What's so good about all these new Cluster X settings? In simple terms, after looking at the rate control, quantisation and scaling matrices found in the GH3, Nikon D800 and Canon 5DMKIII I decided upon a radical approach to find out if the GH2 was capable of getting near their very low QP values (which range from predominantly 1 to 30 depending on the detail and luminance of the subject).

What I found was (and this had me concerned before) was that Panasonic's implementation / or ptools labelling!) of rate control using the GH2's quantisation parameter isn't too clear. I needed a way of having a minumum Quant and a desired maximum quant. Strangely with Initial Quantizer = 30, Quantizer for 1080 modes = 3 (+-2 can offer a QP of 1 !) and Quantizer for 720 modes = 30 I could sortof achieve this!!!!

With 720 using B frames (switched on in the 720 encoder 1 settings as = 3) Quantizer for 720 modes seems to work as a highest Quantisation setting (high is worse, low quant is best) together with Initial Quant of 30 (don't worry about such a high starting value here - after the first frame it settles straight back to lowest achievable (best) for the scene. Subsequently, Quantizer for 1080 modes = 3 gives me my lowest desired (best quant) for each opt 24p, 1080i, HBR and 720 modes.

This quantizer rate control now seems to work as in newer High Profile Level 5 (5.1) cameras such as the 5DMKIII and Nikon D800 (and seemingly the GH3) and when matched with a new softer looking matrix - as analysed on the Canon 5DMKIII (with adjustments) - brings a degree of softening to the over sharpe Pany lenses.

I'm also sure that 1080i/FSH?HBR modes work better with half the coded picture buffer size of 720p modes (indeed I switched off 720 Bottom setting (the buffer amount as in automatically works it out) whilst offering a fairly low buffer in bitrate settings in 'patches for testers'.

In summary, the range of QP will be (certianly in 1080p24 modes) from 1 to 30 - often staying very low (less than 10) all round. I believe (although only tested by myself) that the result offers extremely good looking 720p modes (probably the best ever), certainly superior 24p with Intra & Long GOP, and great looking HBR/FSH and iA mode control (though further strenuous tests may well be required). High dynamic functions work it seems too.

All the new Cluster X series settings for each GOP attached below have been tested on the notoriously sharp Pany OIS lenses. 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). Any updates will stay on these sets.

"Cluster X Series isn't for pussies!" Driftwood 2013

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.

DRIFTWOOD 'moon T8' - 23.976p/29.97p/ 59.94p After interpreting some of the GH4 stuff in mp4 files AVCHD, and fine tuning the matrices, lowering the GOP Related stuff (to achieve more power in non death chart situations and subsequent higher bitrates) this setting should achieve better IQ with a stronger matrix to knock out any artefacting that people may be suffering with moon T7 on HBR/50p/60p modes.

Subsequently, you get a finer low frequency matrix that strives to knock out artefacting at the expense of QP and higher bitrates.

Ive settled on a QP rate control centre point of Q14 and the matrix adapted from the GH4 and improved has been tweaked to the max. However, its untested outside of me and needs your input.

Let me know how you get on.

Peak bitrates for all modes means only the best SD cards should be used. I doubt this will work in iA modes and iDynamic.

140Mbps to 148Mbps Intra 24p 52Mbps to 68Mbps 720p Upto 88+Mbps FSH/HBR

This is a TEST and report back setting!

Just Released: 5th Aug 2014 - Driftwood Spizz T7 - The Comfortable Setting!

101 Mbps Max 23.97fps(24p) 50Mbps Min-80Mbps Max 25p/30p 50Mbps Min-77Mbps Max 50p/60p

Very good IQ. Check it.

Setup - In order to achieve the higher bitrates I had to use M from the dial atop the GH2. The camera icon with the M would not allow this. The tradeoff was Auto ISO with M, and adjustable ISO with the camera icon with the M. I use mostly Canon FD lenses.

1a) Bitrates - I have tried a few hacks with varying success. The best I have got is about 100MB with Flow Motion v2.02, however, most of the shots I got with this hack seem to be from 70MB-90MB. I tried Flow Motion, Driftwood's Moon T7, and two Driftwood hacks (176MB & 220MB) from a pack made by the user Sohus on this forum.

Is it common to be well below the stated bitrate amounts?

