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SANITY 4 and 5.1
  • Ralph_BRalph_B

    I'm starting a new thread because this is something really special.

    Here is the new version of Sanity for firmware 1.1. What makes this special is:

    Picture Quality - across-the-board, no-compromise, high quality images in all modes: 24P, HBR, 1080i and 720p. And all at very modest bitrates. There are improvements in all modes. 720p is especially notable because I have successfully got B-frames working in it, and it makes a huge difference.

    Stability - I hate write errors - hate em', hate em', hate em'. Sanity 4 is rock stable. I use Sandisk 30M Class 10 cards and have not had any write errors in any mode, including ETC. Of course, your milage may vary, but I hope not.

    Spanning - Sanity now spans in 24L, FH, SH & H mode.

    Two versions - Because of HBR mode, I was forced to make two versions of Sanity 4, one for NTSC and one for PAL.

    Samples - I've uploaded a zip file containing four raw MTS files, which show the same scene in 24P, HBR-30P, 1080i60 and 720p60. The shutter speed was set to 1/2000 sec, to really torture the codec. Even if you're a confirmed intra-junkie, you owe it to yourself to check this out. You just might be amazed.

    [url]http://www.sendspace.com/file/9j72rc[/url]

    NOTE: When downloading from Sendspace, click the button that says "Click here to start download from sendspace". Do not click anything else.

    SANITY 4.1 UPDATE - March 27, 2012

    Here is an update for SANITY with vastly improved stability for the PAL version. This sucker is STABLE. In fact, so stable that I was able to raise the data rate in FSH/SH mode to 36M. So, there's better picture quality, too.

    I've also updated the NTSC version, although there was nothing wrong with version 4.0. I simply applied some of the things I learned from the PAL version, to make it even more stable. Call it preventative maintenence.

    Again, what SANITY is about is top picture quality is ALL shooting modes with reasonable data rates and 100% reliability.

    SANITY 5 UPDATE - April 14, 2012

    Here is a new version of Sanity with some major changes. First, it fixes a problem with a subtle pulsing in the shadows in HBR mode. But more importantly, in the process of fixing the pulsing, I discovered a way to create monster size I frames, while still keeping the bitrate low. In 24P, we're talking about I frames approaching the one million mark with certain subject material. And this applies to 24L, as well! For 24H I had to lower the bitrate from 66M to 38M, and yet the image quality is the same (and maybe better). I applied this technique to all modes; 24P, 1080i, 720P and HBR.

    Sanity 5 is unified for NTSC and PAL - there is only one version.

    Spanning works with 24L, FH, SH & H modes. When spanning, do not go above ISO 5000 and do not use ETC. Spanning works in HBR mode with third party manual lenses. Do not go above ISO 3200. Spanning does not work reliably in HBR mode when using Panasonic lenses.

    SANITY 5.1 UPDATE - December 29, 2012

    SANITY 5.1 fixes a problem of the image severly breaking up and prevents it from occuring. I strongly recommend SANITY 5 users install the update.

    SANITY 5.1 works reliably in all shooting modes - 24H, 24L, FSH, FH, SH, H, HBR, ETC in all modes, and all variable frame rates.

    I did extensive spanning tests of SANITY 5.1 and it's the same as SANITY 5 with one addition - ETC spans when shooting in 24L mode. Here are the patch notes for spanning:

    Spanning works in 24L, FH, SH & H modes. When spanning, do not go above ISO 5000. Spanning works with ETC in 24L mode. Do not go above ISO 3200. Spanning does not work with ETC in any other mode. Spanning works in HBR mode with third party manual lenses. Do not go above ISO 3200. Spanning does not work reliably in HBR mode when using lenses with electrical contacts.

    Enjoy, and good shooting!

    Sanity 4 - NTSC.zip
    900B
    Sanity 4 - PAL.zip
    899B
    SANITY 4.1 NTSC.zip
    725B
    SANITY 4.1 PAL.zip
    721B
    Sanity 5.zip
    1K
    Sanity 5.1.zip
    994B
  • 1139 Replies sorted by
  • DenisDenis

    MJPG DOES NOT write for more than 4 minutes, who has this problem?

  • DenisDenis

    Hello to all ! Where can I download all the patches?

  • Ralph_BRalph_B

    @thiswayup

    Sanity 5.1 is the best Sanity. The picture quality rivals Driftwood's best intra patch, but with a significantly lower bit rate. Getting technical - Sanity is a long GOP codec. The size of the I frames is immense, equal to or greater than the size of each frame in Driftwood's patch. Since we're starting with such a high quality picture, the difference frames have so much more information to work from. So we get the best of both worlds, superb picture quality at a modest bitrate.

  • MeierhansMeierhans

    Or check out latest patch from Driftwood for docu shooting: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/10978/driftwood-cluster-x-series-4moon-t8spizz-t7/p7

    Third post or so

  • MeierhansMeierhans

    Guess this tread is the FAQ. ;-) Anyhow, take 5.1, proper SD-card, and do some spanning tests on colored noise maybe.

  • thiswayupthiswayup

    Is there a FAQ page? I'm looking to use SANITY on my GH2, what's the difference between 4 and 5.1

  • rhayokelyrhayokely

    Shot with GH2 Sanity 5.1 - GH5

  • MrZzMrZz

    This could be because of the original AVCHD formst specification. AVCHD was originally specified for a max. bitrate of around 18 MBit/s (and 24MBit/s). BUT this got increased to 28 MBit/s later on. Our hacks increase this even more but the bitrate then is outside of the specification. FCP may just show the standard/specified bitrates - that could be an explanation. Oh and also Sanity is a variable bitrate patch (depending on how many bits the encoder deems necessary to encode the frame in a certain quality) - FCP may show an average bitrate.

