HDMI Capture Problem SOLVED - AviSynth RULES!

Ralph B said:
FOOTAGE FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT!

Here's a real codec busting scene, recorded through the GH2's HDMI port and then processed in Avisynth to remove the pulldown. I also applied GrgurMG's chroma fixing code. I then encoded it at high bitrate h264, taking care to preserve as much detail as possible - it's very close to the original.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/xteivu

If you have a Mac, let me know if this h264 file plays for you. I would like to know for future reference.

And for comparison, here's the in-camera AVCHD version:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/chirs9

This scene was shot at iso 3200, so it's a little noisy, but I think you'll get the idea.
Click to expand...
Wow....terrible banding and noise in there. I know...it's a codec killer. Thanks.

How about some people/good light/movement shots? That would be cool. (if you get a chance that is....if not thanks anyways) :)
 
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Ralph B said:
FOOTAGE FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT!

Here's a real codec busting scene, recorded through the GH2's HDMI port and then processed in Avisynth to remove the pulldown. I also applied GrgurMG's chroma fixing code. I then encoded it at high bitrate h264, taking care to preserve as much detail as possible - it's very close to the original.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/xteivu

If you have a Mac, let me know if this h264 file plays for you. I would like to know for future reference.

And for comparison, here's the in-camera AVCHD version:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/chirs9

This scene was shot at iso 3200, so it's a little noisy, but I think you'll get the idea.
Click to expand...

oh my god. that was breathtaking red one esque footage. i would buy an hdmi capture device tomorrow if only you guys can explain to the laymen like myself how you are doing all this...please someone....
 
Ralph B said:
FOOTAGE FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT!

Here's a real codec busting scene, recorded through the GH2's HDMI port and then processed in Avisynth to remove the pulldown. I also applied GrgurMG's chroma fixing code. I then encoded it at high bitrate h264, taking care to preserve as much detail as possible - it's very close to the original.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/xteivu

If you have a Mac, let me know if this h264 file plays for you. I would like to know for future reference.

And for comparison, here's the in-camera AVCHD version:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/chirs9

This scene was shot at iso 3200, so it's a little noisy, but I think you'll get the idea.
Click to expand...


Good stuff Ralph. Had to do some file renaming for compatibility with some things, but the footage is great. Used .mts at first, but when importing into After Effects to compare the two clips, it seemed to prefer I make it .AVI.

You said the mpeg4 is pretty close to the original, but do you think you could throw us a uncompressed still or two? png, tiff, whatever.
 
Thanks Ralph. Without studying stills, it does look a little nicer, more 'present'. The question is, is it worth an expensive capture setup, and the huge increase in storage space?

Of course the answer depends on your priorities, but for me I'll say 'no' for now. Cost is a big issue, as is weight (I need to be portable mostly), power, and especially long-term storage.

If 4:2:2 could be recovered, then I would definitely use it for indoor shooting (especially greenscreen of course).
 
For me, I would like if you could get us some 160 ISO sun lit (high contrast) frame-grabs (and some h.264 version, to see in motion). The reason is that for me what will make it worthy to record the hdmi is for the detail, dynamic range, file robustness for colour grading and motion. It is a bit difficult to judge on a 3200 ISO image if any of the above will be worth because the files are already at the limit or falling apart.

Human beings also would be very interesting because most who will go with all the way to record hdmi will be doing it for their narratives. I don't know if you can move with your set-up to do so... have you seen or investigated the brite-view or asus wi-cast wireless hdmi to see if they could be viable solutions?
 
Danielvilliers said:
For me, I would like if you could get us some 160 ISO sun lit (high contrast) frame-grabs (and some h.264 version, to see in motion). The reason is that for me what will make it worthy to record the hdmi is for the detail, dynamic range, file robustness for colour grading and motion. It is a bit difficult to judge on a 3200 ISO image if any of the above will be worth because the files are already at the limit or falling apart.

Human beings also would be very interesting because most who will go with all the way to record hdmi will be doing it for their narratives. I don't know if you can move with your set-up to do so... have you seen or investigated the brite-view or asus wi-cast wireless hdmi to see if they could be viable solutions?
Click to expand...

At present, my limited range is indeed a problem (10 foot HDMI cable). But, I'll try to shoot something for you.
 
MORE FOOTAGE!

Here are some GH2 HDMI movies shot under excellent conditions. All iso 160, sharpness -1, noise reduction -2.

The HDMI clips were recompressed at high bitrate h264 to preserve their quality. But, just for safety, I've included uncompressed PNG stills.

Under these ideal conditions, with the camera stationary, the AVCHD codec acquits itself splendidly (at least at 24P). There's very little difference between it and the HDMI capture.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/9dlmd8
 
So under good conditions its not really worth of it to use hdmi? Mr ralph are you sure the effort is worth of it for this? I'm confuse. The frame grap from before was so beautiful! I could smoke it! Omg.
 
Danielvilliers said:
It is a bit difficult to judge on a 3200 ISO image if any of the above will be worth because the files are already at the limit or falling apart.
Click to expand...

They're not really falling apart. I debated whether I should clean it up or post it raw. I chose raw because we're in a testing phase, and I figured people want to see what the camera is putting out.

But if you apply some Neat Video and color correction, you get this:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/wccs6k
 
ghosttv said:
So under good conditions its not really worth of it to use hdmi? Mr ralph are you sure the effort is worth of it for this? I'm confuse. The frame grap from before was so beautiful! I could smoke it! Omg.
Click to expand...

Don't be confused. The AVCHD codec performs differently under different conditions... sometimes good, sometimes bad. However, the HDMI is always good!
 
ghosttv said:
So under good conditions its not really worth of it to use hdmi? Mr ralph are you sure the effort is worth of it for this? I'm confuse. The frame grap from before was so beautiful! I could smoke it! Omg.
Click to expand...

It takes a very close look, but the HDMI is still cleaner (less artifacting but more/finer noise for you to possibly remove in post) and you can see the difference in detail in the shadows when you bring up their brightness. They're sharper (more detailed) with less blockiness. It is hard to notice without zooming in and amping up the shadows though... so it depends where your priorities lie. On the dog walking still you can see a pretty decent difference in artifacting when taking a close look at the dogs.
 
I think there's definately situations where you'll see a much larger difference. I'm thinking midlevel ISO, alot of fine detail filling the screen, slow (as not to blur too much) camera motion.. maybe lit plenty well enough to see the detail but still a little dim.
 
GrgurMG said:
I think there's definately situations where you'll see a much larger difference. I'm thinking midlevel ISO, alot of fine detail filling the screen, slow (as not to blur too much) camera motion.. maybe lit plenty well enough to see the detail but still a little dim.
Click to expand...

Absolutely! The man on the roof I posted earlier is a good example of the codec not being able to handle fine detail in motion. Today's test was a best case scenario.
 
Looking at the frame grabs is like looking at photos!!! With the gh2 the video has reach the photo level (not at the same resolution).
 
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