1b) AVCHD vs MJPEG - I never seemed to get very high bitrates when using 1080i, despite the hacks stating to be much higher. They would range from 15MB-40MB. To achieve higher bitrates with Flow Motion, I used MJPEG which boosted them much higher.

Shouldn't I be achieving high bitrates with AVCHD?

2) Auto ISO - Whenever I use M (from PASM) the ISO would always be set to Auto ISO. I could adjust the ISO when using the camera icon mode (with the M), but then the bitrates would suffer. I tried changing the ISO before shooting, but Auto ISO would kick in no matter what.

How do I change the ISO while in M mode?

3) EV - I know that EV depends upon shutter, aperture, and ISO, but I can see the EV when I push the Display button so I was hoping there was still a way to change it.

Am I correct to assume that because I am using Canon FD lenses I cannot use EV? Even if using a Panasonic lens, how do I change the EV (I tried, but failed).

4) Modes - I have only been able to use the hacked bitrates - and only to a certain degree - by using M with MJPEG.

What modes should I be using to use the hacked patches? The camera icon with M? High Bitrate? 24P? 1080i?

Sorry for all the questions. I am not unhappy with the camera, but I really want to know why the bitrates are not working? And moreso, why the Auto ISO can't be changed (as I don't like the amount of noise it can introduce)? Thank you!

The MP4, 24p 1080 All-Intra 200mbps file size was 148.7 MB The MP4, 24p 1080 IPB 100mbps file size was 291.8MB

Any suggestions?

Attention, noob questions ahead !

I would like to know a few things : - Which is the smoothest hack on the GH2 ? (All the detail, no macro-blocking) - What does "Intra" or "AVC-Intraa" mean ? - What is Auto Quantitizer ? I'm not sure if a higher number means a better image (lower compression) or it's the inverse. What is better, AQ0 (all to motion), or AQ4 (all to details) ? - What does GOP stand for, and there is "Low-GOP", but then does that mean there's "high GOP" ? What are 12/15 GOP, 3 GOP and 6 GOP ? - What are P-frames, B-frames... ? - What is "Matrix" and "444 Matrix" ? - On some settings there's written "14-16 QP", or "QP16". What does QP mean ?

I've not seen much smooth looking GH2 videos on Youtube (unlike the canon videos), lots of them have a lot of macroblocking or whatever and causes the video not to be smooth, and sometimes there are some sort artifacts (I think it's because of the compression or something...). I'm a bit of a pixel-peeper :P Could someone explain me the causes of the un-smoothness, and why are some videos really clean compared to others ?

Example of smooth videos I've found :

PS : Can someone give me the link to download the 244mb/s hack ?

And here on EOSHD there's an article about Intra :

http://www.eoshd.com/content/4452/gh2-gets-avchd-intra-at-176mbit

But I still don't understand the difference between the 176mbit so-called "Intra" hack and any other one ! I'm confused...

Please answer !

Thank You.

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.

.

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.

This was our fun winter project, its in german (no subs), but one can get the meaning anyways I guess. ;-)

Technical details

Camera:

• GH3 (unhacked since no hacks available itm)

Lenses:

• 12mm 1.6 SLR Magic (should not have passed quality control at SLR Magic as you might see)
• 25mm 0.95 Nokton
• 35mm 1.4 Samyang
• 40mm 1.8 Hexanon
• 50mm 1.7 Pentax K
• 85mm 1.4 Samyang (what a nice portrait lens for this money!)

Post:

• Premiere
• After Effects
• bunch of plugins
• bunch of people
• a little time

Additonal Comments: The GH3 is a nice little cam and dids its job very well. I did not really recognize the difference in latitude, but had no direct comparision anyways. Moire did hit us once pretty hard. Until its hacked I prefer GH2 since 72 Mbit is just not enough for Intra.

Any kind of feedback is very welcome.

(edit: Markup preview and final view if completly different!)

Was DoP on this. Shot on a driftwood-176-intra GH2 with vintage lenses.

Feedback is welcome!

Description from Vimeo: This shortfilm is produced by Welterwerk Filmkompani, a new small filmproduction company based in Oslo. We make musicvideos, shortfilms and commercials. CONTACT US: post@welterwerk.no Directed by ERLEND WESTNES DOP CHRISTIAN EKREM Edit and grading ERLEND WESTNES Post effects and 3d modeling EIVIND JACOBSEN Makeup artist GRETE SKJÆVELAND CAST Machinist LASSE VALDAL Girl YVONNE / TEAM Boy ALEKSANDER M. TANGEN / TEAM Music: SIRIUSMO - NIGHTS OFF THANKS Za, Margrethe, TEAMMODELS, UiO and Khang Vinh Tran.

