GH2 40mbps STABLE hack for use in PAL country (25p/50i) on the GH2?

DanielRutter

DanielRutter

Active member
Hey guys;

Just got my GH2, bought from Adorama and therefor an NTSC model. I'm looking to convert this baby to PAL, which seems easy enough using the Ptools NTSC<->PAL patch. I'm looking to up the bitrate as well to a nice stable 40mbps (similar to my GH1 LPOWELL 40mbps hack) for my events work. I need 25p and 50i modes, NTSC 24p is useless for my needs. My GH1 shoots in 25p, and therefor to make things easier for my editing (and my eyes) 25p would be great to have on the GH2.

Is this possible with any of the current hacks? If not... can someone coach me through creating a patch that would do what I need?

Cheers;
Daniel
 
Glad to hear of your success with my earlier 40Mbps GH1 patch. I've found the GH2 capable of producing even better motion picture quality, reliably at bitrates up to 100Mbps, using standard Class 10 SD cards. In my GH2 tests, I've seen results in PAL 25p and 50i that match the image quality of 24p videos, using Flow Motion v2. Here's a link to more details and download information:

[h=1]GH2 100Mbps Flow Motion v2 Patch - Banding & Blocking Be Gone![/h]
 
Cheers mate, I just came across your Flow Motion patch. Your 40mbs hack has been just what I needed to stop my GH1 from giving me writing errors on my older Sandisk 30mb/s card. I've upgraded to the 45mb/s cards now, since I snapped the old one accidentally. All I'm really after here, is the ability to match the video quality as best as possible from both cameras.

I'll check out your Flow Motion patch. Would you be able to tell me how to switch the camera into this 25p film mode? I know it's a silly question, but the video mode on this GH2 is a little less straight forward than the GH1.
 
After updating the GH2 with the patch, you can switch between NTSC and PAL frame rates with the VIDEO OUT option found in the SETUP menu. You'll need to do this the first time in Creative Movie Mode, turn the camera off and on, and verify that it's still in the mode you want. Then reformat the SD card and confirm that the GH2 records to it properly. After you set up the 25p video mode with all the options you need, you can save your complete setup to one of the three Custom slots. That way you can instantly switch the camera into the correct 25p mode without needing to deal with the menus again.

Note that the 25p HBR video mode is found in the Creative Movie Mode menu, and not in the Q.MENU along with FSH, FH, SH, and H video modes.
 
Thanks LPowell! Appreciate your help :)

Only issue I now will have with your hack, is that my 32gb card will only allow me to store a hour of footage :(
 
Lpowell, your hack seems to be stable and really good, but it's way too much grunt for most of what I use. What I'm really after is something that will give me the space I need back on my cards, but better quality than what the stock firmware gives.... like the GH1. I was using your 40mbps hack on my GH1, and that gives me about 3-4 hours on a 32gb card... which is handy, considering I shoot concerts and such. Of course, buying more cards is an option... but money is pretty tight at the moment.

If anyone has a suggestion for something a little more friendlier on my 32gb cards (and gives me more space to play with), I'd greatly appreciate it!

Cheers;
Daniel
 
For longer recording times with just a notch more compression, you can try using Flow Motion's 60Mbps 24L, FH, and H video modes. These work exactly the same as the 100Mbps 24H, HBR, FSH, and SH modes and will also span reliably for extended recordings on Class 10 SD cards rated at 30MB/sec or higher.
 
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