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Panasonic G3 Stable Settings
  • 72 Replies sorted by
  • Finally hacked my G3 with my own hack (setc.ini) based on my hack for GF2 that's loved by people:

    96mb, actual bitrate is 49mb. Quantizer 12 for the least image compression. GOP 6 for the best IQ and motion. GOP table for AQ. Reliable 4GB spanning.

    More details including sample here:

    http://kingoftweaks.blogspot.com/2012/12/g3-tweak-and-hack.html

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  • The latest version (sete.ini) offers absolutely reliable 4GB spanning while keep actual bitrate to 50mb (still 96mb limit) and it raised the I frames even taller!

    http://kingoftweaks.blogspot.com/2012/12/g3-tweak-and-hack.html

    I believe this hack works for GF2 too, but I no longer have one to test with.

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  • pvdog @ sean, this is a hell of a hack! I've tried this patch and WOW, this is the best you can get for G3! Superb quality, wonderfull low light footage, and with sandisk extreme pro 64GB you can push it just more in Bitrate and it still is spanning, can't believe my eyes, perfect!

    (But to my surprise i never could reach such high I frames?)

  • You need to display one of the test charts on your computer monitor and set its brightness to 100%. I used 92a46122114303143d4a36b0396977.png. Then I frames will be very tall. This will also produce the highest bitrate streams (about 50mb), very good for testing stability and spanning reliability.

    I use a Samsung class 10 microSD card, never failed spanning yet.

  • Nice one pvdog - it passes the "grass" test - no freezing using my Lexar Platinum 11 32GB card :-) Sample here https://dl.dropbox.com/u/27328620/G3PVDOGhack.MTS looked to be about 39Mb/s. I will put something up on Vimeo later. Cheers Paul

  • @ pvdog. I was waiting for this a long time and this hack is the reason I straight spend all my saved money to buy a used G3. Thank you so much pvdog!!! Not yet tested but will soon (as soon the G3 arrives)...

    As I have a European model of the G3 I guess I should also check the "30 minute removal" in ptools (which is not checked in sete.ini, correct?

    Also, as I do not want to flash the camera several times would you recommend the latest version (sete.ini)? Btw. loved your original settings on the GF2. Anyone yet tried the sete.ini on GF2?

    And I read about your recommended video settings for you hack.... VIVID, Contrast -1, Sharpness +1, Saturation +1, NR -2 (or -1). AWB: A -1 and, if you prefer red-ish tone, M -1.
    Question...People out there have now problems with AWB on the G3? I ask because on my GF2 AWB was always all over the table. Everthing else than good and stable. Thx.

    @wanderer. Please keep us posted with your Vimeo upload. thx...

  • thanx pvdog, I will test your settings... I hope that it'll be stable as stock settings, without freezing. Quality is superb. I have shot some night shots and it's great...

  • @Wanderer: under most conditions, bitrate is about 40Mb, but it will go up to 50Mb in high-lit scenes. You can raise the top and bottom limits to 48xxx, if you want higher bitrate paying by lower reliability of spanning. Just watched your sample, very good details.

    @ISO: Yes you should check the 30 min hack. Sete.ini is the latest, flawless NTSC so far. PAL failed stress test, so I'm working on it (note this is stress test it might still be stable enough in real life). You won't be disappointed with G3, both photo and video are significantly better than GF2, plus EVF and articulate LCD, still as small and light. It is now only $299 in USA, brand new with 14-42mm kit lens. AWB is much better too, so yes no need to change it unless you want it even warmer.

  • @pvdog: This setting is epic !

    I would have never expected such video quality from the G3. This setting seams to be from another planet and i don't need to sell my good old G3 ! :-)

    THX a lot dude !!

  • Made PAL 1080i50 and 720p50 stable and reliable as NTSC with setf.ini:

    http://kingoftweaks.blogspot.com/2012/12/g3-tweak-and-hack.html

    To clarify: this hack limits bitrate to 96Mb, with top and bottom limits set to 45Mb, resulting an actual bitrate around 42Mb to 50Mb, depending on the scene.

    After you switch between PAL and NTSC, you need to turn the camera off and on, then format the SD.

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  • Tried the hack on my G3 and GF2 and will be keeping as my standard setting. I can report that the hack works fine on the GF2 without changes. Tested the GF2 on pvdog's test pattern and it works without fault, on camera playback also works great for test pattern which is close to 50Mb/s. Thanks pvdog.

  • Hi Here is the Vimeo edit - original upload was about twice the size, 365Mb so has be compressed a lot. But still looks good at 720p with HD switched on

    Cheers Paul

  • @pvdog....Thx so much. As I understand PAL users should flash this hack "setf.ini"+ check the 30min removal, right? Any experience with reliable 4GB spanning and in-camera playback with this setting? Also, even I do not understand much about your stress test for those settings. Did this PAL setting pass it? thx.

    To patch the G3 I use PTools v3.66d beta (190712)...

    (Still waiting for my G3...$299 for body and lens is a great deal but sadly not available over here...)

  • Thanks @pvdog for the settings. It is working without error.

  • Hi and thanks for your hard work for us PAL G3 users.

    I tried your patch because, the 72Mbs Driftwood one from Oct that I used wasn't stable even at 66Mbs. This one seems stable and at least as good quality (gives ~same bit rate overall), but I'm back to the 30mins limit.

    An ideas?

    Ray (UK)

  • Hello there. I hope it's not off-topic, but here goes.

    I am reading this thread which is now. Does G3 have manual controls?

  • @rayharris: you need to check the 30 min option before you save your firmware.

  • Does G3 have manual controls?

    Not yet. I still did not finished working hack on it.

  • Dear pvdog,

    Thank you, I had forgotten... fingers crossed

  • With this hack, has anyone compared directly to a GH2?

    GH2 is now for $500, wondering if the difference is worth the extra $200.

  • @Vitaly, thanks for clarifying. Mea culpa - ;-)

  • Hello Guys,

    here you are, the highest bitrate in a stable setting so far.

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  • Guys, don't flash the ini file, I uploaded the wrong one. The statics are fine, tomorrow I will post the right file. Somehow the forum don't allows me deleting the file from the post!

  • Well, still can't erase last post, but here it goes. I based this hack on @pvdog's. The previous statistics are for this hack. So far i've been using this hack for 3 days and no errors.

    I ave one question, does those changes also apply for the stills? I read it elsewhere, but I don't really noticed any change on my photos.

    Happy new year!

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