We also have deblocking tables to mess with. How digitally smoothed should we treat the signal of the adjoining sampled macroblocks?

VY Canis Majoris explores these areas further and each setting analyses approximate conditions of input required for certain times of the day where the natural light is weaker/stronger.

The first releases were VY Canis Majoris 'Day PM', 'Night', 'Skin Tone Soft', and the Crossfire released 'Green Screen' over on the other thread (an Intra version is being prepared). 'Day AM' will be out very soon. Including the highest measured matrix to date - no AQ required, tried and tested deblocking over the three main settings (24p, HBR and 720p) this is the first in a few settings for various filming conditions.

More settings in this series to come... ... ;-)

LOOKOUT FOR SOME NEW TERRIFIC MATRIX SETS FROM CHRIS BRANDIN ON CANIS MAJORIS.

NOTE: ALL MY CANIS SETTINGS HAVE THE 4 MINUTE RECORD LIMITATION CHECKED TO GUARANTEE WRITES. UNCHECK THE TIME LIMIT AT THE BOTTOM OF PTOOLS AND ENABLE > 30 MINUTE LIMIT AT THE TOP OF PTOOLS TO RELEASE THIS.

REMEMBER: IF YOU USE THESE SETTINGS PLEASE MAKE A DONATION ABOVE TO VITALIY KISELEV FOR HIS TIRELESS WORK IN MAKING THIS HAPPEN. THESE SETTINGS ARE TOTALLY DEDICATED TO HIM. THERE ARE MANY QUIET USERS OUT THERE WHO HAVE NEVER BOTHERED OFFERING ANYTHING. PLEASE, PLEASE HELP TO KEEP THESE HACKS GOING. NO MORE DONATIONS = NO MORE SETTINGS. IF YOU HAVE MADE A SMALL CONTRIBUTION IN THE PAST, NOW IS THE TIME TO DONATE AGAIN. Thankyou, Nick

*** THIS IS A CONTINUATION THREAD FROM SERIES 1, 2, 3 & 4 WHICH CAN BE FOUND BY CLICKING ON THE LINKS BELOW ***

Series 1 Link

Series 2 Link

Series 3 Link

Series 4 Link

ALL Settings require Panasonic firmware v1.11 & ptools 3.64D '200212' OR 3.65d required). Settings for GH2 & GFx Lumix cameras.

DRIFTWOOD NEWS

01-07-2012 NEW Driftwood 'DREWnet' Cluster v6 GOP 12/15 Released - With adapted Sedna and Orion matrix on different rec modes with superior reliability on 24p, HBR, 1080i and 720p modes over most other settings - A truly exceptional setting!

23-06-2012 Driftwood 'Globular' Cluster v5.1 released - variation uses the Sedna matrix on the I frames of the GOP (see below) - Cluster 5.1 12/15 GOP settings.

21-06-2012 Driftwood 'Globular' Cluster v5 released (see below) - Cluster 12/15 GOP settings.

14-06-2012 NEW Crossfire variations released (see below) - GOP1 mixed with Cluster settings and adapted Canis/Sedna matrices

12-06-2012 Cluster v4 pack released - A variety of different GOPs for you to try.

06-06-2012 NEW Quantum 9b Updated released - Updated & adjusted with Sedna adapted Matrix.

05-06-2012 Cluster v3 released - Improvements all round with Sedna adapted Matrix.

CREDITS

These settings are dedicated to VK @Vitaliy_Kiselev (master in control) and Chris Brandin @cbrandin (thee font of information).

IF YOU LIKE THESE SETTINGS PLEASE PAYPAL DONATE (ABOVE) TO VITALIY FOR HIS BRIILLIANT & TIRELESS WORK ON GIVING US THE HACK.

(Panasonic firmware v1.11 & ptools 3.64d '200212' required). Settings for GH2 & GF2 Lumix cameras.

INFO: Two versions - 1) CBR constant Bitrate at 75M, 2) VBR Adaptive Bitrate 35-75M

UPDATE: Updated the Orion pack as I'd left Q off. All good now (thanks to @oleg2k). Earlier msg: Ignore plain titled v5 versions (they were accidently left with deblocking on from a prior test). For the correct versions read below.

