Tagged with hack - Personal View Talks

GH1 body for Chris

Vitaliy_Kiselev — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:09:26 +0000

Guys, who have extra GH1.
I am searching for someone who could provide GH1 body for Chris (he'll return it if it won't be bricked :-) ).
He is mostly focused on film modes research and having body at hand and making risky patches could speed it up very considerable.
Results will be very useful for GH2 and other camera users, because film modes implementation is very similar among them.

PM me or Chris.

GH2 110mbps (GOP 3) Slow Motion Helicopter Test

VK_Editing — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:59:07 +0000

Just for fun.... Helicopter crashed on accident lol.

Real HDTV production world "hack" settings

sdbest — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 18:42:37 +0000

I'd appreciate people's thoughts about what GH2 "hack" settings are reasonable to use for actual productions to be used in HDTV (Discovery, Nat Geo, CBC, etc.) I ask because BBC, for example, suggests "a recording format of 50Mbs long gop or 100Mbs iframe" (see http://tinyurl.com/3os8jvt). Nat Geo seems to want 50Mbs, too. I'm not sure there's any point in shooting at any higher settings, but perhaps there is. I look forward to the discussion.

Wow - Panasonic ‘impressed’ with GH2 hack, vow to bring 25p update

Felix — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:06:36 +0000

In an interview with EPhotozine Panasonic talk X lenses (as first exclusively revealed by EOSHD last week) and the GH2.

Mr Uetmasu product developer:

A firmware update may be coming for the GH2 to add support for 25p, and additional improvements in video abilities. If there are features you want adding, contact Panasonic and let them know. They are aware of the work the “hackers” are doing and are impressed with their work, but that they (Panasonic) need to test everything / confirm there are no problems before rolling out updates. The GH3 is not due imminently, as the GH2 is still extremely popular, but that there is a high end GF series camera in the works.

Will be interesting to see what the ‘other’ video improvements are! Hopefully AF tracking and 60p.

Source - http://www.eoshd.com/content/3814/panasonic-impressed-with-gh2-hack-vow-to-bring-25p-update

Does this mean our (my) 25p prayers have been answered???

Log and transfer old problems

kitekid — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 06:09:19 +0000

Hey Guys
I have applied the patch to my GH2 been using the 42mbs 24 fps
I can't seem to import my footage in to final cut 7 anymore using log and transfer error message (contains unsupported media or has an invalid directory structure. Please choose a folder whose directory structure matches supported media.)
anyone else had this issue?
I am running lion now aswel but couldn't find anything on mac forums about compatible issues.

Sorry if i have posted this in the wrong section

Bitrate and render times

sam_stickland — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 07:48:34 +0000

Just an FYI really - which I guess is perhaps kinda obvious - test your entire work flow when you're trying out different bit rates in the hack! I've previously had no trouble at all with the stock 24Mbps, but I've hit a wall with 88Mbps. It's workable in Premiere Pro, but my After Effects renders become completely disk and memory bound and the rendering times increase dramatically. (Keep in mind that PPro is using a different rendering engine to AE).

Anyway, just something to keep in mind! I'm off to test bitrates and drive configurations to find out what's best suited to my post-production setup.

La7200 in the HOUSE! mounting ideas?

sphipps — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:46:16 +0000

can you guys/gals shoot me some links or pics to your best ideas to mount this thing? It came with a cokin p +1 diopter. i d love links and pics to mount this as well.thanks!

Headway on Pentax K-5

pomoville — Tue, 17 May 2011 01:18:36 +0000

Quite awhile there was some preliminary talk about hacking the Pentax K-5. It appears to be a really solid camera, it'd be great if it had better video options. Did anything ever come of that?

30 min limit anomaly

blues — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:09:44 +0000

i checked the 30 mins limit and i tried continues shooting till it said lack of memory on my 32 gig card.I ended up with 5 mts clips of 7 gig each and it did not even show up in log n transfer I had to convert the mts clip on toast 10....is that a bug? i used kaes 65mbps patch

PTool 3.61d topic

Vitaliy_Kiselev — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:07:29 +0000

PTool v3.61d released

https://www.personal-view.com/faqs/gh2-hack/ptool-software

GH2:

Wastly improved Video Bitrate patches.
Many new encoder related patches for testers added.
Few minor software bug fixes.

