5DmkII MLV Raw Video now with 48khz Sound

Ted Ramasola

Ted Ramasola

Veteran
I'm starting this new thread to start discussion on the new proprietary raw format by Magic Lantern for the Canon cameras, since I have only the mkII and 7D I can only share my experience with these cams.
Hopefully this will avoid confusion with those still using the first generation raw video on the canons which does not have sound recording.

The new format has an MLV extension. It is feature rich as it can contain meta data like lens and camera settings and includes sound recording.

You can choose the sound sampling rate between 48khz, 44.1khz, 22khz, 11khz and 8khz.

There is also a new MLV browser and player that allows you to view your MLV files and select which ones to extract the dngs and wav files from for editing.

The dngs and wav files are compatible with resolve 10.

I have tested the new format on my mkII and was able to get continuous recording with sound at 1856 x 928 and 1728 x 972.
Higher resolutions can be achieved using the old raw format using raw_rec.module which is still an option in the current ML versions.

I think the mkIII can do higher resolutions with sound, maybe one using the mkIII can confirm this.

For those wanting to update their magic lantern install for the following camera;

5DmkII

Make sure you are running the latest nightly update found here:
http://builds.magiclantern.fm/#/

Then download the MLV modules on the first post of this thread:
http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=7122.0


place the mlv_rec.mod and mlv_snd.mod into your modules folder, the other files are for diagnostics and extraction, no need to place in your Card.

7D

7D MLV with sound is found in the variant code called Tragic Lantern, this code is more "experimental" than the main ML repo so use at your own risk.
http://tl.bot-fly.com/


For browsing and viewing MLV files and also to extract the DNGs and wav use MLV browser developed by g3gg0.
Go here: http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=8447.0

the first post is always updated with the latest version.


I will update this thread with my test results.


Note: If you are new to Magic Lantern and have not installed it yet on your camera, download the FREE DVXUser Install guide for Raw video here: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?310850-The-FREE-DVXUser-Guide-to-Magic-Lantern-RAW-%28NOW-AVAILABLE!!%29

After you've read that, you can catch up with MLV format on this thread. That guide only covers the original RAW video module ( RAW_REC.MO ) which has no audio record capability.
 
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Your welcome guys. Do share your tests with the mkIII so I can update the first post to include the tests results you guys are doing, especially with what resolution gives continuous recording with sound.
 
right now its looking like 1920x1080 with Lexar 1000x but I've got to shoots some dialog or an audio sequence to make sure there isn't any shift.
 
so far on my tests on the mkII, the audio is now solid unlike the wav implementation with the older raw_rec module where it was impossible to sync since it drifted here and there thus it was abandoned.

With MLV, I tested by clapping a slate every minute to see if there is a drift and upon placing the files on the timeline the wav file is consistently off by 2 frames.
Its ahead of the video by 2 frames, so by nudging the wav track 2 frames back, it will be aligned perfectly throughout the entire clip.

Its also worth noting that I tested MLV with FPS over ride and found out that the sound will still be recorded but in real time. This could be useful in certain situations.
Using FPS over ride in normal video (h264) no sound is recorded.
 
Ted Ramasola said:
so far on my tests on the mkII, the audio is now solid unlike the wav implementation with the older raw_rec module where it was impossible to sync since it drifted here and there thus it was abandoned.

With MLV, I tested by clapping a slate every minute to see if there is a drift and upon placing the files on the timeline the wav file is consistently off by 2 frames.
Its ahead of the video by 2 frames, so by nudging the wav track 2 frames back, it will be aligned perfectly throughout the entire clip.

Its also worth noting that I tested MLV with FPS over ride and found out that the sound will still be recorded but in real time. This could be useful in certain situations.
Using FPS over ride in normal video (h264) no sound is recorded.
Click to expand...