There are actually four versions for you to try out of Pictoris, two different matrices - v5b is the new hybrid matrix, v5c is the Orion included matrix. with NEW Driftwood scaled Panasonic GH2 Matrix meets AVC-INTRA Matrix hybrid (somewhere in the middle of Orion matrix meets GH2 Stock matrix) inc;- Settings primed for 50/75M Standard Rec Modes plus additional 25M for Etc Mode 1080p24 on INTRA 50/75M Standard/75M Etc Mode 1080i50/60 INTRA 50M /75M Etc Mode 720p50/60 GOP6/9 40/75M Standard/75M Etc MJPEG Highest Quality 1920&720 Mjpeg modes. Good standard SD card recommended

2 Zip files below: Download the CBR version for constant bitrate, choose VBR for variable bitrate for even more space saving on sdcard.

*** MINOR UPDATE ***Released 00:15am 28/02/2012

ROCKET and ORION users please update to 3b and 4b respectively. A slight change in the weighting of the 720p GOP structure - this time it looks correct for the proper weight on B frames under GOP Related 720p50/60 opt1/2 settings.

Download the zip file "MINOR UPDATE - Driftwood Quantum X (v3B Rocket RC) (V4B Orion) Updated - 0016am 28022012 - setb setg.zip" below and extract and overwrite the old versions of Rocket & Orion. Thanks.

Driftwood Quantum X (v4 Orion) CBR 'Settings' for ptools 3.64d- Released 16:30pm 25/02/2012

(Panasonic firmware v1.11 & ptools 3.64d '200212' required). Settings for GH2 & GF2 Lumix cameras.

INFO: Settings include;- Quantum v9b style constant bitrate patch with full AVC-INTRA Matrix ; Requires firmware v1.1 and ptools 3.64d '200212 dated' (*Not compatible with 180212 dated ptools); CBR style 154M INTRA 108024p; CBR style HBR & 1080i INTRA 100M+ Max; CBR Style GOP12(PAL)/GOP15(NTSC) 720p 50/60 - 80+ Max; AVC Intra Matrix all round; GOP related Adjustments for B frames; EX Tele and 80% mode support. SD_Card=V good Class 10; SanDisk Extreme HD Video recommended

Driftwood Quantum X (v3 Rocket) RC VBR 'Settings' for ptools 3.64d - RC Released 16:30pm 25/02/2012

(Panasonic firmware v1.11 & ptools 3.64d '200212' required). Settings for GH2 & GF2 Lumix cameras.

(Note: Please ignore the earlier zip file released v3 version, download ONLY the RC version)

Changes from v2 include;- Adjusted matrix. AVC-INTRA Matrix on I Frame coding with AVC Intra Scaled Matrix on lower field HBR/1080i P frames and 720 P/B frames. 24p Slightly improved quality to match highest i frames 6080808 limit. 1080i/HBR vastly improved. 720 modes now on GOP12/15 to match frame limit usage of 1080i/HBR (ie percentage increase to match higher frame limit for HBR mode which were capped in v2)

INFO: Settings include;- Adaptive Hi Bitrate INTRA on 1080p24 upto 154M; Adaptive Hi Bitrate 25p(50i PsF) upto 100M; Adaptive Hi Bitrate 30p (60i PsF) upto 100M+; Adaptive Hi Bitrate INTRA 1080i modes upto 100M+; Hi bitrate 720p modes on GOP 12/15 with B frames upto 50M safest; Highest Quality tested MJPEG on 1920x1080 (720 compression mode); Highest Quality tested MJPEG on 1280x720 (480 compression mode); EX Tele Mode support (will increase bitrate usage by around 20M); 80% on 1080p modes (will increase bitrate usage by around 25M)

Driftwood Quantum X AVCHD-I 100/50 (AVC Intra Matrix) Total Intra setting! More news soon...

Driftwood Quantum X 'SpanMyBitchUp' v2b - Released 10:15am 25/02/2012

(Panasonic firmware v1.11 required). For GH2 & GF2 Lumix cameras.