GH2 hack - where in menu do I switch between PAL and NTSC?

paralion — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:23:15 +0000

So maybe I am just dumb, but i cant find a menu entry to switch between PAL and NTSC after I hacked it...
Can anybody tell my where I find this in the menu?

thanks a lot,
paralion

One area is darker on footage.

Gabel — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:51:58 +0000

Hi! I have a European GH2 that I've applied the hack to (high bitrate AVCHD, GOP 3, 30 minute limit fix and NTSC/PAL switch). So far it's been working great, the little I've tried it.
But a friend of mine borrowed it to shoot some stuff and said that he got this weird line over the right part of the frame. The footage he had didn't show it (but they had emptied the cards), but I shot some time-lapes today that showed the same line! The odd part was that I had one short clip that was overexposed, that didn't show this line, but all the other ones did. I did use an ND filter on these shots, but it is not on the filter itself (as some clips didn't show it). Does anybody know what could be causing this?

The Zero Adverse affects hack thread

mpgxsvcd — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 00:11:56 +0000

Edit: I have added the key to the table below. Are the differences apparent now that you know what settings were used for each picture?

This thread is dedicated to talk about the highest bit rate hack with no adverse affects. To qualify for this the hack must not cause any perceived quality loss at the beginning of the files. It also must be completely stable with all Class 10 memory cards.

So far the highest settings that I have been able to get to achieve this are setting the Video Bit rate FSH/SH and 24H to 32000000. No other changes are made to the settings.

I have settled on an extra two changes that also enable class 6 cards to work with the hack. That entails setting the Video Bitrate FH/H and 24L to 25000000. These extra settings allow you to switch to 1080p,1080i, or 720p Low and record stable video with Class 6 cards like the Eye-Fi wireless card.

I have also attached several images that demonstrate the differences between recording at the standard firmware bit rates and the hacked firmware bit rates. I have included samples from the default firmware, the 32 mb/sec settings, the 42 mb/sec settings, the 42 mb/sec 3 and 6 GOP settings, the standard bit rate MJPEG, and 166+ mb/sec MJPEG settings.

I have named each of the files with a number 1 through 20. There are 1080p @ 24 FPS, 1080i, and 720p High samples from each of the settings listed above. There are also samples from the low settings for each format from the default firmware and the default firmware with 1080p 3 GOP and 6 GOP for 720p and 1080i settings.

The question is can you determine what settings were used with each one of these pictures?

Just copy the list below and put the picture numbers 1 through 20 beside each entry you think is correct. I will post the sample videos to vimeo and post the stream parser grabs if someone can correctly identify each one of the pictures.

Default 1080p High = 3
Default 1080p Low = 2
Default 720p High = 20
Default 720p Low = 18
Default 1080i High = 11
Default 1080i Low = 7
32 mb/sec 1080p High = 4
32 mb/sec 720p High = 15
32 mb/sec 1080i High = 8
42 mb/sec 1080p High = 1
42 mb/sec 720p High = 14
42 mb/sec 1080i High = 9
3 GOP 42 mb/sec 1080p High = 5
3 GOP Default 1080p Low = 6
6 GOP 42 mb/sec 720p High = 13
6 GOP Default 720p Low = 17
6 GOP 42 mb/sec 1080i High = 10
6 GOP Default 1080i Low = 12
Default 720p MJPEG = 16
166+ mb/sec MJPEG = 19

I have included the 4 settings files for these tests. Each sample was recorded with the GH2 on a tripod with constant video light illuminating the subject. The lens was a manual focus 55mm F1.2 Canon FD lens. The focus and aperture were not changed at all between shots. I simply pulled the memory card out and replaced it with the new firmware. I was able to apply the new firmware even with the manual focus lens on the camera.

The ISO was fixed at ISO 3200 because my other testing has shown that the bit rate of the video is directly related to ISO of the video. The shutter speed was 1/800 of a second.

