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PTool v3.62d topic
  • 327 Replies sorted by
  • stoneystoney
    I extracted a video frame into jpeg then edited from Lightroom. Applied basic adjustments. WB, sharpness, noise reduction, and black&white preset. I showed it to friends. No one knows it came from video. Hehe.

    Extracting & evaluating photos out of video seems like a good habit to improve image quality straight out of camera. I mean less video post-processing if WB is correct and film mode setting is appropriate... etc.

    Videos-R-Photos :)
  • ishvarishvar
    @cbrandin


    just a test - don't mind the wobling pls...
  • OSGondarOSGondar
    @ishvar

    Camera = GH2, Hack = Stalin, That gives proper credit to the GH2 and Vitaliy's efforts, renaming his hack / renaming the camera makes it difficult for anyone to look up samples like this one, Which btw looks pretty good. (for some reason you tube wouldn't let me comment on this one)
  • ishvarishvar
    @OSGondar
    changed it in the txt - had already stalin and gh2 in the tags b.t.w.
    I didn't rename his hack, just named the GH2 GH23 that's all. I would like to have VK nicely engraved in white on my GH2 though......lol
  • stoneystoney
    Auto Quantizer or AQ... basically controls the ratio between I-frame bitsize and B-frame bitsize?

    Lower AQ allocates more bandwidth on B-frame, and higher AQ more on I-frame?
  • cbrandincbrandin
    @stonebat

    Not exactly, it's more subtle than that. It basically balances between individual macroblock size (affecting detail smoothness and resolution) vs. having the codec run out of steam when encoding big changes from frame to frame. I have found that, even with big changes, you can go to "most to detail", and the codec seems to keep up with changes very well.

    Chris
  • stoneystoney
    Thanks Chris. It sounds like higher AQ might demand more bandwidth. I guess the AQ setting gives a hint to the codec so that it doesn't need to figure it by itself? Is that how the first second blip went away?
  • sam_sticklandsam_stickland
    So I've finally brought a GH2, but now I'm struggling to hack it. Or rather I'm struggling to get 3.62d to save the firmware. No matter what type of filename I use it always reports "Wrong file name, camera won't be able to read such file". I've tried lots of combinations (e.g. GH1__133, GH2__133, GH2, a, a1, aaa, 1, 111, GH2_V11, GH2_V13), all with and without the .bin extension explicitly stated, and tried in various directories on my hard disk (in case it didn't like some of the characters in the directory structure).

    All with no joy. What am I missing?
  • cbrandincbrandin
    @stonebat

    naw... the blip went away for another reason. It was hard to find and difficult to fix. It's very complicated to explain - so, just enjoy!

    The AQ setting actually changes the behavior of the codec - it's not just a hint. It determines how much data can be in individual macroblocks, resulting in smoother and finer details as a higher percentage of bandwidth is applied to them. Overdo it, however, and the codec will run out of bandwidth before a frame is finished, resulting in bad looking motion (stuttering in parts of the frame, etc...).

    Chris
  • arvidtparvidtp
    @sam_strickland ptool also works on mac using wine - you don't need windows virtualization or bootcamp. Also 1 has always worked as a version increment for me.
  • dacloodacloo
    @ishvar that looks a hell lot like Amersfoort, where I lived for 5 years!
  • ishvarishvar
    @dacloo
    you're right. that's Amersfoort!
  • astrabanastraban
    Deep breath. Calm down. Hack does improve image quality. Though, better picture quality won't give any "pro" thing to your footage.

    Ps : Look Kubrick movies, then Ozu's, then Kiarostami's, then Malick's, then... there is no such thing that you call "filmlook" ! Skillz. All different. All "pro" (or whatever)...
  • stefanosstefanos
    @producer
    You sound like a broken record. stop coming back with the same destructive/negative/lame attitude. stop trolling and poopooing peoples' efforts. If you phrase your opinion less rudely, you might even get answers and counter-arguments.
  • JorisJoris
    Vitaliy, first off, suberb job. Second, is it possible to bring the old G1 feature AutoReview back on the GH2? On my G1 the LCD or EVF would automatically zoom in after taking a photo when using AutoReview. This saved me a lot of time checking the sharpness but also preparing for the next shot.

