40Mbps AVCHD High Reliability Patch

I'm using CS5 on Win7, patched to work with an nVidia GTX260 video card. If you can upgrade your Mac with a CUDA card I'd highly recommend it. I recently converted a number of interlaced GH1 1080p files to 720p, and Premiere CS5 displayed them just as smoothly before and after conversion.

Regardless of whether you can upgrade your video card, I'd definitely recommend deinterlacing your 1080p video files. There are many subtle things that can go awry with interlaced video and I would want to make sure it's correctly deinterlaced before attempting to edit the files. If you want to maintain interoperability with Final Cut, Cineform is a good option for both deinterlacing and transcoding to a portable format.

For 30p to 25p conversion, I'd suggest trying After Effects using its Motion Blur but not its Frame Blending option. I've used Motion Blur with very good results to convert 720p60 to 30p. Frame Blending is very likely to cause ghosting.
 
I know nothing about hacking and I may not be looking hard enough but I searched and can't find how to add the patch, am I just adding the settings? I have ptool 3.40d and I added the settings and went and recorded some footage to test out the bitrates, highest I got was 16690kbps on the windows video details, I'm recording on S priority but have tried it on manual and aperture before too.
 
For newcomers, I recommend upgrading to the latest version of PTool and trying out pre-tested INI patch files before experimenting with individual patch settings. Check the link in my signature for information on downloadable patch files.
 
lpowell said:
I'm using CS5 on Win7, patched to work with an nVidia GTX260 video card. If you can upgrade your Mac with a CUDA card I'd highly recommend it. I recently converted a number of interlaced GH1 1080p files to 720p, and Premiere CS5 displayed them just as smoothly before and after conversion.

Regardless of whether you can upgrade your video card, I'd definitely recommend deinterlacing your 1080p video files. There are many subtle things that can go awry with interlaced video and I would want to make sure it's correctly deinterlaced before attempting to edit the files. If you want to maintain interoperability with Final Cut, Cineform is a good option for both deinterlacing and transcoding to a portable format.

For 30p to 25p conversion, I'd suggest trying After Effects using its Motion Blur but not its Frame Blending option. I've used Motion Blur with very good results to convert 720p60 to 30p. Frame Blending is very likely to cause ghosting.
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Cineform seems like a great solution, but I am on a Mac using CS5 and Cineform isn't supported until July 2011. I am going with XDCam, like you suggested to me, to both de-interlace (50i to 25p) and also convert to 50Mbps 422 .mxf format. I can tell a quality reduction when viewing at 100% compared to the original file. Would AVC-Intra 50 give me a closer copy of the original image? Or Pro-res? Can I use Pro-Res on CS5 if I transcode it on my friend's FCS system?
 
Lucas Adamson said:
Cineform seems like a great solution, but I am on a Mac using CS5 and Cineform isn't supported until July 2011. I am going with XDCam, like you suggested to me, to both de-interlace (50i to 25p) and also convert to 50Mbps 422 .mxf format. I can tell a quality reduction when viewing at 100% compared to the original file. Would AVC-Intra 50 give me a closer copy of the original image? Or Pro-res? Can I use Pro-Res on CS5 if I transcode it on my friend's FCS system?
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In Premiere CS5's XDCAMHD 50 export dialog, make sure to scroll down and enable the "Render at maximum depth" option. This will preserve the fine details of the transcoded video's color data. In addition to its high quality cross-platform flexibility, the advantage of XDCAM HD422 is that its files are half the size of 100Mbps AVC-Intra files (and likewise for ProRes files). If you prefer the look of AVC-Intra 100 and your workstation can gracefully handle the files, then they may provide a better solution for your needs.
 
lpowell said:
In Premiere CS5's XDCAMHD 50 export dialog, make sure to scroll down and enable the "Render at maximum depth" option. This will preserve the fine details of the transcoded video's color data. In addition to its high quality cross-platform flexibility, the advantage of XDCAM HD422 is that its files are half the size of 100Mbps AVC-Intra files (and likewise for ProRes files). If you prefer the look of AVC-Intra 100 and your workstation can gracefully handle the files, then they may provide a better solution for your needs.
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Yes thanks, I tried without and with the render at max depth, and it is much better with this selected, but still not a perfect match for the original file. It is probably worth doing though, so thanks.
 