The 1080i samples have distinct interlaced artifacts because VLC does a progressive scan screen capture without applying deinterlacing. If anyone knows how to take a deinterlaced screen cap with VLC I would love to know about how to do it.

ETC mode hack possibilities

sphipps — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:35:49 +0000

whats the possibility of changing the aspect ratio of the ETC mode with the hack? could that allow higher resolutions?

ive asked this question a few times a few diff places without a response. feel free to delete the topic if the answers already out there.

Max bitrate less than 14.8mbps for GH1 hack

Ecoleica — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 09:04:58 +0000

hey all, I just got myself a GH1 from B&Hphoto and have been attempting to hack it. I have been trying to use the 75mbps 50p reliability patch and it all seems to load up fine. The Pal hack works a treat and the camera is registering the different formats and framerates at FHD and SH. However after shooting in a range of lighting conditions today I have found that my datarate for my clips never goes above 14.8mbps. I realize that to get the full 75mbps you need good lighting and exposure but it seems like my camera wont push above the 15mbps mark...any help would be great.

Thank you

GH2 AVCHD Encoder Motion Testing

cbrandin — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 13:46:16 +0000

There is a lot of static testing going on. I wonder, though, whether the real advantage of higher bitrates manifests itself in dynamic scenes more than static ones. Therefore, it seems logical to set up some sort of standardized test for resolution vs. movement. Something like shooting a resolution chart while panning slowly (at a fixed rate) might show whether there is improvement in dynamic scenes.

Shutter speed will be an important consideration, as the slower it is the more blurring (and the less detail) there will be. At fast shutter speeds minute detail will change considerably between frames.

With a static scene I frames dominate, and B and P frames don't play much of a role so quality improvements concerning those won't show up.

I'm going to play with this a bit. In the meantime - any thoughts?

Chris

Plans: PTools settings as GH2 menu items?

EOSHD — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 09:23:37 +0000

I remember Vitaliy said that execution of the firmware happens in RAM on the GH2, so that firmware could be manipulated via the camera menus whilst the GH2 is running. Is this plausible to implement, anything promising in the code so far Vitaliy?

I'd love to see such a feature, it would make testing much faster and avoid need to keep updating with a new firmware when settings are changed.

Does hacking with ptool permanently alter my GH2?

jimtreats — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:51:58 +0000

Hi.

I know that the first post of the main topic is linked to to describe how to actually apply the ptool patch to your GH2 camera. But the one thing I can't quite figure out is whether the current hacking permanently alters our cameras or does it only apply the patch whenever we boot the camera with the file on the SDCARD. I'm used to hacking my 550d in which the camera boots into the hacked firmware whenever the hack is on the SDCARD. This is good as you can always get back to the stock camera, but a bit of a pain as you have to ensure the hack is present on all cards, and you can not format this card without reapplying the firmware hack files to it.

So does ptool hack the camera permanently? If so can we revert to stock firmware?

Finally, I'm sure I saw some mention of a mac version of ptool before the hack for the GH2 was released, now i see that the windows version is recommended to be used instead, is the mac version just not an option right now?

Cheers, I'm just excited to try the hack at some point in the near future but I would just like to know exactly what i'm doing before i contemplate doing so.

Awesome work, and I really start to like this forum for all the other informative posts, not just the incredible hacking progress.

PTool 3.60d topic

Vitaliy_Kiselev — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:24:18 +0000

PTool v3.60d released

https://www.personal-view.com/faqs/gh2-hack/ptool-software

TZ10:
* Initial support with most major patches ported.
* Release not include manual movie modes and PAL<->NTSC patches.

GH2:
* Initial support with many ported patches.
* Some new patches added.
* Bitrate patches are intended for testers only!

* Few minor software bug fixes.

GH1 1080p25 settings for class 6 cards

Londonmark — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 03:57:40 +0000

Hi,

I'm currently using the reliable 2 patch and it's great - works perfectly with class my 6 cards - huge thanks to Vitaly and lpowell. However, I'd love to get rid of the 50i wrapper. Is there some combination of the max latitude patch and the reliable 2 patch that would let me do that? I saw back in June that lpowell was thinking about it, but there doesn't seem to be any update. Sorry if I've missed something...