    Thanks.
  • daiharddaihard
    @Joris, if you "touch" the screen of the GH2 after taking a photo, it auto zooms in.
    Its only about 1sec delay after taking a photo, hitting play, and touching the area of the photo you want to check.
  • JorisJoris
    Yes I know but it does not do me any good when shooting through the EVF only. I would need to open up the LCD, hit play and touch. The old AutoReview was much easier. Just shoot and review with zoom instantly. You could choose to have the autoreview with zoom last between 1 and 5 seconds. 1 is enough for me to just quickly check for sharpness.
  • stoneystoney
    Frame Limit settings apply to I-frame?

    FB settings apply to B-frames and P-frames?

    Tame I-frames going wild and boost B-frames and P-frames?

    Higher AQ setting demands higher overall bitrate?

    If a combination of Frame Limit, FB, AQ settings exceeds the overall bitrate setting, will it result in smaller B & P frames if there's no error?

  • stoneystoney
    How would one find a setting tailored to his need?

    Roughly guess the ratio between I-frame and (B&P) frames? Then set Frame Limit settings to tame I-frame? Then set FB settings for B&P frames to reach the ratio? Then choose AQ value? Then find out appropriate overall bitrate?
  • cbrandincbrandin
    @stonebat

    I would set the bitrate and AQ values first - I like 3 (most to detail) for AQ, it seems to hold up with motion quite well and it adds a lot of detail, especially to dark areas. If you don't raise the bitrate, the AQ setting doesn't do anything - it only affects how the additional bandwidth is allocated.

    The buffer issue I think isn't as complicated as you may think. It doesn't force frames to change size, rather it allows them to, giving the codec more flexibility. I think boosting them lets the codec do a better job in some cases. My only question is whether they really need to be increased as much as I suggested. One of the buffer settings sets the maximum frame size - which by default is 8 megabits. Even with factory firmware you can get I frames up to about 6.5-7 megabits. With boosting the buffer values I've seen I frames go up to 9 megabits.

    Although I think I know what these settings are doing, it's virtually impossible to anticipate all the effects that will result from changing them. AVC codecs are extremely complex and subtle.

    So, back to your question: Start with bitrate and AQ settings, then maybe play with GOP settings, then change buffer values and see if you like what they do. Start off a little conservative - maybe with bitrates around 44M - before going to extreme values. That's my advice.

    Chris
  • proaudio4proaudio4
    True, no need to feed the fire though. It was his choice to invest in something else, then to make himself feel better to come over here making absolutely no sense crying about nothing.
  • josh_chiarajosh_chiara
    I've been doing a lot of tinkering since this was released. I have 24H set to 120000000 24L set to 110000000, GOP 3. Works and looks great.

    I am curious about the Frame Buffer settings, as it seemed like you used to need to change them when pushing the bitrate this high, but I am not having any problems with these settings.

    I am having some trouble with 1080i and 720p. I can't push them very far. I have the bitrate at 55000000 for high and 45000000 for low. I've had the GOP at 6, which won't even record on 720p, I just get write speed limitation warning. I have the GOP at 15 for 720p and 6 for 1080i.

    I want to push the 720p and 1080i further, but what changes would I have to make to push them further. Do I need to mess with frame buffer settings?
  • GMCGMC
    I have made a comparison video of the unhacked vs. the hacked GH2 using the latest PTool 3.62 with the settings attached below (44mbits, AQ = 3).

    Clearly, the 720p mode benfits the most, and this is a huge improvement. I was a bit disappointed though that several people here claimed to see now much more shadow detail for the 1080p mode as well, especially with the AQ = 3 option. I cannot confirm this. The shadow noise gets grainier and nicer, but the detail level is the same.

    I deliberately used almost static scenes, with reproducible motion of my motorized slider.

    seta.zip
    411B
  • cbrandincbrandin
    @GMC

    Nice test... Using a controlled motor is a very good way to go about it. About detail; you won't necessarily see more detail, just better rendered detail because less quantization is used. One effect is that noise looks better because it isn't all quantized to a higher level. I would expect that gradients, especially dark ones, would look smoother. I've been thinking about designing some sort of controlled test for that that isn't too hard to do, but I haven't come up with anything yet. I wonder if the improvement wouldn't be more visible at ISO 160.

    Are you from Vienna? I grew up there. I saw a little film you did about Christmas markets - it brought back nice memories.

    Chris
  • cosimo_bullocosimo_bullo

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