Cluster X: Series 1 - moon - ЅріzZ - nebula - drewnet - Slipstream

driftwood

Cluster X Series Settings.

Whats it all about? Achieving the best looking overall pictures around - throughtout the popular GOPs. The great thing about Cluster X developments is you can mix and match some of the settings to combine into your favourite setting (e.g. GOP1 for 24p and 25p/FSH, GOP 6 For 1080i60/30p and 12/15 for 720p etc...). Slipstream settings do this for you (mixed and matched and with spanning capabilities where we can plus 80% modes on H & iA mode support).

This has been a tough (and still ongoing) challenge, each setting (and ptools patch change) takes an age to check & measure. Its exhausting work - even with 4 cameras on the go. The measuring to check Quantisation, frame sizes and stability adapting one change at a time is pretty debilitating on mental energy. I hope people appreciate waiting for each setting to appear.

All the new Cluster X series settings for each GOP attached below have been tested on the notorious 14-140 Pany sharp lens. Give me feedback.

Its as simple as A, B, C, D, E, F ! Each .ini setting in ptools for Cluster X Series will equate to setA ('DREWnet' 12/15 GOP), setB ('Nebula' 6 GOP), setC ('Spizz' 3 GOP), setD ('Moon' 1 GOP/3 GOP), setE (Slipstream 1) & setF (Slipstream 2). Any updates will stay on these sets.

"Bitrate is King. Who needs hi powered scaling matrices when enough Bitrate (if you have it) can drive the quantisation..." Quote from my conversation with Dark Shikari - X264 dev 2012

If you enjoy these settings please don't forget to donate to personal-view by clicking on the link above. Gratitude and thanks to Vitaliy Kiselev.

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Cluster X 'Slipstream'

A series of GOP combination settings drawn from the Cluster X series but set at nominal bitrate settings (40 to 72Mbps) to achieve a better spanning percentage for longer recordings plus the ability to be used on slower sd cards. Slipstream attempts to correlate the actual clip duration to the TS (transport stream) duration whilst providing error free population of the cpb buffers. And it seems to work very well at these settings. :-)

Slipstream #1 (Rev B): Release Date: 10/03/2013

A mix of Nebula and DREWnet settings all tightly packed into 72Mbps max 24p and around 40-52Mbps for everything else which in my PAL tests SPAN! You also get 80% mode at 24H and iA modes working. NTSC 720p60 and FSH/HBR30p should now span.

1080p24/1080i50/HBR25p/720p50 at GOP 6 1080i60/HBR30p & 720p60 at 12 GOP

Slipstream #2: Release Date: 10/03/2013

Including;-

1080p24H 88Mbps GOP3

FSH1080i50/HBR25p 60Mbps GOP3

720p50 62Mbps GOP6

FSH1080i60/HBR30p 44Mbps GOP12

720p60 52Mbps GOP12

Slipstream #3: Release Date: 15/03/2013

Including THE GH3 MATRIX ON ALL REC MODES;-

1080p24H 150Mbps GOP1 (moon style)

FSH1080i50/HBR25p 70Mbps GOP1

720p50 62Mbps GOP6

FSH1080i60/HBR30p 64Mbps GOP3

720p60 52Mbps GOP12

NB: Ive had one occasion where the camera just freezes with no apparent error. If this happens simply leave the camera alone for a minute or two until it fully writes out to sdcard (emptying all buffers) THEN turn off/battery pull. Hopefully you will notice that all your spanned files are there on next powerup.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/6429/cluster-x-series-2-moon%D0%85r%D1%96zznebuladrewnetslipstream

driftwood

Slipstream 3 contains the same settings as moon except the scaling matrix is ripped out of the GH3 - this should provide a closer grade for GH2 & GH3 users.

Mirrorkisser

@cjdincer: how do you compare the look of slipstream 3 to moon trial 5? I had moon trial 3 on my camera before, which i really liked and now i switched to slipstream 3 and tbh i dont see a real difference in 24p, maybe slightly sharper but i could not testify on that in court.

cjdincer

@papa yez matrices are important. @driftwood slipstream 3: today all modes worked fine. no freezes and odd behaviours w/ 30mbs card and panny lenses. did not make span test. I will keep slipstream 3 for couple of days to see if anything happens and go back to moon T5 which I like the most so far. I wish I have more bodies (only one), cause I forgot the feeling of moon T3 T4 (I have the T3 footage backed up but every time when we load a new setting, the cam just feels different maybe it is just me. this is my subjective opinion.) I love the sharpness of moonT5 and look of T3. so many choices, great times to shoot digital.

