1/-2. ISO400. Lens = Zeiss 2.0/50. Workflow: MTS files converted through 5DtoRGB. Imported into Avid (DNxHD 10bit). Transcoded to x264.

Here's also a link to the comparision movie (4'' uncorrected / 4'' blacks lifted at 16bit rendering): http://www.file-upload.net/download-4132670/flomo_vs_sanity_x264.zip.html (26MB)

*** NEW *** Vitaliy has just released an updated version of the recently released 3.64D dated 20.02 available from https://www.personal-view.com/faqs/gh2-hack/ptool-software

This updated version of the originally released 18.02.12 ptools 3.64D, incorporates 'switch on and record' 720p modes WITH B frames allowing you the b-frame prediction method which previously proved troublesome - even for Panasonic to implement!

This update allows you to switch on B frames by selecting the Encoder Setting 1 720p = 3 found under the 'AVCHD Movie Mode/External Encoder Settings patch and utilise the B frames option already found in 1080p24 and 1080i recording modes.

In the past the only way you could record with B frames on this setting was to record first under a different REC MODE like 1080p24 or 1080i for a few seconds and then switch to 720p mode and record. If you didn't do this you were met with an immediate record failure. Vitaliy's workaround now gets round this 'little technical hiccup' with some new code.

NOTE: Encoder Setting 1 controls GOP frame parameters. Selecting any of the Encoder Setting 1 settings to = 1 ensures i frames for a GOP setting of 1. Setting this to =2 ensures only i and p frames are used in the GOP (GOP must be => 2), and finally setting it to =3 establishes i, p and b frames are used (GOP >3).

I will be releasing shortly a STOCK GOP settings which demonstrates the new patch which will work on the GH2 and GF2. NOTE: This setting is a demo only of the B frames patch and can be fine tuned to work hi detail (like upping the IQ and Q slightly more until it doesnt fail on death charts, e.g. IQ =26, 1080 Q = 22 or 24 and 720 Q = 18 or 20)

You can expect Chris Brandin to be working on an updated version of his 66M settings with scaled matrices and further options soon no doubt.

I tried the patch with the new ptool. 720P look good, but the 1080i is only giving me 25 frames. Anyone else tried it?

@Zaven13 It should work fine. BTW, I'm working on an updated version of Sanity with increased stability and spanning.

Settings used - Driftwood Quantum v9c 720@50p in all shots. Some shots was heavely colorgraded. This is my first try of Driftwood Quantum v9c patch and I very pleased with a quality of it. No record drop during all day long shooting session. http://player.vimeo.com/video/36882750