Default PTool Software settings fine? Or should settings be changed?
- Thread starter Denise0
- Start date
I'm probably not the ideal person to be giving advice, as I only ran this last year and am now trying out new settings. Having said that, read through Hack for dummies thread in the stickies above. This should give you an idea of how to work with the software. In short, yes, you need to adjust the various settings in PTool to optimise the camera for your own use.
Here's the thread you need, not implying that you're a dummy BTW
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?212263-Ptool-for-beginners-Ptool-FAQ
Here's the thread you need, not implying that you're a dummy BTW
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?212263-Ptool-for-beginners-Ptool-FAQ
I'm probably not the ideal person to be giving advice, as I only ran this last year and am now trying out new settings. Having said that, read through Hack for dummies thread in the stickies above. This should give you an idea of how to work with the software. In short, yes, you need to adjust the various settings in PTool to optimise the camera for your own use.
Here's the thread you need, not implying that you're a dummy BTW
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?212263-Ptool-for-beginners-Ptool-FAQ
Are you saying that you tried it out once a year ago, or you've been using it for a whole year?
If you have used it for a whole year, how well has it worked out for you?
terra1
Well-known member
changing the settings within PTool will modify/hack/patch the standard GH1 firmware, the goal being to get every inch of performance out of this great little cam.
id not bother with entering manual settings, id go with one of the firmly established preset patches (*.INI file, download and place in the same root folder as PTool, select within PTool from buttons at the bottom)
the preset patches below have been created by Lpowell these patches come after endless testing and analysis by the man himself & represent the accumulated knowledge of all the random PTool settings since the hack appeared.
for a guy like me who isn't the most tech minded they have been a great shortcut to getting the most stable & best settings. all wrapped up into a simple *.INI file! :smile:
have a good read through all the patch descriptions & users experiences.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?235523-75Mbps-GH1-Peak-Performance-Patch
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?215511-PTool-settings-sharing-thread&p=2039780#post2039780
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?222791-50Mbps-AVCHD-Fast-Action-3-Frame-GOP-Patch
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?225252-Anamorphic-Cinemascope-in-Native-1920x810-MJPEG-Mode
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?243813-Blackout-Powell-Native-24p-Patch-GH1-FTW!!!
these are the patches i work within, pretty much cover the whole spectrum :smile:
again full respect and credit to Lpowell for the above patches & wisdom, also props to Blackout for his work on the Blackout/Powell 24pN patch!
Great to know terra1. Thank you.
All you need to do is put PTool Software on the desktop, put the *.INI patch file on the desktop, put the genuine 1.32 firmware on the desktop, run PTool Software like normal, and it'll create a new hacked (GH13) firmware with the patch settings automatically applied?
When you go from one patch to another (i.e. Blackout -> Anamorphic), then do you have to revert the actual camera back to genuine Panasonic firmware (i.e. 1.32) in order to put a different patch on the camera?
Which patch would you recommend that's suitable for everyday shooting photos day and night, as well as in 1080p video?
Last edited:
terra1
Well-known member
hey Denise0 :smile:
id suggest the following steps...
1. create a folder on your desktop called GH13 HACK IMPORTANT or a name that you will recognise as a folder to keep safe.
2. within this folder place the PTool.exe (id suggest downloading the newest version), GH1__132.bin, and any *.INI preset files.
3. open PTool.exe and click load firmware, navigate to the GH13 HACK IMPORTANT folder and select the GH1__132.bin file GH13 (every time you run a hack/patch you will use this file.)
4. once you have loaded the GH1__132.bin into PTool, you can manually modify the settings to the original firmware (for experts :smile
, or for the more novice GH13 users (like myself) we can select a preset using the buttons at the bottom of PTool, any *.INI files you placed in the GH13 HACK IMPORTANT folder should have lit up the buttons green.5. if you hover over any green button it will let you know which hack/*.INI file is linked up to that button.
6. once you click on the desired button it loads up all the preset hack/patch settings, you can manually have a little peep through the menus to see whats happening behind the scenes, but don't change anything unless you know what you are doing :smile:
7. click save new firmware & locate the GH13 HACK IMPORTANT folder and save the new GH1__133.bin firmware (1 increment greater than the original firmware number)
so now you have a new hacked firmware file named GH1__133.bin (two underscores), every time i hack i increment the file number to build up a library of all the hack/patches i've previously run.
8. format your SD card from within your GH1 camera menu, turn off the GH1 and remove the SD card from the camera & place into your computer.
9. copy the modified GH1__133.bin file & paste it into the SD, next to the DCIM, MISC, PRIVATE folders (not within them), then eject the SD card and place it back into the GH1.
10. place the GH1 on a desk and power on, press the playback button, the LCD screen will read... firmware update... select confirm/yes.
a green progress bar will appear that will take around 1 min to complete, do not press any buttons on the camera while this progress bar is progressing or you risk breaking your GH1 :smile: (the reason i suggest placing it on a desk so your not holding it.)
11. once the green progress bar has finished the screen will go back to the normal ready to shoot screen, turn the power off & and then power on, once again format the SD card from within the GH1 menu to clear off the hacked/patch firmware from the SD card as it will have now loaded into the camera.
once all this is done you should have a beautiful newly hacked GH13!
from within the camera menu have a check at the body firmware and if the hack went on it should read body firmware ver0.0! this means it has worked :smile:
each time you hack you use the original GH1__132.bin file and save it using an incremented file number, i'm on GH1__152.bin.
i hope this helped make it a little more understandable.
i've used the 75Mbps Peak Performance Patch & it worked great, currently using the Blackout-Powell Native 24p Patch & loving it! :smile: think i'l be sticking with it for a good while.
hey Denise0 :smile:
id suggest the following steps...