PaPa

Is there a general consensus that Moon out performs V4b at similar bitrates? I guess there is something else going on behind the scenes with the matricies or something?

Oh, and that you guys for addressing my question so quickly. Really nice of you.

rajamalik

@PaPa orion v4b is not the in the top 5 patch. it performed well but not the top notch. try Cluster x Moon trial 3 / 4 / 5.

Azo

@ghostlayer I concur I wish we had 4:2:2 as well. I actually bought the Nikon D600 when it was announced because I was itching for a full frame camera and it was "supposed" to have a clean HDMI out. I was a little perturbed when I found out that the HDMI out has a black border on the HDMI port, and I almost returned the camera because of this.

What I did was test the video/picture quality of the D600 vs my 7D/T4i that I had at the time. There was no comparison, the D600 blew the 7D/T4i out of the water. I knew that the picture quality would be better because of the full frame sensor but, I did not expect the (compressed) video quality to be better, but it was (IMO) I was shocked. I sold off all of my Canon gear and switched to Nikon. The other reason for the switch, is the Nikon glass. The Nikon glass was consistently sharper and had better contrast, color rendition etc, in comparison to their Canon counterparts.

Fast forward to 12-20-2012, Amazon had a screaming deal on the Panny GH2 I am a sucker for a good deal $500.00 cha-ching. Once again I performed a video quality test of the GH2 to the D600, with the stock GH2 firmware, quite frankly I was not impressed, then I installed the @driftwood Cluster 7 Nebula patch. Wholly shit!!! I was shocked and totally stoked :) jumping out of my chair and rejoicing with glee, the fact that I got this awesome video making machine for a mere $500.00. The GH2 with @driftwood hack is (IMO) way better then the D600 for video quality, the only area where I feel the D600 has an advantage is the depth of field.

@abusaifo I am sorry but IMHO the Canon 7D, 60D, T4i etc do not hold a candle to the GH2 with Driftwoods patches. The only Canon camera that I would consider would be the 5DMKIII, but that is in a totally different price range then the GH2. IMO for under $1000.00 the Panasonic GH2 with @driftwood patch is unbeatable, the still imaging is a little better on the Canon 7D series and below, so if still imaging takes precedence over video, then the Canon cameras might be a better choice. But for video there is no comparison in the $1000 price range, the GH2 with the @driftwood patch is king hands down no ifs ands or buts about it..

thepalalias

@PaPa I haven't really seen much to indicate that Orion V4B is one of the most popular anymore. I've done a lot of comparisons GOP1 settings before Cluster X but I have not done any that included Moon.

My suggestion would be that if you are going to compare GOP1 settings you include Moon, Sedna, and the two IntraVenus settings at the very least. I would consider Orion V4b to be less important but still useful. CM Night would be a higher priority to test.

PaPa

Has anyone done a comparison between the Moon hack and Orion V4b? They seem to be the most popular all-I/GOP 1 hacks. Pros and cons of each? I am happy to test this myself and share my thoughts, but just checking to see if perhaps this has been attempted by someone.

Thank you!

nachelsoul

@driftwood I love Moon. Thanks you very much for your efforts and kindness. I tested trial 5 with a bunch of ZEISS lenses for Rollei.

These Zeiss from the 60´s still have enough sharpness to compete with the modern ones and also they got a "natural" look. Good Combo with Moon. Thanks

driftwood

@abusaifo I really dont want to see that video posted here again. Its appalling. Its got nothing to do with these settings.

ghostlayer

@Aso I think we're on the same page. I am also looking for the best image quality. (Always prefering to shot Raw against Jpeg) GH2 Driftwood hack was a tremendous help for me to shoot green screen footage for TV Ident I have directed. I wish we could have in-cam native 4:2:2 codec. Yet stability does matter and I prefer a slightly lower bitrate error-free when shooting in production.

abusaifo

Azo

Cluster X Nebula 6B - HBR Mode - Smooth -2-0-2-2 - Custom White Balance Panny 20mm 1.7 @F7.0 - Shutter Speed 60 - ISO 400

Azo

@ghostlayer I have not tried Slipstream #2. What is important for me in a patch is basically the best 24P setting in terms of quality and gradability, and at the same time providing very good quality for the all of the other modes and of course spanning for 1/2hr.

To tell you the truth I am not too concerned about the space that it takes up on my card. While I would love to have my cake and eat it too... I am realistic in terms of the codec's deficiencies, and realize that in order to retain the most amount of information the data rate has to increase so that this is possible.

