GH2 Hack - Start me out gently

Brandon Rice

Brandon Rice

Distributed Producer
What should I use to test the hack out? I want something very stable, and preferably under 100mbs. (for space considerations) I also want a hack that will work natively in Final Cut Pro X. Thanks for any guidance.
 
Ralph B said:
Naturally, I suggest my own Sanity X :)

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?316678-SANITY-X-High-Bitrate-Versiion-of-Sanity

It meets all of your above requirements. What sets Sanity apart is its ability to provide the top visual quality you would expect, but at significantly lower bitrates than other hacks. You save on card space and hard drive space, and don't sacrifice anything in terms of quality.
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Awesome! When I try the hack out I'll definitely try out Sanity first. It's pretty stable for shorter "takes" and such? I'm probably going to stick with stock for my wedding videography, but for narrative stuff I'll hack :)
 
Ralph B said:
Naturally, I suggest my own Sanity X :)

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?316678-SANITY-X-High-Bitrate-Versiion-of-Sanity

It meets all of your above requirements. What sets Sanity apart is its ability to provide the top visual quality you would expect, but at significantly lower bitrates than other hacks. You save on card space and hard drive space, and don't sacrifice anything in terms of quality.
Click to expand...

Ralph, I see Sanity mentioned a lot, Flowmotion mentioned quite a bit. What is your take on the pros/cons of the two? Also compared to the high bit rate Driftwood flavors that are out there, or something like the cBrandin 66 version (which I've used a lot)?
 
Brandon Rice said:
Awesome! When I try the hack out I'll definitely try out Sanity first. It's pretty stable for shorter "takes" and such? I'm probably going to stick with stock for my wedding videography, but for narrative stuff I'll hack
:)
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Sanity is exceptionally stable. And not just at 24P, but for the other shooting modes, as well. Sanity is also well suited for spanning, that is, continous recording until he card is full. There are a few exceptions if you use a class 10 SD card, so read the patch notes carefully. However, there are no restrictions if you a fast SD card. Sandisk 64GB 95M, 80M and 45M cards have all been successful at spanning in Sanity X.

One thing you should not overlook is the use of the 24L setting. This is actually the 24H setting from Sanity 5.1 which was (and still is) very popular. The bitrate is about twice stock and the quality is amazing. This would be good for weddings. Actually, I've used it on features and everybody's been very happy.
 
Ryan Farnes said:
Ralph, I see Sanity mentioned a lot, Flowmotion mentioned quite a bit. What is your take on the pros/cons of the two? Also compared to the high bit rate Driftwood flavors that are out there, or something like the cBrandin 66 version (which I've used a lot)?
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Yes, I have tested Flowmotion and Driftwood's Moon T7, and they are indeed excellent in terms of picture quality. The truth is all of them (including Sanity X) are knocking on the limits of what the GH2 can put out. I can say that with some authority because I have the capability to record the uncompressed HDMI out, and I can compare that to the various hacks. We're at the point where there's no meaningful difference between them. Thay are all superb.

So to me, the main advantage of Sanity is you can get that ultimate picture quality with less bitrate. In fact, that's the main reason I developed it in the first place. Nobody else seemed to be taking that approach. Also, stability was very important to me. I had to have something that I could rely on.

From what I've read, the other hacks are stable now, too, although I haven't tested them for that. All told, the state of the GH2 hack is mature. There's an abundance of riches out there. Use whatever yanks your crank!
 
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Thanks. How is the 720p60 on the Sanity X hack?

Also - I don't think I ever updated the firmware on my GH2, do I need to do that before using Sanity X?
 
Ryan Farnes said:
Thanks. How is the 720p60 on the Sanity X hack?

Also - I don't think I ever updated the firmware on my GH2, do I need to do that before using Sanity X?
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720p is excellent. One of my goals was to have excellent picture quality in all the shooting modes.

No, you don't have to update your firmware before applying a hack. The hack IS a modification of the updated firmware. Remember that BIN file you have to load into ptools? That file is the updated firmware, straight from Panasonic.
 
Ralph another friend just recommended Sanity running at 66mbps. Can you do that with Sanity X?

Thanks for any help!
 
Brandon Rice said:
Ralph another friend just recommended Sanity running at 66mbps. Can you do that with Sanity X?

