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Beginners: Basic hacks questions
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  • @driftwood The recovery tools require an AVCHD folder to be targeted, not an .mts file so i can't test them atm. I copied just the .mts files to my HDD, are these the only files needed for playback/editing? Some of the other test footage has a habit of automatically pausing about 10 seconds in, but will continue to play fine. Sorry, as a ex-canon user i'm a bit new to this workflow.
  • @balazer Re: L setting. It depends how low you go. Many of the tests in the past have produced underuns on the L setting because in general everything is set for the H setting. Test away and see how low you can go and with that sort of quality you get on the i frames. Of course, there will be a lot of wastage in quality because of the shared setting. If it works for you - let me know. And of course they will span and record a picture. Analyse the pictures to see if it maintains quality. Watch for cadence issues.
  • @kanintesova
    Same problem you mentioned at higher ISO 800 and above (batch WE1JA)
    Great camera - using Driftwood's Aquamotion v2 AQ2 - everything work great except for that Band that appears in the lower portion of the screen (Cinema 24p 1/50 - using mostly Nostalgic and Smooth)
    Band appears when the object is dark colored or if the lower portion of the image is underexposed - starts from the left and then fades out :/
  • @twistedtape It sounds like that particular recording is corrupted. Try the panasonic recovery tools mentioned earlier in this thread.
  • @ttancredi What version of FXP and OSX do you have? Are your updates of Prokit current? Codecs installed? Do you have the retail FCP media, so can re-install if need be? Let me stress that the .mts wrapper and the file/folder structure is fickle, it's imperative that you keep the structure intact.

    Give this a try for free. http://media-converter.sourceforge.net/index.html which should include many of the Open Source files you'll need.

    Other resources:
    Panasonic's AVCHDcam Reader, which may or may not work for your system and the GH2. You'll have to test it yourself. https://eww.pass.panasonic.co.jp/pro-av/support/dload/avccam_impt/dl_e.htm

    And here a description and workarounds in German, you'll have to Google translate it or find an article about it in your language. http://finalcuttuts.de/2011/11/06/der-schnellste-weg-mts-dateien-in-final-cut-express-und-final-cut-pro-x-zu-importieren/

    Finally, there's Clip Wrap, a paid solution with a free trial for files under 1 minute.
    http://www.divergentmedia.com/clipwrap

  • Hi PV,

    I'm having some issue's with the Aquamotion V2 footage playing back on my rig. I am fairly sure it is an issue with playing the high bitrate footage on my Mac, but am only experiencing it with one of the sample videos i have taken, the other videos playback flawlessly. The troublesome footage plays fine until it freezes at about 0:40 and flashes full frame green with other strange video glitches. The data for the video appears to be damaged, scrubbing through the footage does not show a preview frame for a large part of the video file.

    Thing is, playback is fine on the camera, no issue whatsoever. When viewing on my mac i have copied the footage to my HDD and have tested it in VLC and Quicktime (with the Panasonic .mts plugin). The footage even managed to crash VLC, but i am experiencing no lag in any other test videos with this patch.

    It would put my mind at rest if someone could explain this, i need a stable patch and would hate for this to be an issue after a long shoot. If it's an issue with my machine and not the footage then i have no problem!

    PS, the footage is superb!
  • Hi PV,

    I'm having some issue's with the Aquamotion V2 footage playing back on my rig. I am fairly sure it is an issue with playing the high bitrate footage on my Mac, but am only experiencing it with one of the sample videos i have taken, the other videos playback flawlessly. The troublesome footage plays fine until it freezes at about 0:40 and flashes full frame green with other strange video glitches. The data for the video appears to be damaged, scrubbing through the footage does not show a preview frame for a large part of the video file.

    Thing is, playback is fine on the camera, no issue whatsoever. When viewing on my mac i have copied the footage to my HDD and have tested it in VLC and Quicktime (with the Panasonic .mts plugin). The footage even managed to crash VLC, but i am experiencing no lag in any other test videos with this patch.

    It would put my mind at rest if someone could explain this, i need a stable patch and would hate for this to be an issue after a long shoot. If it's an issue with my machine and not the footage then i have no problem!