INFO: Updated version of SpanMyBitchUp. (See attached settings zip file below). Settings include;- Adaptive Hi Bitrate INTRA on 1080p24 - upto 100M. (* Only for GH2); Adaptive Hi Bitrate 25p(50i PsF) INTRA - upto 100M; Adaptive Hi Bitrate 30p (60i PsF) INTRA - upto 100M; Adaptive Hi Bitrate INTRA 1080i modes - upto 100M; 720p modes on GOP 6 with B frames - upto 98M; Highest Quality tested MJPEG on 1920x1080 (720 compression mode); Highest Quality tested MJPEG on 1280x720 (480 compression mode); EX Tele Mode support; 80% on 1080p modes; 24L, 720/1080i FH/H settings on Trick mode (encoder calcs bitrate)

Driftwood Quantum X (v2 Rocket) 'Settings' for ptools 3.64d - Released 22/02/2012

(Panasonic firmware v1.11 required). For GH2 & GF2 Lumix cameras.

INFO: Adaptive bitrate settings. (See attached settings zip file below). Settings include;- Adaptive Hi Bitrate INTRA on 1080p24 - upto 154M. (* Only for GH2); Adaptive Hi Bitrate 25p(50i PsF) INTRA - upto 100M+; Adaptive Hi Bitrate 30p (60i PsF) INTRA - upto 120+; Adaptive Hi Bitrate INTRA 1080i modes - upto 120+; 720p modes on GOP 6 with B frames - upto 98M; Highest Quality tested MJPEG on 1920x1080 (720 compression mode); Highest Quality tested MJPEG on 1280x720 (480 compression mode); EX Tele Mode support; 80% on 1080p modes; AVC INTRA Matrix on I Frame coding with Flat 16 Matrix on P/B frames

These settings are dedicated to VK @Vitaliy_Kiselev (master in control) and Chris Brandin @cbrandin (thee font of information).

IF YOU LIKE THESE SETTINGS PLEASE PAYPAL DONATE (ABOVE) TO VITALIY FOR HIS TIRELESS WORK ON GIVING US THE HACK.

Q. Where do I get firmware v1.11 and ptools 3.64d?

A. All the neccessary links are available here at top of page 1: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/2317/ptool-v3.64d-topic/p1

Q. How do I load Quantum settings & firmware v1.11 into ptools 3.64d?

A. See below - its simple.

1. simply make a new folder on a pc call it 'Quantum'.

2. Depending on which camera you own do the following;-

GH2 Users: Copy Panasonics official GH2 firmware v1.11 (GH2__V11.bin) into that folder. (You can download this firmware from Panasonics offical site at http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/download/fts/dl/gh2.html)

GF2 Users: Copy Panasonics official GF2 firmware v1.11 (GF2__V11.bin) into that folder. (You can download this firmware from Panasonics offical site at http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/download/fts/dl/gf2.html)

3. Download latest ptools v3.64d 200212 from the 'ptools 3.64d' thread link (https://www.personal-view.com/faqs/gh2-hack/ptool-software) and copy that into the folder too.

4. Download the Quantum patches (white looking documents found at the bottom of this section) and unzip them to the Quantum folder.

5. NOW run ptools, then load the firmware v1.11 (GH2__V11.bin for GH2 users or GF2__V11.bin for GF2 users) when it asks, now you'll see Rocket and Orion settings highlighted in Green (hover mouse over B and G buttons) click on either, whichever you wanna try.

6. One youve selected your fav' Quantum patch then click on SAVE FIRMWARE button and save the patched firmware to your sdcard naming it higher than the original GH2__V11.bin (GF2__V11.bin for GF2) firmware (makes sense yeah!) for example 'GH2__V12.bin' (GF2__V12.bin for GF2) when asked.

7. Load the new firmware from the sdcard to your camera by inserting sdcard, switch on camera, press the green-marked triangular ► 'Play' button once, Answer yes, to update your firmware. Note: Make sure youve got a fully charged battery before doing this update.

8. Done! Film away! *Please note you WILL NOT see any cosmetic changes in the menu system of the camera - but rest assured, the Quantum settings are all loaded & working hidden, under the bonnet of the camera ;-)

HOW TO PUT IT BACK TO STOCK SETTINGS AGAIN? You can always go back to stock settings by simply UNCHECKING all the boxes in ptools (or by clicking any unused red button, A to J)and saving the edited firmware back to your sdcard and reupdating. Easy.

All basic and beginners questions about the hack can be found here http://www.personal-view.com/faqs/

Any thoughts?