The way I look at it is just same way that I look at photography. I only shoot in raw mode, this way I am able to retain the most amount of information as possible while also giving me the most flexibility in terms of image manipulation etc. Does it take extra space in comparison to JPEG? Sure, but to me it is worth it. This may not hold true for you or many others.

I guess the old saying holds true... Different strokes for different folks... Fortunately we have all of these different Driftwood patches that should suffice for the different needs that we have as individuals.

ghostlayer

@Azo Did you tried Slipstream#2? I have just tried it today and it looks very good (and more reliable than Cluster X Trial8). I wonder if Slipstream #3 tighter gop and higher bitrate does worth the storage capacity loss? (compared to #2)

Bozzie

Cluster X 'Spizz' Trail 5 - 24H. Light Grade. Average (original .mts file) bitrate = 111mbps. YT bitrate = 10mbs (If you're lucky).

thepalalias

@dado023 I am sending you a PM shortly. Long story short, HBR can work well but the performance ceiling is much lower than for 24H at the firmware level, meaning that no setting can currently get around that.

dado023

@driftwood and @thepalalias

i kindly thank you both for reply :)

@thepalalias when you say this "HBR is not as robust as 24H in terms of the the implementation in-camera, regardless of the setting version)."

Now you got me even more curious....Does this mean HBR just isnt tuned that good as 24L and 24H is?

driftwood

People with questions regarding stability on HBR and 720p modes should ask my specialist testers;-

@zaven13 for NTSC and @towi for PAL.

thepalalias

@dado023 You might want to read more carefully. :)

You are referring to the bitrate for Trial 1 (84 mbps indicated for HBR in PTool) but @towi had suggested trial 4 (70 mbps indicated for HBR in PTool). For reference, it's indicated as 80 mpbs in Trial 5.

I can't offer much in the way of helpful advice on HBR since I rarely need content to playback at 25P or 30P with sync sound (and I almost always use 80% mode when I want 30P acquisition for slow-motion playback since HBR is not as robust as 24H in terms of the the implementation in-camera, regardless of the setting version).

Azo

@appyinau tryout Nebula 6b or Slipstream #3. I tried all of the patches and all of them seem to span fine @24H, the spanning issues start popping up in the other modes like HBR/1080i/720P. My testing methodology (Probably flawed) and hardware listed below.

2-Panasonic GH2'S (NTSC MODE) 2-Sandisk 64GB 45mb/s cards ( These are not recommended for Driftwood patches ) 2-Panasonic 20mm 1.7 lenses 2-Nikon to Fotodiox M4/3 adapters with various G series and D series lenses.

Prior to installing any patch, I always reset the parameter/record settings in the GH2. I am not sure if this necessary but it kinda makes me feel like I am doing a clean install like on a computer. Prior to installing the patch I format the card with SD Formatter then put the patch on the card and proceed with the firmware update. Prior to any long recording (for me this is 1/2hr) I format the card in camera to make sure everything runs nice and smooth and also to help negate as much as possible any issues with the card. Especially due to the fact that I have a slow card that is not recommended for these patches.

My criteria for recording is that the camera must be able to record for a minimum 1/2hr in all of the following modes, 24p@24H, HBR, 1080I@FSH, 720P@SH.

This is how I tested the record times.

Setup GH2 on tripod, Stream "Breaking Bad" via Netflix to HDTV and hit the record button. The Nebula 6B patch and Slipstream #3 patch passed this test. For the Nebula 6B patch I recorded for at least 1/2 hr in all modes with the Panny 20mm 1.7. For the Slipstream #3 patch I recorded for at least 45 minutes in all modes with a Nikon 50mm 1.8G lens. I did not test the Panny 20mm 1.7 on Slipstream#3 because more then likely I will not be using the Panny lens for recording video and will use my Nikon glass instead.

Mahalo to Vitaliy/Driftwood and everybody else who helped make these patches available.

dado023

@towi

i have just read the post about Spizz, but it says it is 80+ for HBR, so that goes even beyond 90, right?

driftwood

@appyinau Which trial?

towi

@dado023

i would like it to record to 25p1080 on some bittrate from 50-90. with 25fps and shutter speed on 50 Which hack do you suggest for PAL user?

Spizz Trial 4 (bkmcwd)

Cluster X Series Settings.

Cluster X 'Slipstream'

Slipstream #1 (Rev B): Release Date: 10/03/2013

Slipstream #2: Release Date: 10/03/2013

Slipstream #3: Release Date: 15/03/2013

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