    PS, the footage is superb!
  • @sagedrummer this is display only issue with current PTool. Does not effect recorded ISO. This is discussed extensively here, but may be hard to find as I am not sure if VK has completely updated the P-V search.
  • Hi
    I hacked my GH2 with Driftwood's TerrAQuake patch today and my camera seems like it is stuck on ISO even in fully manual modes. I choose my ISO and then when I hit record, the indicator on screen turns to Auto ISO? I don't know if the camera is in true AUTO ISO mode but I am a control freak and like to be in control of everything. I have been trying every setting for the past hour and cannot find how to disable Auto ISO.
    Has anybody encountered this?
  • @ gpcreative Bookmark this link for mac instruction - http://www.sam-mallery.com/2011/11/an-ez-guide-to-hacking-the-panasonic-gh2/

    I'm also looking for the perfect functional patch, Spanmybitchup is looking good.
  • Okay, so I just got my GH2 in the mail today and I would like to use one of the great hacks here. To say this site is overwhelming is an understatement. So I'll just leave my questions here and if anyone can answer them or point me to the link with the answer, I'd greatly appreciate it.

    1. Picking the hack. I need to film interviews with my GH2, so I'd like to have longer record times and spanning capability. I'd also like to look at the footage in camera. Of course, INTRA and the lowest GOP would be great. Finally, I'd like the camera to be reliable. I'm thinking 88M would be fine? Am I really losing a lot not going with 176? Could I really see the difference? What hack would you suggest?

    2. How do I apply the patch/hack? I've read about Ptools. Does it work on a Mac, because that is all I have? Anywhere I can go for a step by step introduction to the hacking process?

    Thanks so much for your time. I can't wait to get shooting!
  • This is more of a request than a question, but as I don't want to create an extraneous thread or dredge up an old one I thought this would be a good place to ask about it. Please redirect/move as needed.
    ---
    1. Would it be possible to add more guidelines? Perhaps in a way that we could manually set the number of vertical and horizontal guidelines?

    I do almost all of my finishing in 2.40. When shooting native 16:9, I need another horizontal guideline in order to center my image appropriately. When shooting 2x Anamorphic, I very desperately need another vertical guideline so I can see how much of the image I'm losing after cropping in post. I have used tape on the LCD but for handheld work I often must rely on the viewfinder.

    2. Would it be possible to squeeze the image of the viewfinder? This would be a god-send when shooting in anamorphic. I figure the best interface here would be to set the squeeze value in ptools and then toggle ON/OFF via menu?
  • Hi Kanintesova.

    I did a test setup for the band at 1/50, with three different light sources. Moral of the story, don't underexpose the entire scene at ISO 1600 (few cases of 800) and above.

  • Yes, I read this. Not really optimal when it comes to movemnent. But as a talking head interview it would not really pose a problem. Guess we have to stick below ISO 800, and get fast lenses and have some sort of lighting equipment at our hands (always a good thumb of rule).

    If it's not hardware related, maybe new pana-firmware will adress this? Heck, it's a great little gem this camera. Just wanted to get to the bottom of this. We should not get hung up too much about it. As I mentioned, it can be pretty much eliminated in post - just another step in the process.
  • @kanintesova for the sake of completeness... i'm sure you did too... some people claim that they don't have the horizontal stripe/band issue (also prominent users like philip bloom and andrew reid from eoshd). i have a hard time believing that since the guy who discovered the problem did try seven (!) different gh2 models and all of them showed the same defect. there was one guy claiming that his third gh2 finally had the problem to a much lesser extent. his serial number started with WE1CA just like yours. it would be good to have ultimate certitude if there are really models that behave different - since the stripe is sometimes hard to perceive even if it's there especially on lower iso values. that kind of insecurity is almost as bad as the technical problem itself.

    btw the only known workaround seems to be putting the shutter down to 1/30 or 1/25...
  • Cheers.

    I know most people here are going all ape nuts about full INTRA, but I was wondering if there were any reasonable bit rate patches already updated for 3.63 with 2fps activated. I was particularly thinking of cbrandin's 44m or 66m.
    BTW I do I get to 2fps on the camera? Do I have to choose MJPEG FHD? I've tried that on a patch I made of my own but the stuff is still 30fps...

