GH2 Cake v2.3: reliability and spanning in 720p, HBR, 24p, and VMM at 2-2.5x stock bit rates

balazer

I am starting this topic to discuss ways to achieve constant quality encoding with variable bit rates. This idea can be applied to GOPs of different lengths.

LiquidAlpinist

Thanks for the response balazer. The scene I was shooting did not have a lot of movements. My other GH2 was running Cake v2.3 at the same time from a different angle, with the same type of SD card and it ran for 1.5 hours just fine, and that angle had consistent movement. I will try running SDFormatter like you suggested and see if it helps.

I also was digging through the rest of this thread, and at one point you said that HBR mode isn't as stable as 24p and it may cause problems? I primarily shoot in HBR mode.

Do you think the new Sandisk Extreme is should be enough for Cake? (40MB/s Write) It is a lot cheaper than the Pro version which is nice. I shoot long continuous footages and I need a 64GB card.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MBFPT3A/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

balazer

I'm not sure what your issue was, but I don't think it's anything about the ISO setting. I routinely shoot much higher than ISO 640.

Was there much motion in the frame just before the recording stopped? I mean big motion, like in a third of the frame or more. Motion is really the only thing that could cause the encoder to fail, and even then it shouldn't the way I designed Cake.

If it wasn't an encoder failure, then it's almost certainly a failure related to recording throughput, i.e. a card failure. You say it isn't the card, but it's basically impossible to know that unless you get problems consistently with one card and not with others. One failure isn't enough information to judge by. All it takes is slightly reduced write throughput one time in one spot on the card coincident with a little bump in the video bit rate, and the buffer will overflow and the recording will stop. So with a bit of bad luck, a card that's been working fine for a long time can cause a rare failure. And a card that's been performing well can develop problems later.

The best thing would be to just stop using that card. Once a card has given you trouble, it should be considered suspect and not used for any important recordings. The type of card really matters. Sandisk Extreme and Extreme Pro are the only cards I trust. If you are determined to keep using the same card, then I recommend performing several full overwrite formattings with the SD Card Association's formatter utility. The card can determine if there are bad blocks and map around them, and you want that to happen while you're formatting, not while you're recording. It's good periodic maintenance for all of your cards.

LiquidAlpinist

Hi balazer: I've been using v2.3 on my GH2s for a while. First of all thank you for the great work. While my GH2s have been stable for the most part, tonight one of the cameras stopped recording after about 30 minutes. The file was only 2.5GB so it wasn't a spanning issues. I was shooting a high contrast scene with very dark background and a violinist in the center. The camera was set in manual focus, and ISO at 640. I know it's not my SD card . I'm wondering if ISO 640 was too much for the camera/encoder? I read somewhere else on this forum that higher ISO settings can cause the GH2 to stop recording. Any advice?

KingDoss

Hi guys, im new to Cake 2.3, but man, it's a very lovely hack, i've tested quite a few hacks, mostly Driftwood's, i liked the looks, but the file size are quite big, and also, reliability and stability issues made me not feel too comfortable using them. Then recently i started looking for decent hacks with smaller file size with stability and bam! i ran into Cake, so i tried it. I really like it, i added a lil film grain with film convert to make it even more filmic, and i recorded the clip with smooth -2-2-2-2.I'm however not a pro film maker neither do i really understamd the full technical details of this hacks, but i like Cake.

Mark_the_Harp

More cakey goodness - this is a complete video taster of a new CD using some of the footage you saw before. I don't claim to be a grading guru but I love the way you can do nice things with Cake.

Marathonianbull

Indeed, turning off the camera dodges that small "hindrance" altogether. Nonetheless, your settings add a very special glow to my motion pictures and therefore are touching perfection in a way. A 1000 thks!

balazer

Thanks for the feedback. In-camera playback was never one of my concerns, and so I didn't develop for that. Sometimes turning the camera off and back on will cure playback problems.

Marathonianbull

I like Cake 2.3 very much for its look, fluidity, colours, resolution. What I don't understand is that the in-cam replays fail half of the time in the 80%-24H mode & once in a while in 24H - on all my cards (Lexar 400x, Lexar 600x, Sandisk 80Mb/s), even on my brand new, reformatted Sandisk 95Mb/s 32GB! Don't know what could help...

Wish I could say it's perfect, though: I really like its silky, bright results in all of its modes ; (

kris

Thanks!,@matt_gh2

matt_gh2

@kris Looks great. I like the natural look.

kris

Cake v2.3 , 25p post EDIUS 7

balazer

I haven't tested it.

howardst

what is better quality in 720p cake 2.3 or santy x. please give me your honest opinion balazer. thanks

kris

@Mark,thanks for sharing ,incredible color punch!.. other force on the cake is the ability to play in the post with ease procedure, including color.I use EDIUS 7 and this is setting (CAKE), who are currently using without any problems and remarks

Mark_the_Harp

Sharing some Cake love :-) This is still my go-to setting after all this time. Love it. Lighting using Dedolights, shot on GH2 / Cake with colour correction in Resolve - I've given the woman's blonde hair a golden tint to match the instrument, which is covered with sheet gold.

password: loincloth

The language is ancient Sumerian by the way

kris

@tetakpatak, thank you! ...cute cat :-) ,through :SAKE: ,and development team.. cheers!

tetakpatak

@kris cute cat :-)

I am a big fan of the Cake v2.3, it is since years my best friend for long takes and it handles most of the situations with remarkable results.

IMHO, this setting is by far less popular than it deserves to be.

kris

Cake v2.3, GH2- ETC iso800, nikkor 50mm,f2.8 - frames from video

balazer

720p will be around 35 Mbps. The bit rate varies with the content.

howardst

Im using cake 2.3. tested 720p spans fine every four gig. checking files on bitrate viewer my average bitrates are 30000. does this seem right for ordinary filming. seems alittle low on bit rate. using sh mode auto iso vibrant. any insight would be appreciated

balazer

I don't know. Depends which mode you use and what you shoot. Cake does about 68 Mbps in 24p and 48 Mbps in HBR.

TATZU

Hey Right Now I'm Using Sanity X And The Bitrate Is Pretty Low Around 30mbps Will This Hack Be Better Than Sanity X?

balazer

Thank you. Yes, the rain is a bug in some decoders. Rain is more noticeable the longer GOP. I use a longer GOP in 720p than in the other modes, so it will be more noticeable in 720p.

kris

@balazer, spectacular setting for GH2, underappreciated, but worthy of application in my films, THANKS !!!..I noticed a little digital rain in 720p in Premiere CS6, but not a problem.I use EDIUS6.5 and have no problem with it.I see a significant improvement in color correction in post to other patches in this class.Thanks for all the good work and cheers!!!

balazer

@gameb, in-camera playback is not something I ever tested. As for the crashes, sound like a problem with memory cards or maybe the camera itself. Try different cards, or several full-overwrite formattings per the 2nd post.

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