Thanks for any help!
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Not sure what your friend meant. Sanity X CAN run at 66 Mbps, but it's totally automatic. There's nothing for you to do or change. Sanity is a little different from the other hacks in that the bitrate floats depending on the complexity of the scene. This is one way it achieves it's high effeciency. There is no point in using bits that are redundant and add nothing to the visual quality. In my own shooting, I've seen Sanity X's 24H bitrate vary between 50 Mbps and 95 Mbps. 66 Mbps might be considered an average - perhaps that's what your friend meant. It's important to note that although the bitrate varies, the quality stays the same.
 
Ralph, I downloaded Sanity 5.1 as my first hack, and recently installed it.

The footage looks really good and didn't take up a buttload of space either. It also recorded and played back on class 10 cards just fine.

What typical data rates do you get from 5.1? I know all the info from X and may download that soon and try it too. Just trying to get my feet wet here and learn more. Thanks.
 
Brandon Rice said:
What typical data rates do you get from 5.1? I know all the info from X and may download that soon and try it too. Just trying to get my feet wet here and learn more. Thanks.
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Brandon, don't waste time getting "hung up" on the numbers. I used both Sanity 5.1 and Flowmotion 2.02, both gave me better rendition of motion, both were completely stable. If you're happy with what you see on Sanity 5.1 leave it there, but I think you can trust that Ralph made improvements with Sanity X without losing any stability. So in your place I would leave 5.1 or X installed and quit "frettin'" over it.

I just wouldn't "bounce around" from one to another to another like some used to do.
 
Bruce Foreman said:
Brandon, don't waste time getting "hung up" on the numbers. I used both Sanity 5.1 and Flowmotion 2.02, both gave me better rendition of motion, both were completely stable. If you're happy with what you see on Sanity 5.1 leave it there, but I think you can trust that Ralph made improvements with Sanity X without losing any stability. So in your place I would leave 5.1 or X installed and quit "frettin'" over it.

I just wouldn't "bounce around" from one to another to another like some used to do.
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Thanks Bruce,

Comparing to the stock firmware, I am really liking what I'm seeing with Sanity 5.1. I am hoping it's stable enough for my live event stuff as well, and I'll be testing that out for a few days. I definitely want to find one and STICK TO IT, which is why I actually downloaded Sanity 5.1 in the first place, after several folks recommended it to me for great quality, and stability.

Thanks for the comment!
 
Bruce's comment is spot on. Don't get hung up on numbers, especially when it comes to bitrate. The H264 codec is extremely complex, with a boatload of parameters and functions. It's entirely possible to have a high bitrate and a picture that still has artifacts.

That's not the case here, of course. :)
 
Ralph B said:
Bruce's comment is spot on. Don't get hung up on numbers, especially when it comes to bitrate. The H264 codec is extremely complex, with a boatload of parameters and functions. It's entirely possible to have a high bitrate and a picture that still has artifacts.

That's not the case here, of course. :)
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Yes, I'm seeing that now. I may go ahead and load up Sanity X and give it a whirl :) Someone I know has been using 5.1 and recommended it, so I went with the older version first.
 
I love Sanity 5.1. Even though I have Sanity X installed on my camera, I find myself using the 24L setting (Sanity 5.1's 24H) about 90% of the time.

There is one scenario where you might want Sanity 5.1 installed instead of Sanity X - that's if you want spanning with class 10 cards. The 24L setting of Sanity 5.1 WILL span on class 10 cards. You don't have this ability with Sanity X.

Hope that's not too confusing.
 
Ralph B said:
I love Sanity 5.1. Even though I have Sanity X installed on my camera, I find myself using the 24L setting (Sanity 5.1's 24H) about 90% of the time.

There is one scenario where you might want Sanity 5.1 installed instead of Sanity X - that's if you want spanning with class 10 cards. The 24L setting of Sanity 5.1 WILL span on class 10 cards. You don't have this ability with Sanity X.

Hope that's not too confusing.
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I'm sorry, I'm SO new to the GH2... What is the different for 24L, and how do I access it? I do need spanning for certain times (as I shoot live long events)

Thank you.
 
The GH2 has two quality settings for each shooting mode. For 24P thay are called 24H and 24L.
You can find them in Menu / Motion Picture / Rec Quality. Just toggle between them.
 
Ralph B said:
The GH2 has two quality settings for each shooting mode. For 24P thay are called 24H and 24L.
You can find them in Menu / Motion Picture / Rec Quality. Just toggle between them.
Click to expand...

On the Sanity hack, what is the difference between 24H and 24L? That's what I was wondering :)
 
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