    Thanks in advance!
  • Ok, I really need help.
    I still haven't managed to convert my mts files for FCP. Log and transfer is not working for me - Final cut does recognize the files ( I always format the card, shoot and than try transfering without touching anything). I've tried 5drgb (asks for thm file) pavtube( free version comes with their logo in all videos converted) and downloaded clipwrap, although it's not free. Can anyone, sugest a free transcoder, please?
    The problem with final cut is once I drag one file to the queue, it starts thinking, thinkig, once I drag another file it gives "error: no data". If I touch anything else, comes the rainbow ball and than after one hour waiting I have to force quit Final Cut pro.
    Besides that I have been grading and editing other footages with no problem at all.
    any sugestions would be appreciated.
    Thanks in advance.
  • @kanintesova yeah thanks, keep us informed! if i understand it properly yours is a brand new model. mine (optically like new) was bought in december 2010 by the original owner. so i somehow doubt that it has to do with certain production series?

    most images where the stripe appears don't look good and are not well exposed, but sometimes it's better than nothing and with the stripe the footage is pretty unusable.
  • @driftwood, can you please explain this? "If you lower the L setting too much in the bitrate whilst you have the frame limit set to high value for the H bitrate setting, the L setting will underrun and be screwed."

    I know you recommend against it, but I have set the L bit rate to below the frame limit * frame rate. (frame limit: 3640304 bits; bit rate: 66 Mbps) The frame sizes of such videos varies, and it seems to jump between a variable mode and a constant mode. And the decoder buffer seems to be on the low side. But the videos all look great, and they decode without errors. There is no underrun that I can tell, and Elecard Buffer Analyzer doesn't report any underruns.

    Incidentally, the stock GH2 encoder settings use a very large frame limit and low bit rate.

    I will not let myself be caught without a lower bit rate L setting. Once in a while a detailed scene causes recording errors in H, or I need longer recording times, or I need to use a slower memory card, and I won't have time to reflash the camera with different settings.
  • @futur2;

    ok , in one way I think we should not complain about this nice consumer camera, especially with this great hack. But I am annoyed by the BAND/LINE/STRIPE grumph! ;) It's not noticeble below 800 - ISO, but still visible pre, any hack above this ISO. It's not with every situation - but it is there! :(

    My question is: IS THIS WITH EVERY CAM OR JUST A FEW BAD CIRCUITS/SENSORS?

    I want to know if this is something that bothers the majority of ppl here. Then it's a flaw that is major. Ok, if you only do well-lit scenes, it's no problem, but I like to do documentary style... A bit punk style... Then this is a problem.

    You can fix it in post by masking it out with an adjusment layer in adobe AE, but with my computer... EHH, 30 sec will take about 40 minutes to render? :(

    And it's not spot on....

    To get it spot on I will have to key-frame according to circumstance...

    I just initiated correspondence with Pana here in Sweden, yet to have any feedback - but I bought the cam from a repetubale store, so they will help me. I will get back to you about this.

    Cheers
  • @kanintesova i'd also love to know if in fact all GH2s behave like that!?
  • @stevgol RE: Auto ISO - I think it's actually recording at fixed ISO. It's just the indicator that is wrong.
  • When I use manual movie on the dial with a third party battery the exposure reading does not work so I cannot fix the right exposure. It works fine with the original Panasonic battery. Any suggestions what to do?

    Steve
  • @driftwood

    thanks for doing tests, I know you are very thorough and scientific about your approach, really appreciate it. Maybe all GH2's have this? It's a design flaw, hardware related? But if it is not - then we can start tracking it down to certain batches?

    As a saying here in Sweden, "Monday specimens" (It's like when it all starts over and it takes a while to get up to 100% - when product have faults it's called this, he he) or "lemons" in English as I understand. ;) Just bad luck for the consumer.

    For the PRO - they payed so much they always get refunded or it is fixed/sorted (because they have a say in their "small" "community" but now we have ours here) ;)

    cheers
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