Stupid question on NTSC/PAL Firmware & 24p/25p/50p

B

Black_Ste

Active member
I have a PAL GH1. I just patched it as follows using Ptool 3.40d

SD_Card=Sandsik Extreme Class 10
Camera=GH1 v1.32
[Settings]
Version increment=1
Prevent version compare=Checked
Native 24p/25p=Checked
Video Bitrate FHD/SH=50000000
Video Bitrate H=50000000
Video Bitrate L=32000000
Overall Bitrate=56000000
Limiting Bitrate=60000000
Preset bitrate=500
Preset bitrate 2=500


20 mm pancake, creative mode, Manual, Shutter priority at 50

First clip post patch - Mediainfo says the following about the clip:

Format : AVC, Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec,
Format profile : High@L4.0, Format settings, CABAC : No,
Format settings,
ReFrames : 1 frame,
Duration : 32s 720ms,
Bit rate : 40.2 Mbps,
Width : 1 920 pixels,
Height : 1 080 pixels,
Display aspect ratio : 16:09,
Frame rate : 50.000 fps,
Standard : NTSC,
Resolution : 8 bits
Colorimetry : 4:02:00
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.387
Stream size : 157 MiB (96%)

Why does it say Standard as NTSC?


Second clip - I went back to the original firmware and shot a clip and Mediaino details were:

Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC : No
Format settings, ReFrames : 2 frames
Duration : 31s 680ms
Bit rate : 12.2 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:09
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Standard : NTSC Resolution : 8 bits
Colorimetry : 4:02:00
Scan type : Interlaced
Scan order : Top Field First
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.235
Stream size : 46.0 MiB (94%)

It still shows NTSC. Now is it because my firmware was from the Japan web site? My local Panasonic site redirected to the Japan site.

My questions are:

How do I know if I have a PAL/NTSC model.
Do different firmware exist for PAL/NTSC.
I know PAL/NTSC can be patched, but just wondering though if I need to apply it.

Secondly, from the first clip info, am I now getting 50p? That will be fantastic.
Now how do I get native 24p from the camera?
Hows does the fps change in relation to the shutter speed?

Don't know if it sound lame, thank you very much in advance.
 
Last edited:
If you know you have a PAL then its most likely a PAL. Framerates will tell you if its PAL or NTSC. what is strange however is with the 25p patch mediainfo says 50p and unpatched it says 25i. It should be the other way around with patch it should read 25p and unpatched 50i. use another program to cross check.

so to answer your questions, Framerates will tell you if its PAL or NTSC
Firmware is all the same
If you don't need to change region then don't patch it.
Fps is fixed and does not change.
 
MrFanny, thanks for fast clarification. I would presume I have the PAL version then. Confused as to what could be a reliable software for media information.


Updated, Mediainfo and rechecked. Checked with tsmuxer and VLC codec info as well. The results are:


1. Patched Clip details

Mediainfo:

Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Original frame rate : 50.000 fps (now what does that mean?)
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive

tsMuxer:

1920x1080p 25 fps

VLC:

1920 x 1080 frame rate 50

2. Clip from original firmware

Mediainfo:

Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:02:00
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Interlaced
Scan order : Top Field First

tsMuxer:

1920x1080i 25 fps

VLC:

1920 x 1080 frame rate 50
 
original frame rate is just the metadata that is kept from original 50i. as long as frame rate is correct, thats all that matters.

the gh1 wraps the 1080 25p footage in a 50i wrapper, probably why you keep on seeing 25fps which makes it confusing to some. patching removes the wrapper.
 
Thanks, so that is clarified.

Just one more :)

Is there a way to get 24p straight out of the camera, after the patch?
 
any particular reason as to why 25p not good enough?

switch your camera to NTSC then patch it with 24p patch. More headache than its worth in PAL land. But i guess you have your reasons.
 
Thanks rambooc1 & MR Fanny

No special reason for 24p, other than I keep hearing this 24p holy grail all the time. Didn't realize it is 25p is in PAL land and 24p for NTSC, as far as GH1 is concerned, right?

Anyway, thanks a lot for taking time to educate me.
 
Black_Ste said:
Confused as to what could be a reliable software for media information.
Click to expand...
MediaInfo on PCs reports incorrect information. On Macs it seems to work better. On PCs the most reliable software generally available is Elecard StreamEye Pro, which is available at 30-day trial.
 
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