LM

PTool 3.60D: Encoder Setting 1 controls B-Frames

mpgxsvcd — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 23:30:41 +0000

I have isolated Encoder Setting 1 for 720p and I can unequivocally say that it determines whether the codec uses B frames or not. If you change nothing else and use Encoder Setting 1 = 3 it will use B-Frames. If you use 2 it will not use B-Frames. It also increases the bit rate up to 22 mb/sec to almost 24 mb/sec. Using B-Frames with 720p improves it tremendously. However, stability is an issue. If you record a 1080p @ 24 FPS video first and then record 720p @ 60 FPS stability returns.

I have attached the testing I have done so far and the best stream parser results I have seen. VLC indicates that this is still true 720p @ 60 FPS with B-Frames.

Feel free to use this information as you see fit. I don't need credit. It is not like I am planning on getting a patent on the settings or anything.

VIDEO: Panasonic GH1 - 100Mbps Hack Test

tomb — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 03:59:41 +0000

I just posted this over at Vimeo. Thought I would post it for everyone to see, here.
Thanks for all your hard work Vitaliy!!!

This test was filmed using an "unhackable" Panasonic GH1. The model GH1 I had was "unhackable" until its firmware was recently hacked again by Vitaliy Kiselev. The hack was made available on May 29, 2011, using PTool 3.55d.

The hack profile settings I used for this video allow the camera to record file speeds of up to 100Mbps. This setting is not meant to be used all the time as it may cause the camera to cease recording when filming extremely detailed scenes like foliage. So to test this, I filmed...some foliage.

Most of my foliage shots (and a few shots of my beagles) were under 30 seconds. Some people report that their camera shut down after only 6-10 seconds of filming foliage with the 100Mbps patch. My camera did not give me any problems at all with the 100Mbps patch, though.

I checked out the video MTS clip files with MediaInfo and the "Maximum Overall Bitrate" is listed at 108 Mbps. Keep in mind that this doesn't actually mean that the file actually ever hit 108Mbps.
LPowell explains this :
"The 108Mbps figure that MediaInfo reports is metadata recorded in the file header by the AVCHD encoder. This tells the decoder in advance the maximum bitrate it must be prepared to decode. In practice, I have only rarely seen peak bitrates exceed 100Mbps in test files I've shot with the Max Latitude Patch. The 1-17Mbps readings are running average bitrates, which can range up to 40-50Mbps. The GH1's AVCHD encoder begins each clip with a key frame encoded with a low bitrate which then increases over time, and varies depending on the complexity of the subject matter."

Also - I wanted to test the GH1 with my Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L zoom lens. I attached the lens to my GH1 via a $30 Fotodiox EOS-MFT lens adapter.

Note that my copy of the Panasonic GH1 has some banding issues. The serial number on my camera starts with WE0G****, which means it's manufacture date was July 2010. Supposedly, the GH1 can be purchased brand new and with manufacture dates as recent as March 2011. The newer the manufacture date, the less the banding is supposed to be.

The next 2 tests that I will do with my newly hacked GH1 and it's 100Mbps patch are the following:
1. Grass shot, locked down on tripod.
2. Star chart test.
For both of these high-detail tests I will let the camera roll for as long as it will roll. I will also be using a sharp, wider Canon L series lens. My goal is to see how long of a shot I can get before the bitrate goes too high for the camera, buffer or SDHC card to handle.

Also - soon I will be posting some footage with the Canon L Series lenses and my Panasonic GH2. Then we can compare the quality of the hacked GH1, and the unhacked, newer GH2.

Then finally, when Vitaliy hacks the GH2, I'll post footage of the hacked GH2!