1. create a folder on your desktop called GH13 HACK IMPORTANT or a name that you will recognise as a folder to keep safe.
2. within this folder place the PTool.exe (id suggest downloading the newest version), GH1__132.bin, and any *.INI preset files.
3. open PTool.exe and click load firmware, navigate to the GH13 HACK IMPORTANT folder and select the GH1__132.bin file GH13 (every time you run a hack/patch you will use this file.)
4. once you have loaded the GH1__132.bin into PTool, you can manually modify the settings to the original firmware (for experts :smile
5. if you hover over any green button it will let you know which hack/*.INI file is linked up to that button.
6. once you click on the desired button it loads up all the preset hack/patch settings, you can manually have a little peep through the menus to see whats happening behind the scenes, but don't change anything unless you know what you are doing :smile:
7. click save new firmware & locate the GH13 HACK IMPORTANT folder and save the new GH1__133.bin firmware (1 increment greater than the original firmware number)
so now you have a new hacked firmware file named GH1__133.bin (two underscores), every time i hack i increment the file number to build up a library of all the hack/patches i've previously run.
8. format your SD card from within your GH1 camera menu, turn off the GH1 and remove the SD card from the camera & place into your computer.
9. copy the modified GH1__133.bin file & paste it into the SD, next to the DCIM, MISC, PRIVATE folders (not within them), then eject the SD card and place it back into the GH1.
10. place the GH1 on a desk and power on, press the playback button, the LCD screen will read... firmware update... select confirm/yes.
a green progress bar will appear that will take around 1 min to complete, do not press any buttons on the camera while this progress bar is progressing or you risk breaking your GH1 :smile: (the reason i suggest placing it on a desk so your not holding it.)
11. once the green progress bar has finished the screen will go back to the normal ready to shoot screen, turn the power off & and then power on, once again format the SD card from within the GH1 menu to clear off the hacked/patch firmware from the SD card as it will have now loaded into the camera.
once all this is done you should have a beautiful newly hacked GH13!
from within the camera menu have a check at the body firmware and if the hack went on it should read body firmware ver0.0! this means it has worked :smile:
each time you hack you use the original GH1__132.bin file and save it using an incremented file number, i'm on GH1__152.bin.
i hope this helped make it a little more understandable.
i've used the 75Mbps Peak Performance Patch & it worked great, currently using the Blackout-Powell Native 24p Patch & loving it! :smile: think i'l be sticking with it for a good while.
You're awesome terra1
I'm thinking about using the Peak Performance Patch or the Blackout-Powell Patch (I'm leaning more to the Blackout-Powell Patch).
Do you suggest running the video through any special software before editing? And what settings would you suggest for exporting the video? (I have a quad core i7 computer and Sony Vegas, so it should be able to handle what I throw at it.)
terra1
Well-known member
hahaa why thank you Denise0 :smile:
i edit the MTS files directly in Adobe Premiere & After Effects, as i'm running the 24p Blackout-Powell Patch (25p for me as i'm in PAL land) that creates full progressive frames appose to interlaced frames, i don't do anything to the files before importing into a 25fps progressive timeline.
and when exporting... 25fps Progressive.
i'm still learning my export/quality settings too :smile: once you play about with it for a while it starts making more sense.
i edit the MTS files directly in Adobe Premiere & After Effects, as i'm running the 24p Blackout-Powell Patch (25p for me as i'm in PAL land) that creates full progressive frames appose to interlaced frames, i don't do anything to the files before importing into a 25fps progressive timeline.
and when exporting... 25fps Progressive.
i'm still learning my export/quality settings too :smile: once you play about with it for a while it starts making more sense.
I've been trying the Blackout-Powell Patch. I'm just curious to know if it's working.
I shot some sample videos (1920x1080 24 frames per second videos in MTS format).
One video has a data rate of 17498kbps. The video has a data rate of 23839kbps.
So it the Blackout-Powell Patch working fine?
I shot some sample videos (1920x1080 24 frames per second videos in MTS format).
One video has a data rate of 17498kbps. The video has a data rate of 23839kbps.
So it the Blackout-Powell Patch working fine?
terra1
Well-known member
hey again :smile: the GH1 uses a variable codec, so depending on what you are shooting you may not always see high bit rates.
the standard GH1 firmware has a max bit rate of 17Mbps so when shooting high detail scenes (grass, branches, tarmac etc.) the codec could max out at 17Mbps and you would get lots of "mud" in the footage, mud appears on high detail areas in the shot when there is too much detail for the codec to encode.
the hack had a huge effect on mud as now with higher bit rates we could capture more detail without the appearance of the dreaded mud :smile:
shooting high detail scenes expect to see bit rates of around 35-40Mbps (grass, blowing leaves, a river, woodland, branches... you get my drift :smile
shooting standard detail scenes i usually see bit rates of around 20-25Mbps going down to around 12Mbps in low detail scenes.
the codec will only use the amount of bit rate needed to capture the scene, don't worry not to see peak bit rates on every clip :smile:
do some more testing on high detailed textured scenes and compare the bit rates with some shots from low detail scenes, you will see how the codec behaves.
the 24p(native) Blackout-Powell Patch gives us more than double the bit rate we would see using the standard un-patched firmware, also 24p native so no pull down or de-interlacing needed in post production (to my knowledge, as i'm a PAL 25p native uses things were always a little different).
i hope this answer was roughly what you were asking :smile:
I've been using it for a year and haven't really looked at changing any settings again until now. It's just worked so far, but I want to see if the newer patches will see any improvement. Terra 1's given you some great advice and it seems like your on your way now anyway, good luck..