    Could be both of those or one or another reason but either way don't worry, the files will probably be just fine ;)

  • chiquardchiquard

    Hey guys, one thing I can't understand :

    Sanity 5.1 is installed on my GH2. When I read my videos straight from the card with Quicktime, the inspector window tells me that the bitrate is about 46 Mbits/sec. However, when I import those files into FCPX and open the same video via the Original Media folder, the bitrate is now 18 Mbits/sec. I really don't get it... Of course, when I transcode the video in Prores, the bitrate is higher, but why the original file's bitrate is different from the one on the SD card ?

  • theelectricyouththeelectricyouth

    Hi Ralph,

    was recording an interview yesterday using Sanity X on a 32GB 45, on the first card, recording stopped automatically after the file hit 4 gb, luckily the file was recorded. I switched cards to another 32gb 45 and continued the interviews, this time, it hit 4 gb and I got the message that my card was not fast enough to write the file, the camera couldn't shut down and I had to remove the battery. I see the file on the SD card when I insert it into the computer but it is corrupt and I cannot play it on VLC neither import it into PP.

    Anyone knows what might have gone wrong here? I had the impression that spanning should work on the Scandisk Extreme 45MB/s card? Is there a way to recover that corrupt file? I had to re-shoot that last interview again, it wasn't as good as the first one but luckily all wasn't lost. Please help!

  • theelectricyouththeelectricyouth

    Hi Ralph,

    was recording an interview yesterday using Sanity X on a 32GB 45, on the first card, recording stopped automatically after the file hit 4 gb, luckily the file was recorded. I switched cards to another 32gb 45 and continued the interviews, this time, it hit 4 gb and I got the message that my card was not fast enough to write the file, the camera couldn't shut down and I had to remove the battery. I see the file on the SD card when I insert it into the computer but it is corrupt and I cannot play it on VLC neither import it into PP.

    Anyone knows what might have gone wrong here? I had the impression that spanning should work on the Scandisk Extreme 45MB/s card? Is there a way to recover that corrupt file? I had to re-shoot that last interview again, it wasn't as good as the first one but luckily all wasn't lost. Please help!

  • Ralph_BRalph_B

    When you say "i can't shoot at 720/60p", exactly what happens?

  • maxudmaxud

    i can't shoot at 720/60p. i used sun disk extreme pro sdxc 10 class

  • Ralph_BRalph_B

    Indeed. The GH2 is still better than most DSRLs, and holds it's own quite well against the latest crop of 4k cameras.

  • soundgh2soundgh2

    Ta sir Sanity used for 90 hours of footage shot and taken by major terrestrial UK prod company for broadcast on terrestrial UK TV with stock 14-42 lens and 100-300 with view for selling series into US etc territory & resales. Looks great and without Vitaly et al help wouldn't have been possible to shoot so stealthily with GH2 and squeeze it past the QC ;p. Shooting next terrestrial pitch and prob broadcast purchase again next week with ... GH2 it aint broke don't fix it - BBC ITV Channel 4 and 5 SKY and Discovery quite happy with what was shot on the first doc - even had a bit of bidding war - content>gear sorry Valdermort - oh and did MUSE's live Rome DVD in 4k and was a fkin right old palaver so not trying to reinvent the wheel - been there done it nowt new. Viva Gh2 lol love it.

  • Ralph_BRalph_B

    @frogfrog

    That's a lot of pirouetting! Thanks for the report.

  • frogfrogfrogfrog

    Report that I had shot totally 4 days of ballet comptition in the past month with Sanity 5.1 without any problem. Two GH2 shot over 10 hours each day with 1080 60i FH mode and six 64Gb Toshiba green cards. I edited multicams by Premiere Pro CC and converted to 720 59.94P. Finally the video is denoise by Neat video and both the quality and motion are great.

  • roscorosco

    Great thanks very much, will read them over the weekend. Cheers Ross

  • Ralph_BRalph_B

    The patch notes are in the ini file that you downloaded. To view them, open ptools and load the bin file (which is Panasonic's original firmware). Across the bottom of the window are a row of circles labeled A - J. Shift-Click on any green circle and you'll see the patch notes in the top field. Click in that field to get a blinking cursor, then use the up & down arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll through the text. Press "Cancel operation" to exit.

  • roscorosco

    Great, thanks Ralph. Are the patch notes included in the download or is there a link on this website that you could provide. Many thanks. Ross

  • Ralph_BRalph_B

    Here's the deal with cards - Sanity 5.1 and Sanity X work fine with good quality class 10 cards, like the Sandisk 30M. The only limitation is spanning will not work in certain modes. (read the patch notes for details) If you use a faster card, spanning will work in all modes.

    So, if spanning is important to you, get a faster card. If not, the Sandisk 30M is fine.

  • roscorosco

    Looking at these cards - sandisk extreme 32gb 95mbs or should I go for 16gb.

  • roscorosco

    Just installed your hack and running the camera in 24H <80% seems it be working on Sandisk 30mbs 16gb cards. Going to let the card fill up. Can you recommend a good card for me. Thanks Ross

  • roscorosco

    Thanks Ralph, will download tonight. Much appreciated and thanks for the links. Regards Ross

  • Ralph_BRalph_B

    @rosco

    Here is a link to download Sanity 5.1.

    http://www.personal-view.com/talks/uploads/FileUpload/19/eb64fb10b3643c004f3651a4d02fcb.zip

    As for instructions on how to install the hack, here's a link to an external site with a very good tutorial:

    http://www.sam-mallery.com/2011/11/an-ez-guide-to-hacking-the-panasonic-gh2/

    Enjoy!

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