- - - - - - - - -

EQUIPMENT, Etc:

Camera: Panasonic GH1
Serial: WE0G****
Hacked Firmware: 100Mbps Max Latitude Patch V2
Film Style: "SMOOTH" (-2, -2, 0, 0)

SDHC Card: 32GB Transcend (Class 10)

Lens: Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L
Aperture: 2.8 (because the Canon EOS lens system does NOT have a MANUAL aperture, the aperture has to be set on a Canon EOS camera body...then taken off and attached to the GH1, and used with whatever aperture was set on the EOS body).
Shutter speed: Varies due to having to keep the aperture at 2.8
ISO: 160 exterior shots...between 400-640 indoor shots

CC: FCP 3-Way Color Correction (only used to correct exposure...I didn't have my LCD brightness set proper when recording)

GH2 Speculations

CRFilms — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 04:39:50 +0000

Anybody remember off hand how long the original GH1 hack was working until Panasonic changed the firmware? Chances are they'll make the new hack unhackable in time.

I have no money coming in cause I'm off work for the summer(school job) so I'd like an idea if I need to get a part time job so I can get one ASAP or if I can wait 3-4 months and slowly save up.

PTool 3.56d topic

Vitaliy_Kiselev — Sun, 29 May 2011 12:40:10 +0000

This topic is only about specific PTool version and is dedicated to talks only about new or fixed patches.

You can report your results, best settings for this patches, etc.

Download page:
https://www.personal-view.com/faqs/gh2-hack/ptool-software

Remember that you need to check Version Increment patch(as you use older firmware) and use proper value for this patch (10 will do fine).
It is also good idea to check Prevent Version Compare :-)

Using Wine

radicalkat — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 21:31:44 +0000

Hello,

I'm attempting to apply the GH1 hack on my camera using a mac. I've downloaded the hack as well as wine and wine bottler. When I click on ptool3.exe, I get a message that says "You are about open a wine file, what would you like to do?" I click "Go" and nothing happens. Wine bottler is definately running because it's icon is at the top of the screen. However, PTool never runs. Ha anyone esle run ito this? Advice.

P.S.
I'm using a macbook with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 6 GB memory.

Any help running Ptool on my mac would be helpful.

Any reason to install the new hack on an already hacked GF13?

mpgxsvcd — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:45:52 +0000

Is there any reason to install the new hack on an already hacked GF13? Does the new hack add anything to the GF1 that the old hack doesn't have?

Kodak ZX3?

vegandelight — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 20:16:11 +0000

Hello.

Just wanted to see if anyone has checked out if something cool could be done with Kodak's popular ZX3 camera?
Its a really cheap one but it has a very nice price point compared to the GO PRO's and produces 720p60 and 1080p30.

There are downloadable firmwares, but i simply dont have any knowledge and thought someone else already tried.
http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/pd/PLAYSPORT_Video_Camera__Zx3/productID.169976100

Firmware download:
http://support.en.kodak.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/17501/selected/true

There is alot of fun stuff in that file. But no idea where to start :)

GH13 GH17 GH23?

stoney — Mon, 30 May 2011 11:57:03 +0000

We do have the codenames, but it's easier to name them by numbers.

Does GH17refer GH1 "Lenin"?

GH23 refers GH2 "Stalin"?

GH2 Dumping News

Vitaliy_Kiselev — Tue, 03 May 2011 01:00:28 +0000

My GH2 body just went to dumping.
I hope to get some news within next 24h.

GoPro Cameras

Rambo — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 01:31:56 +0000

Vitaliy, are you interested in hacking GoPro HD Cameras. www.gopro.com
All FW versions are here.
31/08/2010 http://download.goprocamera.com/GoProHDHERO_firmware.zip V02.05.11
30/01/2011 http://download.goprocamera.com/GoProHDHERO_firmware_v01.01.46.zip V01.01.46
01/03/2011 http://download.goprocamera.com/GoProHDHERO_firmware_v01.01.50.zip V01.01.50
04/04/2011 http://download.goprocamera.com/GoProHDHERO_firmware_v01.01.54.zip V01.01.54

Some options that would be desirable. The cameras is already PAL/NTSC record switchable and has 720p 50/60fps, 1080p 25/30 fps, 960p.

1. Exposure lock, either shutter speed or ISO lock as the camera has fixed aperture of f2.8
2. Enable higher bitrate

Cheers