HDMI Capture Problem SOLVED - AviSynth RULES!

[PDR]

pdr, okay so the best output for coloring (gh2 movie shot for cinema) you would use dnxhd 175 or 8bit tiff sequence? in both should i use in script conversion to RGB, YV12 or YUV or something else? are there any quality loss or advantages in formats?

If you are using AE, I would use v210 . The reason is AE treats it as 10-bit when you use 16bpc or 32bpc (histogram doesn't get breakup or get quantized), even though the actual source data is 8-bit YUV . Also v210 is uncompressed (lossless, but huge filesizes)

AE has poor chroma upsampling (it uses a point resize) , so color edges look very blocky but upsampling from 4:2:2 isn't too bad in AE. Upsampling from 4:2:0 in AE looks very bad. Using ffmpeg or avisynth to upsample to 4:4:4 (RGB) is even better, but there are no 10-bit RGB intermediates readily available yet through ffmpeg

8bit TIFF would be ok, but I would use PNG for slightly smaller filesize if you were going that route. AE treats it as 8-bit (so even in 32bpc you will get more histogram irregularities than v210) . If you are only doing minor grading, it won't make a difference what you choose.

Another reason why you want to use a YUV intermediate like v210 , is full range is preserved. So superbrights are retained in this workflow. If you converted to RGB and didn't specify a full range conversion , this usually specifies a Rec601 conversion, you lose data on both ends 0-15, 236-255 Y' (in 8-bit values) i.e. you clip the data

[vonkuttenberg]

okay i finaly found out a problematic 64build which caues all my problems :-) so 32bit stable ffmpeg build for scripts in this topic!

anybody has some workflow on batch processing CRIPPLED 60i PRORES >TIFF sequence or v210 MOV 10bit codec to hold maximum information? according to 1st page and suggested Batch_Intermediate_Creator-v16 pack there is just basic codecs with no advanced choice.

[Ralph B]

according to 1st page and suggested Batch_Intermediate_Creator-v16 pack there is just basic codecs with no advanced choice.

Batch Intermediate Creator will show whatever codecs you have installed on your computer. I suggest installing UT Video Code. It's lossless, multi-threaded and free. Get it here:

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/...odec_Suite.htm

[vonkuttenberg]

is there some way to trick batch creator (tif codec?) to export tif sequence?

[Ralph B]

is there some way to trick batch creator (tif codec?) to export tif sequence?

No, but if you export using UT RGB, that is bit for bit identical to a TIF. It's 100% lossless.

If you absolutely must have a TIF sequence for some reason, you can convert the UT RGB avi to TIF in another program (After Effects, VirtualDub, etc).

[Picturequest]

I have an idea. Are there any live HDMI inputs that can be used with a notebook computer?

[henryolonga]

As far as I know laptop HDMI ports are output only.

[bonobored]

I have been lurking with a sort of glazed eye, slack-jawed admiration watching you gurus speak a language that is totally alien yet somehow familiar at the same time. What you have accomplished is literally nothing short of amazing despite the occasional naysayer which I have been forced to write of as curmudgeons in the mists.

I am still not totally clear whether the magic script actually transfers the HDMI out to 4:2:2 but it doesn't really matter. A frame by frame comparison clearly shows a slight improvement in detail and a definite improvement in the shadows.

What I am wondering is will the Ninja guys be able to incorporate this magic in their recorder so any GH2 could do this on the fly. Any ideas?

Once again, much love for your dedication and hard work. The Rebel Alliance will prevail.

[PDR]

I am still not totally clear whether the magic script actually transfers the HDMI out to 4:2:2 but it doesn't really matter. A frame by frame comparison clearly shows a slight improvement in detail and a definite improvement in the shadows.

4:2:0

The HDMI chroma is messed up, full of artifacts, so the script converts to 4:2:0 to clean up the chroma

IMHO the hack makes this pretty much obsolete

[Ian-T]

4:2:0


IMHO the hack makes this pretty much obsolete

Agreed. I think all we should now focus on with this camera is having external monitoring thru HDMI.

[bonobored]

Agreed. I think all we should now focus on with this camera is having external monitoring thru HDMI.

That's certainly an option that YOU should pursue.

[Ralph B]

*What I am wondering is will the Ninja guys be able to incorporate this magic in their recorder so any GH2 could do this on the fly.

In a nutshell, no. At one point, the people at Atomos contacted me to explore the possibility of incorporating my script into the Ninja. The problem was the script requires AviSynth to run, and AviSynth requires Windows to run, and there simply isn't that type of computing power on board the Ninja. So, this must remain a post production process.

As for it being obsolete, well, that depends on the individual. The slightly different gamma of the HDMI produces a picture that "pops" more than the onboard recording.

[bonobored]

Yeah, I guess windows is an unfortunate little detail so unless there exists a viable option - too bad. My POV is that you've given us a choice and we're not tied to the in camera codec. In the sum of things, making movies is an art more than a sheer technical exercise and art is about choices. The more the better. You've expanded this amazing little cam and given us one more viable, creative option and I for one, think it's rather awesome.

[bonobored]

I found this on the Atomos site regarding the GH2:

http://atomos.com/ninja/dslr.xml

[PDR]

If anyone is still using this with mac destination, ffmpeg can encode prores now (normal 422 profile, not HQ or other flavours). So finally, one is able to encode prores on a PC