I've just bought a GH1, and am attempting my hack for the first time. I've downloaded the latest ptools, the 132 firmware from panasonic, and lpowell's high reliability zip. It all works great until I'm prompted to save the patched firmware. I've made another folder on my desktop (windows 7) and am trying to save the file, naming it GH1_133. I'm getting the error message 'Wrong file name, camera won't be able to read such a file'. It's bound to be something stupid I'm doing but any help much appreciated.
 
mr bill, you need a double underscore, as in GH1__133. You've got just the one (GH1_133)
 
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Hmm. Are you calling it GH1__133.bin (it'll need the dot bin)? Other than obvious things like that and making sure you're not working within zip archives, I've run out of knowledge.
 
Just to add to that, make sure you don't have file extensions hidden either so you can see the actual full filename. Don't suppose there is a common file association with a .bin file so if there's a recognizable icon next to this file in your file browser, you might have a hidden extension there that will not be viewable until you ask it to be.

I also believe that you should be checking off the "Prevent version compare" checkbox in ptools although I don't know if that's an absolute requirement. That has worked for me. Should have come out that way by clicking on "J" but can be overridden.

Check file to see that the .bin file is 8912930 bytes in size if you used ptool3d_v3.51d

Also check that your SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card has been formatted by your camera and the file in question placed into the root or hierarchically first directory of the memory card without any other GH1__xxx.bin files in that directory.


If all else fails, you can always try making a new file GH1__133.bin file and overwrite your current one. Won't do any harm.

If that fails, try making a GH1__134.bin file and see if that loads.

If that fails then load up GH1__132.bin, save that as GH1_133.bin and then see if that loads up.

Good luck!
 
to be dead sure, when saving click the original firmware file so the field fills with that file name and extention including the bin part. then just change the number to suit. if you have file extentions hidden as mentioned by mudmojo you will not see bin but it will be there. so if you type bin in you will get that errror because the file will be ***.bin.bin
 
Thanks for all the help. Re-did the hack last night on an xp machine and it worked first time. Maybe some weird permissions issues on my laptop?? Now all I need is the lens to arrive (bought the 14-45 panny after seeing good reviews) and I can assess whether the 60D will be going on ebay or not.
 
mr bill said:
Thanks for all the help. Re-did the hack last night on an xp machine and it worked first time. Maybe some weird permissions issues on my laptop?? Now all I need is the lens to arrive (bought the 14-45 panny after seeing good reviews) and I can assess whether the 60D will be going on ebay or not.
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I compare the virtues of the GH13 and 60D in a thread I put up this week - have you seen it? I did a shoot with both of these cameras. For sure the GH13 footage has the edge, even at lowly lpowell's reliability 40Mbps "J" settings. Personally, I would sell the 60D and EF-S lenses and use the money to buy a load of important peripheral stuff, but you look quite "invested" in Canon.
 
I was thinking the 60D might pay for a 'Birger' adapter when they appear in February. Been very happy with the 60D excepting the moiree issues, and it's been great for doing hi-res timelapse sequences. Keen to hang on to the glass.
 
Lucas Adamson said:
...even at lowly lpowell's reliability 40Mbps "J" settings...
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Regard him quite highly, meself. :happy:

Seriously, on AVCHD 1080, is there a substantial visual quality difference between the high-reliability setting and more adventurous numbers ("C" settings?)?

Is it worth perhaps risking occasional errors or crashes, or is it quite close? In terms of detail resolution and general lack of mud, the high-reliability setting seems nice to me, at least straight off the SD card. Yet compared to say, Blackout's "Dogs" video (which I'm looking at streamed online), my shots so far lack contrast, pop and bite.

Perhaps it's just the dull weather here combined with "film" settings that lack pizzazz (I used Nostalgic and Smooth with minus figures 'cos that's what I saw other people using). Looking forward to more daylight being available out of working hours so I can get the hang of this thing.
 
lpowell's settings are designed for grading in post, so will lack snap, crackle and pop straight off the card. Have fun with your film mode settings if you're looking for a 'look' staright out of the camera.
 
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