The 2 frame de-synchro is consistent with the MII since it's creation. No surprises there at all.
 
whoah.. I haven't updated ml firmware since July last year and this new UI looks cool.
can someone tell me what modules I need to load to record sound with raw?
do I need to load all three raw_rec, mlv_rec, and mlv_snd? are there more I should load?
what about mlv_play or file_man? do I need them?
what's LV digic peaking?

whoah there's a lot of things I haven't seen before..
 
things I am figuring out

you need mlv_rec and mlv_snd to record mlv raw + sound.
you need mlv_play and file_man to view recorded in the camera.

with sound, I can continuously record in 1920x960
before without sound, I was able to do 1920x1080
I will take 1920x960 with the sound over no sound 1080p files.
 
bumkicho said:
what's LV digic peaking?
Click to expand...

This is essentially edge enhancement over the entire screen. As edges are strongest at the focus distance, it accentuates the focus area. Very nice, and I prefer it over the traditional peaking. With this turned on and some selective use of magic zoom you can pretty much pull focus on your own if you need to.

Btw, does dng conversion from mlv files transfer meta data (most importantly ISO is needed for optimal NR in ACR) to the dng files?
 
cpc said:
This is essentially edge enhancement over the entire screen. As edges are strongest at the focus distance, it accentuates the focus area. Very nice, and I prefer it over the traditional peaking. With this turned on and some selective use of magic zoom you can pretty much pull focus on your own if you need to.

Btw, does dng conversion from mlv files transfer meta data (most importantly ISO is needed for optimal NR in ACR) to the dng files?
Click to expand...

Thank you, cpc. That LV peaking is very nice indeed.
 
Ted,

Thank you so much for sharing this information here. Sound was the thing I kept asking for many times, and I never thought it would actually happen. So I decided to go with BM Pocket to do video works, which I have zero regret, but now with the sound in 5D3 ML raw and BM pocket raw, wow I think I'm set for 2014!
 
bumkicho said:
Ted,

Thank you so much for sharing this information here. Sound was the thing I kept asking for many times, and I never thought it would actually happen. So I decided to go with BM Pocket to do video works, which I have zero regret, but now with the sound in 5D3 ML raw and BM pocket raw, wow I think I'm set for 2014!
Click to expand...

Except 2014 is going to be 4K year ;-)
 
Ted's conscientious and concise updates over all these months have been extremely helpful. Thank you again
 
What I want from 2014 in terms of cameras: a 5D4 with 14 stops of DR in RAW stills, and a ML hack that allows it to shoot 1080p24 RAW video with all that DR.
If that doesn't come around (and it may not, I would think the 5D4 is an early-2015 thing, maybe sep-2014 if we are lucky), second best would be a hack that allows 1080p24 RAW video on NEX cameras.

I don't have a need for 4K (yet). And, though I would like to have faster frame rates, I'd pick DR over fps if I had the choice.
 
Ted Ramasola said:
Its also worth noting that I tested MLV with FPS over ride and found out that the sound will still be recorded but in real time. This could be useful in certain situations.
Click to expand...

Ted, can you elaborate on this? If I was shooting on 3x mode with fps override (23.976), will the sound not sync properly? But if I was shooting on 3x mode without fps override, then will the sound sync properly 2 frames ahead of video?
 
bumkicho said:
Ted, can you elaborate on this? If I was shooting on 3x mode with fps override (23.976), will the sound not sync properly? But if I was shooting on 3x mode without fps override, then will the sound sync properly 2 frames ahead of video?
Click to expand...

Hi Bumkicho,

I have not yet tested crop mode MLV, only in 1X with fps over ride. Its like shooting in different FPS on your 5D camera and recording sound on a separate audio recorder. The sound is normal speed but your video is at what fps you set it to.
 
Ted are you using Resolve or Premiere CC to initially conform files?

I can get Resolve to recognize MLV converted audio/DNGs but not Premiere CC which gives me a no metadata error.

Very exciting stuff here. On the 5D3 I can get continuous audio recording at full HD 1920x1080.
 
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