Need help with a, b, c settings hack and camera settings (I'm reading a lot on here!)

Lucas Adamson

Lucas Adamson

Well-known member
OK, so firstly, I have done the hack with lpowells reliable settings. I can't upload yet, as I'm currently without an editing package - soon to be rectified.

QUESTIONS:

1. Should I ignore all references to "I'm finding c settings work for me" etc. What in the heck are a, b, c settings? Is this from an old version of ptool, or what? I know I can save different settings in a, b, c buttons etc. but how are people referring to an established setting for each letter? Shouldn't they all be different? ie - how is my c setting the same as yours?

2. How do I switch between a, b, c settings in camera? How do I know which I'm on?

Many thanks
Lucas
 
a b c settings are the different values in the bitrate field. a pop up will appear on the side to suggest a b c values for you to input, you punch in which ever value you want. the alphabet at the bottom is only for saved presets for your own personal record, nothing more, nothing less.

you cannot switch between a b c universally in camera but you can set different a b c values for FHD/SD, H, and L if you feel inclined.
 
Vitaliy Kiselev said:
In popul this settings are not called 1, 2, 3.
To prevent confusion with a, b, c buttons :-)
Click to expand...

That makes very little sense to me Vitally. Sorry. I have some bitrate suggestions on the popup, but there are 3 settings in total, named 1, 2, 3. Is that what you mean? Do you mean they ARE called 1, 2, 3?
 
MR Fanny said:
you cannot switch between a b c universally in camera but you can set different a b c values for FHD/SD, H, and L if you feel inclined.
Click to expand...

How do I do that please? It sounds very useful to do this, because I can then use slow motion without having to reformat my card each time, right? Also it would be useful to have a 25pN high bitrate setting for normal use, and a second non native setting for static high detailed shots. Is that right?

Many thanks both of you.
 
im not sure how different the newest ptools is compared to v3.40 but if you just sit down and go through all the menu's and options, have a read of the pop ups, you will hopefully understand abit more as to what does what. This is something everyone new should do as the pop ups are quite straight forward in explaining each function.

my suggestions to allocate different bitrates to different video mode is as straight foward as described by me. You go into FHD/SH (i said SD but its SH) and change your bitrate there, go into H setting and change your bitrate there to what you want, go into L and change your bitrate there to what you want or is suggested by the "pop ups". The idea behind this is if you have a scene that locks the camera up you can fall back on a lower bitrate in 720p if needed. You cannot switch between native and interlaced, its either or.

Once again, read the pop ups, they are there to help you. sounds like your in pal land. you can just drop your 50i 1080 into a 25p timeline and thats it. It doesn't require any pulldown. Well thats my understanding of it.

I don't understand why you need to format your card for slow mo. what do you mean by slow mo? Do you have a understanding of each video modes, ie FHD & SH, and their frame rates?
 
Lucas Adamson said:
How do I do that please? It sounds very useful to do this, because I can then use slow motion without having to reformat my card each time, right? Also it would be useful to have a 25pN high bitrate setting for normal use, and a second non native setting for static high detailed shots. Is that right?
Click to expand...
No, sorry, you can't combine all these options at once. FHD and SH bitrates are linked together, while H and L settings are simply reduced bitrate versions of SH mode. No one has found a way to make the Native 24/25p patch completely reliable. MJPEG settings are independent of AVCHD, but MJPEG can only record 4-8 minutes per clip and its frame rate cannot be changed from 30p.

The a, b, and c settings were initial AVCHD patch suggestions that date back to the earliest versions of PTool. While some have found them to be useful as is, they don't take advantage of more recent patches that can be used to improve the stability of high-bitrate settings. I made use of these features in my Reliable In-Camera Playback Patch to optimize it for reliable operation under all conditions. For more specialized settings, check out the link in my signature.
 
Ah, thank you Mr Powell - you seem to be a voice of reason in this business. I have been using your reliable settings actually, and they seem to work really well. I would have loved to be able to get 60p or 50p as a switchable option though, so I could so some slow motion work, but I guess the method of having 2 cards, one for each format is the best way of having this capability. Will that method work?

Many thanks
Lucas
 
Lucas Adamson said:
...I guess the method of having 2 cards, one for each format is the best way of having this capability. Will that method work?
Click to expand...
Yes, installing different versions of the patched firmware on separate SD cards is a practical technique to use in the field. It's also necessary to use separate cards for NTSC and PAL recordings, since the camera will refuse to combine them on a single card.
 
ah....60 vs 50p slow mo. i get ya..ha. yes lpowell is the person to listen to here. ive had no issues with my old settings so never needed to keep ontop of my ptool versions. disregard my previous comments =)
 
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